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What’s On in Melbourne: Your Ultimate Guide for February & Beyond
Everything to see and do this month in Melbourne (and beyond).
February in Melbourne is loud, glittering and gloriously overcommitted. The city runs hot on ambition and sunscreen, fuelled by late sunsets, iced matchas, and a calendar that refuses to behave like summer is winding down. Rooftops hum from midday, festivals spill into the streets, and every week brings a new pop-up, exhibition or precinct moment vying for your attention.
There’s a delicious tension in the air — between plans and spontaneity, heatwaves and surprise storms, beach afternoons and after-dark glamour. Melbourne is in full swing: restless, social and slightly manic… in the best possible way. Here’s everything worth seeing, sipping and doing this month in Melbourne (and beyond).
Win a Four-Day Slow-Luxe Escape to Victoria’s Heartland
What if your next long weekend came with lakefront mornings, mineral-rich soaks and vineyard afternoons already mapped out? To celebrate its new chapter, Victoria’s Heartland is giving one traveller a curated four-day immersion through its most storied corners, from Lake House Daylesford and Hepburn Bathhouse to Castlemaine creatives and Hanging Rock tastings. Think magnesium baths, lavender-lined lunches and a case of cool-climate wine to bring home.
Entries open 19th February 26th and close 16th April. Consider this your sign to go.
Sake & Jazz Vol. 9: A Studio Ghibli Soundtrack Reimagined
Brunswick East’s KURA Robata & Sake is elevating the humble lunch into an art form on 7th March, presenting the ninth edition of its Sake & Jazz series — a chef-led, music-first experience shaped by Japanese listening-bar tradition. The room is built for focus: curated fire-driven dishes, guided sake and live reinterpretations of Studio Ghibli classics unfold as one seamless program. Japan-born trumpeter-vocalist Nana Koizumi and pianist Andy Mak lead the intimate, atmospheric set.
7th March, two seatings
Shop 1/22-30 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Toorak Cellars Marks 15 Years With a Summer of Chef-Led Sundays
Armadale’s Toorak Cellars marks its fifteenth year with a renewed look and a vibrant program built around food, wine and long-standing friendship. Across seven Sundays from 1st February to 15th March, the annual BBQ Summer Series returns, inviting chefs such as Audrey Shaw, Danny Natoli and Troy Wheeler to create one-off menus over the backyard grill.
New terrace furniture, gentle updates to the facade and limited-edition glassware round out the celebrations, plus a portion of the proceeds will support the Harcourt Relief Fund, adding heart to a month that honours the place’s loyal community.
Sundays from 1st February to 15th March
18 Beatty Avenue, Armadale
Brunswick Music Festival
Brunswick Music Festival returns from 1st to 8th March for its 38th year, a week-long celebration of the suburb’s deep live-music roots and ever-expanding sonic appetite. Produced by Merri-bek City Council and curated by local force MzRizk, the 2026 program centres community, culture and the joyful sprawl of sound that defines Brunswick.
It opens with the beloved Sydney Road Street Party on Sunday 1st March: four stages stretching from surf-punk to South African jazz, Turkish classical to youth Pasifika harmonies, plus roving performers and pop-up acoustic sets spilling from iconic venues.
Headliners bring serious global weight: Japan’s hip-hop beatmaster DJ Krush, Crete’s Xylourides, French disco icon François K and the transcendent Ganavya. Expect a heady collaboration between Alfi Antico & Go Dugong with Khaled Kurbeh and RAFET at Brunswick Ballroom, plus Rita Bass’s immersive Dreamache work, Eternity is a Terrible Thought. Horns of Leroy promise a brass-fuelled shake-up, while stalwarts including Howler, The Retreat, Jazzlab, The Bergy and Bar Spontana turn the suburb into a live-music constellation.
Closing night on Sunday 8th March sees Gilpin Park fill with sound from 2 to 8pm — a free, under-the-trees finale featuring Fred Leone X Radio For Ghosts, Allysha Joy, Cool Out Sun, Jace Clayton and Pirritu.
From Neighbourhood Noise activations across Counihan Gallery, Brunswick Library and Blak Dot Gallery to pop-ups at Found Sound and correspondences studio, BMF 2026 is expansive, generous and one of Melbourne’s most unmissable annual festivals.
1st to 8th March, 2026
Brunswick, Melbourne
St Kilda Festival 2026
Summer’s loudest love letter returns with St Kilda Festival on 14th and 15th February 2026, turning the foreshore into a sun-splashed two-day music crawl. Saturday leads with First Peoples First, featuring BARKAA and Selve across beachside stages and gardens. Sunday swells into Big Festival energy, with Jessica Mauboy, Sneaky Sound System and Mental As Anything on the bill. It’s free, all-ages and built for dancing between Fitzroy Street, Acland Street and the sand.
Sitchu Tip: Plan transport early, arrive ahead of peak.
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th February, 2026
Lunar New Year 2026 in Melbourne
Lunar New Year lands on 17th February, ushering in the Year of the Horse, and Melbourne celebrates with a full week of colour, culture and crowds. The city’s big moment arrives on 22nd February, when Melbourne Chinatown fills with lion and dragon dances, live performances and market energy from morning to late.
In the lead-up, Queen Victoria Market hosts a vibrant fest on the 20th, while Melbourne Museum and Immigration Museum add family-friendly culture across the 21st and 22nd. Over on St Kilda Road, NGV International brings performances and creative workshops with its signature gloss, and narrm ngarrgu Library and Family Services Centre offers smaller community sessions on the 20th and 28th. For a full street-party buzz, Box Hill turns Bank Street into a sprawling festival on the 21st.
The smoothest way to do it: start at QVM on the Friday, slot in Carlton or Box Hill on Saturday, then pair NGV or Immigration Museum with Chinatown’s big celebration on Sunday.
PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival Returns With a Citywide Style Showcase
Melbourne’s style calendar reaches full stride this February as the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival marks its thirtieth year with two weeks of runways, exhibitions and creative happenings across the city. From 14th to 28th February, the Royal Exhibition Building hosts a packed runway programme featuring more than ninety designers, while the broader festival spills into talks, workshops, pop-ups and free outdoor gatherings.
With new-season Australian design, standout street-style and a spirited mix of attendees, it shapes up as one of February’s most dynamic cultural drawcards.
14th to 28th February, 2026
Go On A Sunlit Gold Coast Reset — With Up to 32% Off
If an early-to-midyear reset is calling, Dorsett Gold Coast is making it easier than ever to book a bright, breezy escape. Their Summer Reset Sale offers up to 32% off stays — a mix of 20% off Best Flexible rates plus an extra 12% for Dorsett Your Rewards members — with travel available through to 30th June.
Trust us when we say that it’s a stay that feels good the moment you arrive: warm mornings, long poolside hours at Isoletto Pool Club, easy dinners at nearby venues, and Pacific Fair Shopping Centre just across the road. Everything is walkable, sunny and uncomplicated; the perfect antidote to a packed Sydney schedule.
Book by 28th February to lock in the offer and plan a Gold Coast break that feels both luxurious and effortless.
Book your stay here
5 The Darling Avenue, Broadbeach
What’s On at Crown Melbourne This Summer
Crown Melbourne has turned its Riverwalk into a full-spectrum summer playground, with cabaret, cocktails, courts and culture unfolding along the Yarra. Highlights include Piper-Heidsieck’s cabaret-fuelled Piper’s Playhouse, panoramic padel courts at Crown Racquet Club, a Palm Springs-meets-Coachella takeover by Heineken at Lumia, and Asahi Otoya, a vinyl-led yakitori bar pairing Japanese bites with curated DJ sets.
Add sunset mezze at new Middle Eastern venue Layal, spritz specials across the complex, and alfresco dining by the river, and you’ve got one of Melbourne’s most dynamic summer destinations stitched into a single precinct.
Riverwalk, Crown Precinct, Southbank
Australian Cheese Takes Over the Summer Night Market
Australian dairy steps into the spotlight at Queen Victoria Market’s Summer Night Market with Make It an Aussie Dairy Summer, a four-week pop-up celebrating the country’s best cheeses. Running from 28th January to 18th February, the activation pairs tastings of award-winning Australian cheeses with live demonstrations hosted by Amanda Menegazzo and a rotating line-up of chefs, producers and experts.
Get set for champion cheeses from the 2025 Australian Grand Dairy Awards, practical tips for summer entertaining, and plenty of reasons to stay a little longer at the market.
28th January to 18th February
Summer Night Market: Every Wednesday until 11th March
Queen Victoria Market
LE SPLASH Rooftop Pool Bar, Le Méridien Melbourne
Summer’s most coveted pool pass is back. Le Méridien Melbourne has reopened its LE SPLASH Rooftop Pool Bar to the public, offering early swims, golden-hour dips and sweeping views over Parliament House. Morning and Sunset Pool Passes unlock the hotel’s 28°C heated pool, open-air sun deck, a complimentary scoop of Le Scoop gelato and a drink of your choice. For the first time, the rooftop is also open on Friday and Saturday evenings for sunset dining, drinks and live summer sounds.
20 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Two Fashion Rebels, One Daring Exhibition: Westwood | Kawakubo at NGV
NGV’s summer centrepiece brings two fashion radicals into electrifying dialogue: Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo. Nearly 150 works reveal their lifelong practice of breaking rules, from Westwood’s era-defining punk pieces to her shimmering MacAndreas tartan gown and the corseted wedding dress later immortalised by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City.
Kawakubo’s sculptural imagination appears in full force, including the petal-like masterpiece Rihanna wore to the Met Gala and the abstract silhouettes that reshaped contemporary fashion.
Archival footage, runway moments and rare international loans make this a world-premiere exhibition that feels urgent, ambitious and utterly transportive. Don’t miss it this summer.
Runs until 19th April 2026
NGV International
The Night Market Returns to Queen Victoria Market
Twenty-five summers in, and the Night Market still knows how to light up a Wednesday. Queen Victoria Market transforms again with global eats (yes, even buttery snails), icy cocktails, CherryHill’s pop-up cherry bar, handmade fashion, homewares and all the festive browsing you didn’t know you needed. Add roving performers and sunset DJs and you’ve got Melbourne’s midweek happy place — free entry, maximum vibes.
Wednesdays, until 11th March 2026 (excluding 24th & 31st December)
Queen Victoria Market
Raid Your Cellar: CIRCL’s New BYO Tuesday for Sentimental Drinkers
CIRCL is blessing us with a new midweek ritual called Raid Your Cellar — a Tuesday night BYO series built for the bottles you’ve been saving for “the right moment”. For $30 corkage, each guest can bring one special bottle to open over CIRCL’s modern European menu and Punch Lane intimacy.
Think laughter shared, memories uncorked and dinner enlivened by the wine you’ve been waiting to pour. A midweek mood worth booking this month in Melbourne.
22 Punch Lane, Melbourne
A Four-Billion-Year Story Lands at Melbourne Museum
Melbourne Museum has thrown open the doors to its most ambitious gallery yet — Our Wondrous Planet, a 1,800-square-metre plunge into the machinery of Earth. One moment you’re gliding through rainforest canopy; the next, you’re riding atmospheric currents or brushing against glowing root systems underfoot. Creatures preserved in time sit beside First Peoples knowledge and cinematic storytelling, pulling you into a world that feels both ancient and electric. It’s science, spectacle and a touch of sorcery. If you needed a reason to revisit the museum, here it is.
Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton
Summer of Hits: Colosso Arrives in Melbourne with World-Class Padel and Design-Led Hospitality
Colosso has opened in Brighton and Southland, bringing Melbourne a new lifestyle destination built around world-class padel and design-led hospitality. The clubs feature state-of-the-art courts, Europe-trained coaches, private change rooms, curated retail and a full cafe and bar serving ST. ALi coffee and premium drinks. Free intro sessions, Colosso Cubs and social programs make the space welcoming for all levels, while the Colosso x Osaka racquet range adds high-performance appeal. Blending sport, style and community, Colosso delivers a fresh way to play, connect and unwind.
End of Breen Drive, Brighton
corner of Chesterville Road and Jamieson Street, Cheltenham
Moonlight Cinema
Moonlight Cinema returns to the Royal Botanic Gardens this December, celebrating 30 summers under the stars. Grab a blanket, your crew, and settle in for movie night done a little differently. From new releases and family favourites to Christmas classics and retro hits, there’s something for everyone, and you can even vote for your favourites in The People’s Program. Popcorn in hand, chilled drinks at the ready — and for the first time this summer, pups can snack on a Lyka doggie bag meal too.
See the full program here.
December 3rd 2025 to April 5th, 2026
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne / Wurundjeri of the Kulin Nation via Domain Road Gate
Maho Magic Bar at Spiegel Haus Melbourne
Direct from Tokyo with a cocktail in hand and a trick up every sleeve, Maho Magic Bar is back to bewitch Melbourne audiences. After its sell-out 2023 run, the neon-lit spectacle returns with a fresh line-up of Japan’s finest sleight-of-hand prodigies — all charm, mischief and jaw-dropping illusions performed right at your table. Pair the gasp-inducing tricks with a curated menu of Japanese libations and you’ve got the closest thing to a night out in Shinjuku, without leaving Lonsdale Street.
November 25th to February 15th
Tickets from $71 + bf
Spiegel Haus Melbourne, 217 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
NGV’s Making Good: Redesigning the Everyday
From mushroom leather handbags to seaweed straws, NGV’s Making Good: Redesigning the Everyday proves the future of design is as practical as it is visionary. More than 50 Australian and international innovators are reshaping the way we live — air-purifying paint freshens your walls, clothes grow with your child, and oyster shells are reborn as terrazzo tiles. Part science lab, part style guide, this free exhibition is a lively blueprint for a world where sustainability doesn’t just look chic, it feels inevitable.
Free entry
29th August, 2025 to 1st February, 2026
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square
What’s On in Melbourne This Month: Regional Adventures
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.
Daily, 7pm to 11pm
Until March 2027
Bendigo, Victoria
Looking for more fun things to do in Melbourne this summer? 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.
