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Swanston Street cops a mention cos if you want to ride anywhere directly through the city, then Swanston Street is your road/mall/best bet. Cycling is permitted in "The Walk", but watch carefully for all those "peds" that will just wander our into your path as though it is a mall or something.. :-)
If you care to, look down south at the Yarra and you will see the Shrine of Rememberence (about a kilometre south).. this is a great place to tootle and check out. From the roof of the Shrine you can see straight up your opponent.. the infamous Swanston St, all the way to the Victoria St intersection. The view is spectacular - and free! Just be sure to pay a little respect to the diggers while you're there..
The infamous Swanston Walk (the worlds only pedestrian "mall" where you have to obey traffic lights!) travels straight up the hill from Flinders St station/St Pauls/The Yarra to LaTrobe Street/Museum Station/The Museum/RMIT. General advice.. keep to the left (!), dodge the poles, avoid getting caught in the tram tracks, watch for taxis, delivery vans, police cars, horses and carts(!!), ...aahhhh, you name it, they're there. And remember to stop at the lights!
Plenty of shops to grab a coffee, and plenty of sights to see.. the city square, the museum, the state library (drop in and use the computer just inside the door to access the web and this page!! Well... you never know when you might need a net-break!), the sculptures, the footpath chalk-drawings...
LaTrobe street is where the mall ends and the road begins... beware the right "sweep" at Victoria St (RMIT), as this is prime bike squiching territory. Pop on your flashing light..! Head up past Lincoln Uni (or whatever it is these days..), the brothels, the Cadillac Bar, the Institute of Education... and you're at Melbourne University/Elgin St. Anywhere along here you can turn off East and jump onto Lygon St (runs parallel to Swanston) if the desire for caffiene and dough-product overwhelms you in the torturous 2km.. Continue straight up Swanston St past the University colleges and you're at the big roundabout. Total chaos prevails here since the lights were put in, but if you cross the road you'll be at the dead centre of Melbourne... the Melbourne General Cemetary. ( ..sorry, i couldnt resist that..) On the East side of the cemetary is Princes Park, and its stadium, Optus Oval.
Thats about it! Beware.. the Walk can bite!
Back to the bike path page... /city| _-@ _-@ |country\ | --\ --' --\ --' | .. .. .. _____|__________(*)'_(*)__________(*)'_(*)_________|_____ .. .. .. ..Andrew Watkins and Pandora Hope ... Click here to mail us!