23 of the best Melbourne shopping spots for a haul to remember

Melbourne has it all if you’re looking for unique gifts, innovative fashion and fascinating homewares.

Melbourne shopping is a masterclass in variety. The amount of innovative local fashion labels, independent boutiques, op-shops, unique design stores and factory outlets make this great city one of the best places for any keen shopper visiting Australia.

The head-spinning amount of choice in and around Melbourne CBD is as diverse as the city’s love of high-end restaurants, breezy cafes, creative bars and fascinating museums.

Melbourne shopping centres are some of the biggest and best in Australia, and you don’t have to walk far to find a factory outlet Melbourne locals swear by. Then you’ve got some of the most diverse shopping streets in the country, often with high-end and mid-range sitting comfortably side-by-side.

Below, you’ll find some of our favourite places to go shopping in Melbourne.

The best shops in Melbourne

1. Savers, Moorabbin

Best for: A great selection of vintage and pre-loved fashion

Melbourne’s best op shops are usually smaller and more focused, but Savers in Moorabbin takes a different approach. This superstore is vintage heaven at the best of times, with great prices and a better range than most of the other Savers stores you’ll find in Melbourne. Take along your pre-loved goods and the staff will give you a discount to use instantly.

Address: Suite 4&5/430 Warrigal Rd, Heatherton

2. Brother of St Laurence, Brunswick

Best for: Eccentric and hard-to-find vintage clothing

If you ask locals what their favourite op shop in Melbourne is, the most likely answer is this hidden gem in Brunswick. Brother of St Laurence has all types of eccentric, stylish and unique clothing for men and women. You’ll find plenty to satisfy any vintage designer lust, plus a selection of hard-to-find vinyl, some furniture and a lot of pre-loved books.

Address: 109 Brunswick Rd, Brunswick

3. Sacred Heart Mission, Fitzroy

the shop exterior of Sacred Heart Mission, Fitzroy — Spot the quaint shop on Brunswick Street. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Some great op-shop treasures and retro art

You’ll find this Sacred Heart Mission on one of St Kilda’s most renowned streets. Head here for unique designer pieces, accessories and an impressive selection of retro art and cooking books, with stock replenished regularly.

If you can’t make it to the store in person, visit their online store. While it is a little pricier than shopping in its brick-and-mortar stores, it’ll save you from having to trawl through racks (though that is where a lot of the fun happens).

Address: 433 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

4. Il Papiro, CBD

a stationery store at Il Papiro, Melbourne — Pick up new writing materials at Il Papiro. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Premium stationery and design-forward writing accessories

Head along to Degraves Street to find the colourful Il Papiro, a stationery store and one of the most imaginative in Melbourne. Inside you’ll find a rich stock of leather-bound journals, boxes, inks, paper, Venetian glass pans, wax seals and stamps to prove the art of physical writing is far from dead. The staff import all their goods from Florence, so artisanal quality is guaranteed.

Address: 10 Degraves St, Melbourne

5. Fazeek, Fitzroy North

wine and cocktail glasses at Fazeek, Fitzroy North — Fazeek offers colourful wine and cocktail glasses. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Stocking up on interesting glassware and tableware

Wavy, colourful glassware that looks like nothing you’d find in any department store. Fazeek is the best shop in Melbourne if you want fascinating wine or cocktail glasses, or other unique tableware. Even if you don’t walk away with a new set for your next dinner party, the collections are so bright and attractive that window shopping at Fazeek is a popular local sport.

Address: 27-29 Best St, Fitzroy North

6. Third Drawer Down, Bulleen

items on display inside the Third Drawer Down, Bulleen — Shop for unique gifts and homewares at the Third Drawer Down. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Unique gifts and homewares for design lovers

Third Drawer Down is one of the most popular stores in Melbourne for unique gifts and homewares. The store, located within the Heide Museum of Modern Art (there used to be another in Prahran but it’s now closed), is a light-filled hub of high-quality design at affordable prices. Inside, you’ll find high thread-count linens, pillowcases, tea towels, fabric swatches, and even socks from local and international artists.

Address: 7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen

7. Cibi, Collingwood

a Japanese homeware store at Cibi, Collingwood — Cibi is a must for those searching for Japanese homewares. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Artisanal ceramics and homewares with classic Japanese accents

One of Melbourne’s best cafes, Cibi, also doubles as a platform for beautiful Japanese-inspired design goods and homewares. Melbourne’s most ravenous hipsters could never get enough of this immaculate cafe and store, where the retail element is found up the back and stocks incredible ceramics, homewares and furniture.

Address: 33-39 Keele St, Collingwood

8. Lightly, Collingwood

a shop selling homewares at Lightly, Collingwood — Find boho-inspired homewares and locally made pottery. (Image: Supplied)

Best for: Pieces from famous Melbourne designers made from natural materials

Lightly is another one of Collingwood’s most exciting homewares stores and an easy sell for any design lovers scouring Melbourne for unique pieces. The range you’ll find here is mostly made locally from natural materials, showcasing various Melbourne-based designers and owner Cindy-Lee Davis’ work.

Address: 3 Glasshouse Rd, Collingwood

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

9. Fenton & Fenton, Prahran

colourful homewares at Fenton & Fenton, Prahran — Fenton & Fenton sells chic and colourful homewares. (Image: Dave Kulesza)

Best for: Vibrant and colourful furniture and homeware

One of the most attractive shops on High Street is Fenton & Fenton, a Melbourne-based interiors label that was revived recently by investment from the Berkowitz Furniture group. Creative Director Lucy Fenton is still steering the ship, curating an incredible collection of vibrant furniture, linen, fashion, artwork, jewellery, rugs and even some taxidermy. Any homeowner in Melbourne makes this a regular stop.

Address: 471 High St, Prahran

10. dot COMME, CBD

Best for: High-end Japanese fashion

Great bars and up-and-coming bands aren’t the only reasons to head along to Melbourne’s heritage-listed Curtin House. Clothing retailer dot COMME is also a resident of the Palazzo-style building, showcasing high-end men’s and women’s fashion from the likes of Commes des Garcons, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto and Bernhard Willhelm.

Address: Curtin House, Level 4/252 Swanston St, Melbourne

11. Hill of Content, CBD

the Hill of Content book shop Bourke street, Melbourne shopping — Score great reads for a good price. (Image: Visit Victoria/Jake Roden Photography)

Best for: Hard-to-find vintage books and new releases at affordable prices

Hill of Content is one for book lovers. Opened in the 1920s, this historic independent bookstore is a treasure trove of literature alongside new releases and best-selling fiction titles. There’s also a nice range of reading accessories and other gifts, keeping the magic of a physical book alive.

Address: Level 2/86 Bourke St, Melbourne

12. Torsa, Prahran

Best for: Big-name designers with a focus on innovative high-end fashion

Torsa is another one of Melbourne’s best fashion stores, stocking innovative designers like Isabel Marant, Boy by Band of Outsiders and Alexander Wang. The shop’s accessories are also showcased, matching the stunning quality of those big-name designers and presenting one-off pieces that’ll help you build your signature style.

Address: 497 High Street Prahran

13. Double Monk, Fitzroy

men's footwear at Double Monk, Fitzroy — Double Monk offers an array of luxury men’s footwear. (Image: Visit Victoria/Paul Philipson)

Best for: Artisanal menswear imported from Italy and the UK

Double Monk is another one of those great Melbourne menswear stores that have a large reach and a premium disposition. Luxury footwear is imported from (mostly) Italy and the UK, while there is also a huge range of local and international designers across clothing and accessories.

Address: 53 Smith St, Fitzroy

14. Clothing the Gaps, Brunswick

Best for: Art, design and clothing showcasing Indigenous makers and various techniques

As an Indigenous social enterprise, clothing label and social activist hub, Clothing the Gaps is one of the most important fixtures of Northcote now. Set on the lands of the Wurundjeri people, this store showcases a range of locally made goods from The Koorie Circle. Presenting more as a two-in-one shop where you can grab unisex streetwear, jewellery and other accessories.

Shopping centres

15. Emporium

two women walking outside a fashion boutique at the Emporium, Melbourne — Peruse the fashion boutiques at the Emporium. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

Best for: Casual fashion and games at Fortress Melbourne

QV Melbourne and Melbourne Central may both be friendlier on the wallet, but if you’re shopping in the heart of Melbourne you’ll want to head on over to Lonsdale Street.

Emporium Melbourne, opened in 2014, is a luxury shopping centre with plenty of clothing stores and design boutiques. Find big-ticket names like Calibre, Chanel, Aesop, Jac + Jack, MJ Bale, Michael Kors, RM Williams, Polo Ralph Lauren, Zimmermann and Veronika Maine.

Stocking up on the latest fashion trends is why locals would usually head straight for this five-floor shopping mecca, which has over 200 stores and plenty of nearby boutiques in the immediate area.

Address: 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

16. Chadstone

the high ceiling of Chadstone, Melbourne shopping — Sleek, contemporary architecture meets luxury retail. (Image: Tourism Australia/Visit Victoria)

Best for: Big designers, plenty of dining options and entertainment brands

Melbourne’s legendary shopping mecca. Chadstone is the largest shopping centre in Australia, and one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most comprehensive. With over 500 stores and a recent $70 million expansion, it’s hard to walk away from this impressive shopping hub without some major finds.

All the big-name designers are here. You’ll find Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Acne Studios, Adidas, an Apple Store, Balenciaga, Bang & Olufsen, Breitling, Cartier, Kenzo Paris and many other big names across just three floors of retail and entertainment space.

When you’re done shopping, The Social Quarter at Chadstone, one of the more recent expansions, also hosts Archie Brothers arcade, Strike Bowling and other entertainment brands. There’s a Hoyts as well, and multiple dining options – both casual and premium.

You can even stay at the attached hotel: Hotel Chadstone Melbourne – M Gallery.

Address: 1341 Dandenong Road, Malvern East

17. Block Arcade

the grand interior of Block Arcade, Melbourne shopping — The heritage-style Block Arcade is an architectural gem. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Unique boutique stores, high-end jewellery and Melbourne’s famous tea rooms.

This heritage shopping arcade has plenty of character in the heart of Melbourne CBD. Not much has changed since it first opened in 1893, aside from the retailers themselves, which swapped designer names for artisanal boutiques and the famous Hopetoun Tea Rooms.

An architectural marvel and one of Melbourne’s most sightly tourist attractions, Block Arcade is best experienced with a guided walking tour. But if you just want to duck in and out, browse retailers including Haigh’s Chocolates, Basement Discs, Bell & Ross, Camper Shoes, Sol Alpaca and Mr Wares.

Family-owned jewellery shops like French Jewelbox are why the majority of locals would flock to Block Arcade. You can find incredible one-off pieces here.

Address: 282 Collins St, Melbourne

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18. The Strand

the retail precinct at The Strand, Melbourne — The Strand features classic architecture and boutique stores. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Historic architecture and a small variety of fashion and design shops.

Following a $20 redevelopment, The Strand Melbourne is easily one of the city’s flashiest and most exciting retail precincts. You’ll find this colourful collection of boutiques on Elizabeth Street, instantly recognisable from its row of colourful glass fins.

The diverse list of retailers takes a broad scope and you’ll find mid-range sitting next to high-end across mostly footwear, accessories and fashion – with a few cafes to break things up.

Acne Studios is also found here, for anyone who doesn’t want to trek out to Chadstone. As are Asics, Dinosaur Designs and Cos. It’s a small collection, but quality reigns over quantity.

Address: 250 Elizabeth St, Melbourne

19. Queen Victoria Market

the Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne — Pop by the Queen Victoria Market for artisan goods. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Unique local retailers and artisans selling high-quality goods.

While Queen Victoria Market is usually best known for its food and drink options, there are still a fair few locally-minded shops spread across the controlled chaos. You’re guaranteed to come across some great vintage finds and unique gifts at this bustling set-up of stalls and shopfronts.

Some of our favourite retailers at Queen Victoria Market include Akuna Pearls with a range of freshwater pearls; Albert’s Knitwear with great knitted winter clothes; Aleppo Style with silk and cashmere scarfs; high-end footwear artisans B&S Footwear; leather goods specialist Italian House of Leather; and the Japanese-inspired Kiana Mei Designs.

Pro tip: Head along to Queen Vic as early as you can (it opens at 6 AM on Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday) to avoid the inevitable crowds.

Address: Queen St, Melbourne

Shopping streets

20. Chapel Street, South Yarra and Prahran

Best for: A long strip of Melbourne’s best shopping spanning two suburbs and plenty of variety.

As one of the most famous shopping streets in Melbourne, spanning a few suburbs, Chapel Street is a long, winding collection of some of the finest retailers, restaurants and cafes in Melbourne.

It’s advisable to start at the St Kilda end of Chapel Street and work your way up, as some of the best boutiques are located on that side of the strip. This includes the vintage-minded Shag with great prices and unique finds, the classically stylish Nique and local favourite FinerRings.

Inch on up and there’s another outlet from Dinosaur Designs, the vibrant Gorman, and the luxurious Scanlan Theodore.

21. Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Gertrude Street in Collingwood — This charming street has long been a treasure trove of unique fashion. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

Best for: Independent boutiques and hipster fashion

Running from Carlton Gardens through Fitzroy, Gertrude Street is emblematic of Melbourne’s trendy crowd, known for its hipster fashion, grungy bars and fantastic restaurants like Poodle Bar & Bistro.

Several independent stores of note lie across this strip, such as the treasure trove that is Cottage Industry with its knitted goods; The Standard Store with its curated collection of worldly fashion; Handsom with sophisticated menswear; the long-standing Signet Bureau with its upscale independent fashion; Rose Chong with its unique costumes and wild clothing; and About Space with unique lighting fixtures and other home decor.

22. Royal Arcade, CBD

the grand ceiling inside the Royal Arcade, Melbourne — The longest-standing arcade features vintage and fashion boutiques. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Royal Arcade is a heritage-listed arcade in the heart of Melbourne. It’s the longest-standing arcade in the country, wearing its history proudly with ornate details and old-world Italianate architectural details.

It’s the perfect frame for many one-of-a-kind retailers in Melbourne, curating local jewellers, vintage and fashion boutiques, as well as some great cafes to break things up.

Grab some fresh kicks from The Archive Store; find some unique goodies at Curiosity Merchants; dress for the occasion at Moku; satisfy your love of design at Paper Republic; and follow your nose straight to the iconic Santa Maria Novella. And if you’re an astrology enthusiast, make sure to pop by Spellbox for all types of mystical finds, including daily tarot reads and spiritual guidance.

Address: 335 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Factory outlet in Melbourne

23. DFO South Wharf

Best for: Great prices from some big labels next to the waterfront

As the most recognised of all the best fashion outlets in Melbourne, DFO South Wharf is still a wise stop if you’re looking for some new threads but don’t quite know what you want. The range here is incredible, stocking big names at great prices. You’ll surely score some great finds across the likes of Academy Brand, Adidas, Adairs and Adventure Megastore. It’s a mixed bag in here, which is why Melbourne locals always flock straight to DFO’s retail precinct before having a waterside feed.

Address: 20 Convention Centre Pl, South Wharf

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat, now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate, whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor, who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will, who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods. “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield, embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House.

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument, which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds.

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens, hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)