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What’s On in Melbourne: Your Ultimate Guide for May & Beyond
Everything to see and do this month in Melbourne (and beyond).
May in Melbourne is when the city starts dressing for winter. Coats come out after dark, red wine suddenly feels like a plan, and the calendar fills with the kind of events that make staying in feel faintly irresponsible. From major Melbourne festivals and gallery days to pop-ups, new openings, cosy dining rooms, weekend markets and regional escapes, there is plenty to make the month count.
Looking for the best things to do in Melbourne this May? Consider this your guide to what’s on in Melbourne and Victoria right now, from food and design to culture, wintery day trips, one-off experiences and excellent reasons to leave the house. Here’s everything worth seeing, sipping, booking and doing across Melbourne this May.
Four Pillars Martini Collective
Melbourne already knows the martini is never just a drink. This month, the Four Pillars Martini Collective makes the city’s favourite first order smaller, saltier and far more fun, with mini Olive Leaf Gin Martinis paired with bespoke snacks across Reine & La Rue, Dessous, Maison Bâtard, Bar Bellamy, Nomad and Carlton Wine Room. There’s panisse with anchovy, octopus Gildas, steak tartare tarts and that iconic anchovy, fried bread and ricotta situation. Tiny glass, serious room, flawless start.
See the full list of participating venues and their snack pairings here.
Where: Reine & La Rue, Dessous, Maison Bâtard, Bar Bellamy, Nomad and Carlton Wine Room.
When: 21st May to 21st June
Cost: From $19 to $28.50, depending on the venue pairing.
Best For: Aperitivo hour, date nights, post-work martinis and anyone who likes their first drink with a snack sharp enough to match.
Need To Know: The experience is available at participating venues for a limited time, spanning World Gin Day on 13th June and World Martini Day on 20th June.
Port Melbourne Is Turning Ten Venues Into A Free Music Crawl
Port Melbourne is turning the King’s Birthday long weekend into a free pub-to-pub music crawl by the bay. On Sunday, 7th June, the Port Melbourne Music Crawl takes over Bay Street and the surrounding precinct, with free live sets across local pubs, wine bars, breweries, delis and dining rooms from midday to 10pm. The official program spans Connolly’s, CBCo Brewing, Baba’s Deli, Tipsy Cow, Ciao Cielo, The Exchange, The Palace and more, letting you drift between country, blues, soul, brass, indie, South African jazz and late-afternoon beers without being locked into one stage.
Highlights include Stephen Pigram at Connolly’s, Ania Reynolds at Baba’s Deli, Joyce Preacher and Kerryn Fields at Tipsy Cow, The Jules Pascoe Trio at Ciao Cielo, Bay Street Brass at The Palace, and AFROSPACE Interchange at The Exchange, a brilliant entry point into Melbourne’s South African jazz scene if you have not yet fallen down that rabbit hole. Entry is free, the crawl is self-guided, and with half-price public transport kicking in from 1st June, this is one of the easiest long-weekend plans to say yes to.
Where: Port Melbourne
When : Sunday 7th June, All Day
Cost: Free to attend
Best For: Groups chasing a free King’s Birthday Sunday plan, music lovers who prefer a pub-to-pub wander, and bayside locals keen to make a day of Port Melbourne.
Need To Know: No single ticket is required, and you can move between venues at your own pace. Public transport will also be half-price by then, making it an easy King’s Birthday long-weekend plan.
Fondue Chalet
Fed Square has gone full French Alps, minus the airfare and thermal regret. Fondue Chalet has returned for winter, bringing private timber chalets, fire pits, mulled wine and a choose-your-own-cheese situation to the middle of the city. Go fondue savoyarde with bread and charcuterie for dunking, or commit to raclette scraped over potatoes, pickles and cured meats. Chocolate fondue and marshmallow-toasting handle the après-cheese chapter. Book the chalet, wear the knitwear, surrender to the melt.
Where: Fed Square, Melbourne
When : Until 27th June, 2026
Cost: From $79 per person
Best For: Date nights, group catch-ups and anyone willing to make cheese the main event.
Need To Know: Private chalets are designed for groups of 6 to 8, with guests choosing either fondue savoyarde or raclette for the table. Tickets start from $79 per person and include mulled wine on arrival, with chocolate fondue available as an add-on from $59 per chalet.
The Big Design Market: Almost Winter
The Royal Exhibition Building is about to ruin your “just browsing” lie. The Big Design Market: Almost Winter returns to Carlton for three days of clever shopping, excellent snacks and very dangerous tote-bag decisions, bringing together 250+ independent Australian designers and 70+ food brands under one grand dome. Ceramics, jewellery, fashion, homewares, art prints, pantry treats, showbags, prizes, a fashion runway and Xue Fei Art’s overhead installation all make the case for arriving early and leaving with more than you planned.
Where: Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton
When : Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May, 2026
Cost: $8 entry, kids 12 and under free
Best For: Design lovers, gift hunters, homewares obsessives, pantry grazers and anyone pretending they’re “just browsing”
Need To Know: More than 250 independent Australian designers and 70+ food brands will take over the Royal Exhibition Building, with ceramics, jewellery, fashion, homewares, art prints, showbags, prizes, a fashion runway, kids’ creative play space and Xue Fei Art’s overhead installation. Entry is cashless and the event is indoors.
Autumn Pop-Up Shop at Shell Space
Shell Space is opening its Brunswick studio for an autumn pop-up devoted to handmade local ceramics, the sort of small, tactile things that make a house feel more considered in one afternoon. Browse functional pieces, one-off art objects and studio-made treasures, with a bake sale from @imade_a_cake adding the excellent possibility of ceramics in one hand, cake in the other. Smaller than the mega-market circuit, sweeter for it.
Where: Shell Space, 8 McIver Street, Brunswick
When : Saturday 23rd May, 10am to 4pm
Cost: Free entry
Best For: Ceramic lovers, Brunswick wanderers, handmade-home obsessives and anyone who prefers their shopping small, local and beautifully useful
Need To Know: This is a one-day studio pop-up focused on local handmade ceramics, from functional wares to one-off art pieces. Arrive early for the best pick of the table, and keep an eye out for the bake sale by @imade_a_cake.
Loco Love Double Chocolate Truffle Pop-Up
Loco Love’s first-ever Melbourne pop-up is landing in Collingwood for one day only, and it’s coming with a dessert worth crossing town for. To mark the launch of its new Double Chocolate Truffle, the cult chocolatier is serving a limited-edition Double Chocolate ice cream finished with organic cold-pressed olive oil, sea salt and a Double Chocolate Truffle. Dark, salty, indulgent and just a little bit It-girl, this is your Saturday sweet treat with serious cacao credentials.
Where: 43 Derby Street, Collingwood
When : Saturday 30th May, 9am to 6pm
Cost: Free entry, treats available to purchase
Best For: Chocolate obsessives, dessert dates, Collingwood strolls and limited-edition flavour hunters
Need To Know: It’s a one-day-only pop-up celebrating Loco Love’s new Double Chocolate Truffle, with the limited-edition ice cream available while stocks last.
Casa Della Nonna by Bippi x LaManna
Nonno and Nonna’s house is getting the museum treatment, plastic-covered couch and all. Bippi and LaManna have teamed up for Casa Della Nonna, a six-week pop-up at Essendon Fields celebrating Italian family rituals, chilli, nostalgia and the sacred art of the doily. Launch day brings free homemade pasta for the first 100 visitors, Bippi prizes, kids’ activities, tastings and a visit from Hawthorn’s Massimo D’Ambrosio with his Instagram-famous Nonno, who’ll be challenging guests to Briscola. Beat him, win chilli. Melbourne culture, honestly.
Where: LaManna Supermarket, 10 English Street, Essendon Fields
When : Launches Saturday 23rd May, with key activities from 10am to 1pm. The pop-up runs for six weeks
Cost: Free to visit
Best For: Italian grandkids, nostalgia lovers, food families, Hawks fans and anyone who knows the plastic-covered couch was never for sitting
Need To Know: The first 100 visitors on launch day receive free homemade pasta. Hawthorn’s Massimo D’Ambrosio and his Nonno will appear from 10am to 1pm, with Bippi prizes, tastings, kids’ activities and a Briscola challenge also on the cards. Bring a grandparent on Saturday 13th June for a free coffee
Collingwood Ceramics Market at Chotto Motto
Ceramics and dumplings are a pairing we can very much get behind, and this Collingwood market makes a strong case for clearing your Sunday. Hosted at cult Japanese diner Chotto Motto, the Collingwood Ceramics Market brings together a line-up of local makers for a browse-and-buy afternoon with far more personality than your standard stall setup, from Yolk Eye Ceramics to Naru Kubota.
Each edition lands on the third Sunday of every month, from 12pm to 6pm, with Chotto Motto’s retro surrounds making the whole thing feel especially charming.
Where: 287 Wellington Street, Collingwood
When: Third Sunday of every month
Cost: Free to view
Best For: Design lovers, pottery collectors, handmade homewares, market wanderers, and Sunday browsers
Need To Know: Runs monthly on the third Sunday
EONARIUM Enlightenment at Immigration Museum
At the Immigration Museum, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is recast as a luminous 30-minute spectacle of sound, colour and movement. Enlightenment wraps the historic Long Room in sweeping projections and an original sense of drama, carrying audiences through spring, summer, autumn and winter in one beautifully immersive sitting. Fresh from sold-out seasons across Europe and Brisbane, it feels both transporting and intimate.
Book a beanbag seat if you can, then settle in for one of April’s most enchanting cultural outings.
Where: 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne
When : From April 2026
Cost: $44 GA
Best For: Best for date nights, culture-minded friends and anyone in the mood for a visually beautiful outing
Need To Know: It’s captivated over 2 million visitors worldwide
Check In to The Lobby by Ellison Studios
Sydney furniture and interiors brand Ellison Studios has landed in Melbourne with its first physical residency, transforming a first-floor space inside South Yarra’s landmark Conways Building into The Lobby. Part design showroom, part creative meeting place, it riffs on the mood of a great hotel lobby, with sculptural Float sofas, curated artworks from Hake House, rare books by Selected Objects and hand-restored prquetry underfoot. By day, designers can meet clients and explore the collection. By night, talks, performances, drinks and DJ sets draw the city’s creative crowd in.
Where: 1/249 Chapel Street, Prahran
When : Until June 2026
Cost: Free to view
Best For: Design afficionados, interior designers, trade partners, and the wider creative community
Need To Know: You’ll need to book an appointment to experience the space
Bubble Planet Floats Into Brunswick
Global, multi-sensory experience Bubble Planet is landing in Brunswick, and it’s set to be a full-on celebration of colour, light, and pure playful chaos. Eleven rooms are designed to make you forget the real world: bounce on giant inflatables, float through clouds of soapy bubbles, dive into Australia’s largest ball pit, and wander through infinity rooms that twist perception. With VR adventures, interactive games, and surreal landscapes at every turn, each step invites wonder, awe, and yes — a seriously good photo.
Where: Fever Exhibition and Experience Centre, 62 Dawson Street, Brunswick
When: April 1 – June 29, 2026
Cost: $33.90
Best For: Families; School holiday outings; Date nights; Big kids at heart; Photo hunters
Need To Know: Socks are mandatory for the bubble bath, so dress accordingly.
Djaara Lights in Bendigo
Step into the story of the land at Djaara Lights, a mesmerising fusion of art, culture, and technology illuminating Bendigo’s Oscars Walk and Bath Lane Precinct. Through stunning Dja Dja Wurrung artwork and augmented reality, experience the six seasons of Djandak as told by the Traditional Owners. It’s immersive, moving, and a must-see this month.
Where: Oscars Walk and Bath Lane, Bendigo
When: Until March 2026
Cost: Free
Best For: Families; School holiday outings; Regional exploring; Big kids at heart; Photo hunters
Need To Know: On every night from 7pm to 11pm
Looking for more fun things to do in Melbourne this autumn? We have plenty to keep you entertained. From Melbourne’s best new restaurants and bars to friendly pubs, cafes and late-night cocktail haunts, here’s all you need for an epic weekend in the city and surrounds.
