Melbourne gets an 'eye' — Southern Star opens for bird's eye views of the city
Not for the vertigo sufferers among you, but if you're visiting Melbourne and would like a bird's eye view of things, then the new Southern Star is for you.
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The Southern Star puts you high over the Melbourne skyline — image by Jeffery Yates from the Southern Star web site |
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Modelled on the London Eye, the Southern Star is a gigantic 'Ferris wheel' with observation 'pods' on it to give you a show of the city skyline.
Tickets are priced at AUD$29 for adults and AUD$17 for children. There is no online booking at the moment, so if you're in Melbourne and in a hurry you can pay AUD$58 for 'Premium Access' (AUD$£34 children), which allows you to get right on at the front of the queue.
The Southern Star is located on the edge of Melbourne city, and accessible on foot, tram, car and taxi. It's also by the water, so you can get to the attraction via river transport too. Here's the 'how to get here info'.
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The Melbourne 360° Rialto Tower — not quite so exciting to look at, but the views of Melbourne, Yarra River and Port Phillip are still brilliant |
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Just like the London Eye, you can book a private pod (AUD$800), and even get married high above Melbourne.
The Southern Star is open from 10am to 10pm, so you can also have the option of a sunset or night time view of Melbourne, which should be beautiful.
And if you don't fancy the 'wheel', here's another bird's eye option for Melbourne (and one that we've done before) — Melbourne 360° — housed in the Rialto Tower. Great views in (unsurprisingly, given its name!) every direction across the city, and as far as the port and bay beyond. This observation deck is also half the price of the Southern Star if you're budgeting — its AUD$14.50 for adults and AUD$8 for children. Also, here's a 15% off discount voucher you can print and use.
I always think a great way to start any visit to a city is to get up as high as you can and see where everything is. Now you've got some choices of how to do that when you visit Melbourne.
Anyone who takes a ride on the Southern Star, please send me some photos from the top! | 
