Melbourne Makes National Geographic's Best Cities for 2027
Melbourne has always been an easy sell for Malaysian travellers: a long-haul hop with a big Malaysian community, a food scene built on migration, and a city centre you can walk end to end. Now it has a fresh headline to go with it. National Geographic has named Melbourne one of its Best of the World destinations for 2027, the only Australian place on this year's list, and a wave of new openings across the city and regional Victoria gives you plenty of reasons to go.
Why Melbourne made the list
Best of the World is National Geographic's annual pick of 25 must-visit destinations and travel experiences, now in its 15th year. The 2027 edition looks beyond the obvious to places where new openings, anniversaries and better access are creating fresh ways to see a destination, from Baltimore to Normandy to Luxor in Egypt. Melbourne lands there as a famously liveable city that keeps getting more inviting, with a dining scene shaped by successive waves of migration since the 1800s and Victorian-era laneways such as Flinders Lane, Hosier Lane and Degraves Street made for slow wandering. Its cultural calendar is busy too, including the NGV Triennial from mid-December 2026 to mid-April 2027, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and the Aboriginal Heritage Walk. It helps that Melbourne was also voted the "Friendliest City in the World" in Conde Nast Traveller's Readers' Choice Awards for 2026.
A new gateway to the Great Ocean Road
The Twelve Apostles have always been Victoria's most photographed stretch of coast, and a 126 million dollar transformation has turned the famous photo stop into a proper destination. Anchored by the new Keerray Woorroong Visitor Centre, designed in consultation with the Eastern Maar people, the precinct shares the story of the coast through one of the world's oldest living cultures, with immersive exhibitions, a native Welcome Garden and the Great Ocean Lookout rooftop garden overlooking the Southern Ocean. A cafe and kiosk serve local produce, including Timboon ice cream. Entry is by advance booking through twelveapostles.org.au, free for now, with a fee coming from April 2027.
Grand theatre, riverboat and a world-premiere exhibition
The Ian Potter State Theatre has reopened after its first major refurbishment since 1984, the first completed milestone of regional Victoria's 1.7 billion dollar Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation. Home to The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia, it welcomes its first major musical, Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, from 14 November 2026 to 17 January 2027. On the water, the PS Australian Star is now cruising the Murray River from Echuca, billed as Australia's first five-star overnight riverboat, carrying 38 guests on three to seven-night trips past farm stations, wineries and heritage towns. Art lovers have the NGV's world-premiere exhibition Plant Life: The Nature of Design, running until 7 February 2027, which gathers more than 60 works exploring plant-based materials as an alternative to plastics, from leather grown from fungi to a jacket made with mycelium.
Where to eat
The biggest opening belongs to Dominique Crenn, the chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, who has opened her first Australian venue, Petit Crenn, at 495 Collins Street. The 40-seat all-day spot is inspired by the comptoirs of Paris and her native Brittany, with signatures such as steak tartare, a croque madame and a changing plat du jour. Over in St Kilda, the beachside Stokehouse has a new chapter under Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann: the downstairs Marea Beach House and Bar is already open, with Stokehouse itself reopening on 3 November 2026. And in a laneway off Flinders Lane, the new Japanese restaurant EN brings the rarely seen art of Kappo dining to the city, with counter seating across two levels and a late-night vinyl bar below.
Planning a trip from Malaysia
There is more waiting beyond the city, from Moonraker Cruises snorkelling with dolphins and seals off Sorrento Pier to adults-only cabins at Corcorans Lookout in the Yarra Valley and the new Phillip Island Hot Springs opening in 2027. If you are mapping out a trip, our earlier guide to a winter trail through Melbourne and Victoria covers the laneways, snow and coast, while our look at Melbourne in spring is the one for warmer, bloom-filled months. With a National Geographic nod and this much that is new, 2027 is shaping up to be a good year to go.
