Subscribe
Subscribe
What’s On in Melbourne: Your Ultimate Guide for September & Beyond
Everything to see and do this month in Melbourne (and beyond).
The best things to do in Melbourne in September 2026 and beyond are hitting their spring stride. The Melbourne Royal Show opens at Melbourne Showgrounds from 24 September to 4 October, while Grand Final week takes over the city with AFL Footy Fest in Yarra Park, the Toyota AFL Grand Final Parade on 25 September and Brisbane facing Fremantle at the MCG on 26 September.
Culture is keeping pace. NGV Friday Nights gives you two final chances to see Cartier after dark, on 25 September and 2 October, with live music, performances, food and drinks; the blockbuster itself continues until 4 October. Reverb: A Journey Into Sound is also running at ACMI until 4 October, while SIX the Musical continues its Melbourne season at the Comedy Theatre across the same weekend.
The final days of September still have plenty left in them. Melbourne Festival of Puppetry runs until 27 September, Chinatown’s Lion and Dragon Moon Festival takes over the precinct on 26 September, and Melbourne Fringe Festival begins on 29 September with more than 450 independent events spanning performance, art, parties and creative experiments through 18 October. From major exhibitions and theatre to footy, family events and festivals worth putting in the diary now, this guide covers the best things happening in Melbourne now and next.
In This Guide
Editor’s Picks
Tesselaar Tulip Festival
Spring’s most photogenic road trip is still in full colour at Tesselaar Tulip Festival, running through 11 October in the Dandenong Ranges. More than a million spring flowers fill the Silvan farm, backed by Dutch food, windmills, tractor rides and live entertainment. October shifts from ’50s and ’60s tunes at Rock the Fields to cheaper midweek Spring Fever sessions, before Irish Weekend closes the season. This year’s unusually warm, wet growing conditions have reduced the large-field display, so admission has been cut by 30 per cent.
When: 12 September to 11 October 2026, daily 10am–5pm
Where: Tesselaar Flower Farm, 357 Monbulk Road, Silvan
Entry: Adults $27.50, concession $24.50; children 16 and under free. Spring Fever weekdays are $19 adults and $17 concession.
Good to know: October brings Rock the Fields (3–4 October), Spring Fever (5–9 October) and Irish Weekend (10–11 October). Free parking is available and dogs on leads are welcome.
ST. ALi x Kylie Minogue Coffee Truck
Kylie Minogue is back in Melbourne for Grand Final week, and ST. ALi has marked the occasion with three limited-edition coffees created with, tasted by and named by Kylie herself. From 23 to 26 September, the chrome-and-pink ST. ALi Kylie Truck will make 10 stops across Melbourne, with 100 free drinks handed out at each location and 1,000 up for grabs across the four days.
The menu is very Kylie: Honey I’m Home, a hot batch brew with whipped honey cream, strawberry dust and handmade honey tuile; Hi Honey, a cold brew layered with honey cream and honeycomb; and the Minogue Mini Hot One, a shorter, stronger take on Honey I’m Home. Honey runs through all three because it is one of the ways Kylie drinks her coffee at home.
The truck kicks off on Cubitt Street, Cremorne, with each day’s remaining locations announced that morning via @st_ali. The pop-up runs through to Kylie’s AFL Grand Final headline performance on Saturday 26 September.
Celebrate Grand Final Day the Melbourne Way
September in Melbourne reaches its natural conclusion with a Sherrin, a pub screen and an unreasonable amount of pastry. This Grand Final week, the city’s hospitality crowd has taken footy food personally: football-shaped doughnuts, parma sausage rolls, wagyu pies and not a sad party pie in sight.
Start at Builders Arms Hotel, where Grand Final Day begins at 11am with eight screens, sound on and $3 pots until the first goal. Chicken Holstein is holding court in the public bar, while the $110 long lunch moves through whipped cod roe, cheese croquettes and king prawns before O’Connor striploin and Valrhona chocolate torte. Over at North Fitzroy Arms, $55 secures a pre-game cheeseburger and chips, beer or bubbles on arrival, homemade sausage rolls at half-time and a reserved dining-room table in front of the projector.
Railway Hotel Fitzroy North is making a convincing play for snack of the weekend with a chicken parma sausage roll, served with house-made tomato chutney and shaved pecorino. There’s also osso bucco ragù tagliatelle, Nutella brûlée, extra screens and live music after the final siren. A few suburbs south, On Top at The StandardX is taking the game upstairs with Stomping Ground Stripes buckets, footy snacks, giveaways and a big-screen rooftop setup above Fitzroy.
The pastry department may have taken September even more seriously. Hector’s has custard-filled raspberry football doughnuts running across Grand Final week at Hector’s Bakery and Hector’s Kiosk, before its Bourke Street CBD kiosk gets in on Grand Final Parade day with the footy-shaped doughnuts leading proceedings. At Tarts Anon, the Footy Tart starts with raspberry and almond frangipane, adds pistachio cream, then finishes with a tiny pistachio and white-chocolate mousse Sherrin on top. It starts at $13.50 across Grand Final weekend.
Then there’s Chéri, which has reworked the stadium pie into The Premiere Pie: croissant pastry filled with wagyu beef, smoked bacon and smoked mozzarella, available for $12 from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September at Chéri, The Observatory and The Terrace. Four’N Twenty could never.
And with Kylie Minogue on Grand Final entertainment duties, of course gelato has entered the equation. Pidapipó is popping up at AFL Footy Fest in Yarra Park from 23–26 September with three limited-edition Team Kylie flavours: La La Lamington, coconut gelato with raspberry and chocolate; Choco-Motion, crema gelato with chocolate; and Padam Padam, strawberry and mandarin cream in a white-chocolate and dried-strawberry cone.
Where: Participating venues across Fitzroy, Fitzroy North, South Melbourne, Melbourne CBD, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and Yarra Park
When: Grand Final week, Wednesday 23 – Sunday 27 September; Grand Final Day, Saturday 26 September
Cost: $3–$110 depending on venue and offer
Best For: Sports fans; Food & drink lovers; Group catch-ups; Long weekends; Locals
Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival Across Melbourne
One of Melbourne’s most beautiful cultural celebrations arrives under the full moon this September, with Mid-Autumn Festival bringing lanterns, mooncakes, lion dancing, art and long tables together across the city. The weekend begins in Chinatown, where the annual Chinatown Lion and Dragon Moon Festival returns with its twilight parade along Little Bourke Street, guzheng music, martial arts demonstrations and a children’s lantern procession after dark.
Down by the river, Moon Fest Market takes over World Trade Centre across Saturday and Sunday, gathering local makers alongside lantern-making, traditional lacquer fan painting, Chinese zodiac charms, hairpin making and other cultural workshops. Upstairs at Creative Asia Art Centre, Beneath One Moon takes a more contemplative look at the festival through contemporary art, exploring migration, belonging, family and the moon as a symbol shared across cultures.
On Sunday, the celebrations head east for Moon and Mates at Box Hill Town Hall, with food and dessert stalls, live performances, fashion, cultural workshops, arts and family activities filling the day.
And for a decidedly more decadent way to mark the occasion, Hennessy X.O Pu’er Ice introduces a new ceremony for the season. Fronted locally by Chinese-Australian cultural representative Steph Leung, the serve pours Hennessy X.O over a large cube of frozen Pu’er tea, allowing its earthy character to slowly move through the cognac as the ice melts. Hennessy’s wider 2026 Mid-Autumn campaign draws together Chinese tea culture and French cognac craft, reworking the traditions of gathering, gifting and sharing for a contemporary table.
From lanterns glowing over Chinatown to handmade mooncakes, contemporary art and a glass of X.O changing slowly over Pu’er ice, Melbourne has plenty of ways to gather beneath the moon this year.
Where: Chinatown (Little Bourke Street), Melbourne CBD; World Trade Centre, Docklands; Box Hill Town Hall, Box Hill
When: Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 September; Chinatown Lion and Dragon Moon Festival Saturday 5.30pm–8pm; Moon Fest Market Saturday and Sunday 12pm–5pm; Moon and Mates Sunday 10am–3pm
Cost: Free entry to Chinatown Lion and Dragon Moon Festival, Moon Fest Market and Moon and Mates; Hennessy X.O pricing to be confirmed by editor
Best For: Cultural experiences; Festivals; Families; Free events; Markets
Need to Know: Kids can bring their own lanterns to join the Children’s Lantern Parade in Chinatown.
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 parquetry 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 : Ongoing – check site for details
Cost: Free to view on Fridays and Saturdays
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
Festivals & Major Events
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2026
Melbourne Fringe returns with 20 days of theatre, comedy, cabaret, circus, dance, music and gloriously unpredictable performance across the city. Trades Hall and Meat Market are the major playgrounds of this year’s program, joined by bars, galleries and unconventional venues.
The full lineup lands on 7th August, with hundreds of independent shows running from late September into October.
Best for: Culture seekers, adventurous date nights and discovering emerging talent
When: Tuesday 29 September to Sunday 18 October 2026
Where: Venues across Melbourne
Price: Varies by event
Eat & Drink
Basque Txoko at Nobody’s Baby, South Yarra
The Basque pop-up Melbourne wasn’t quite ready to give back is staying put. After selling out its original three-month run, Michelin-starred chef Aitor Jeronimo Orive’s Basque Txoko will now take over Nobody’s Baby in South Yarra through the end of 2026.
The extension comes with fresh reasons to book: gildas and cod croquetas, a 28-day dry-aged Wagyu chop carved at the table, burnt Basque cheesecake and a Basque-inspired martini with a pintxo riding shotgun. Tuesdays now belong to the Hamburguesa Basque Txoko, a smash burger made with aged Vintage beef and Wagyu, Basque chilli mayo and pickles, with 20% off selected wines. Frankly, Tuesday has been underperforming for years.
When: Tuesday–Thursday, 4pm–11pm; Friday–Saturday, 4pm–12am
Where: Nobody’s Baby, 19–21 Toorak Road, South Yarra
Need to know: Basque Txoko has been extended through to the end of 2026. Tuesday Burger Night features the Hamburguesa Basque Txoko from $24, alongside 20% off selected wines.
Burgs at the Bowlo
Fitzroy Bowls Club already has the bones of a great winter afternoon: greens beside Edinburgh Gardens, cold drinks, barefoot bowls if you’re feeling brave and enough Northside looseness to turn one quick pint into a minor life choice.
Tommy Two Buns has taken over the kitchen with thick, charcoal-grilled cheeseburgers made from beef minced in-house, best eaten with a beer while Sunday drifts by on the green. Check the team’s Instagram before heading in, as dates and serving hours change each month.
Where: Fitzroy Bowls Club, 578 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy North
When: Selected dates; check Instagram for current sessions
Price: Burgers priced individually
Best for: Casual Sunday lunches, groups and low-stakes bowls
High Cheese at The Westin
The Westin Melbourne’s cult High Cheese is back for winter, turning the polite ritual of high tea into a three-tiered cheese parade at Allegro Restaurant. Executive Chef Apoorva Kunte has teamed up with Richmond’s Supercheese and cheesemonger Jeremy Spradbery on a menu that moves from truffle-laced Mepunga Gruyère soufflé and Pyengana cheddar arancini to baked Normandy Camembert, Comté with smoked almond scones and Basque cheesecake with Alphonso mango. A glass of Punt Road wine is included, with optional flights for anyone taking the cheese-to-wine ratio seriously.
Where: Allegro Restaurant, The Westin Melbourne, 205 Collins Street, Melbourne
When : 26 May to 17 October 2026, Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to 9.30pm
Cost: From $91 per person
Best For: Cheese tragics, wine-first catch-ups, winter date nights and anyone who likes the ritual of high tea but would rather swap finger sandwiches for baked Camembert, Gruyère soufflé and cheddar arancini.
Need To Know: This is an evening experience, not a daytime high tea. High Cheese runs Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm to 9.30pm, with bookings essential. The $91 ticket includes the High Cheese menu and a glass of Punt Road wine, with optional wine flights available for those keen to make a night of it.
Art, Culture & Performance
Friday Nights at NGV: Cartier
Melbourne’s winter blockbuster is getting the after-dark treatment. Every Friday night, NGV International opens Cartier beyond gallery hours, pairing nearly 400 jewellery objects and archival pieces with live music, film screenings, drinks, dining and a rotating program of city-wide collaborators. This is the rare winter night out that works for art lovers, date nights and anyone who likes their culture with a glass in hand.
Where: NGV International, Melbourne
When: Fridays, 12 June – 2 October, 6pm to 10pm
Cost: From $50 adult; member and concession pricing available
Best For: Art lovers, Couples, Cultural experiences, Exhibitions, Nightlife
Need To Know: Advance bookings recommended — Friday night sessions are expected to sell out.
Markets & Shopping
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: Sunday 20th September
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
Outdoor & Active
Taste the Wild Side of Mallacoota at Wild Harvest Seafood Festival
Fresh seafood, coastal adventures and three days beside the water await when the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival returns to Mallacoota from 25–27 September 2026.
The Wild Harvest Market sits at the centre of the weekend, serving oysters, mussels, abalone, sea urchin and other seafood harvested from the surrounding waters alongside regional produce, local makers and live music. Beyond the market, the program spans guided rockpool rambles, family fishing clinics, art exhibitions, a cruise aboard the historic M.V. Loch-Ard, the much-loved Pizza Picnic and the Divers Appreciation Dip.
Turn the festival into a full coastal escape by paddling the calm waters of Mallacoota Inlet, walking through Croajingolong National Park, seeking out secluded beaches and spotting native wildlife along the way.
Sitchu Tip: Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park is also offering 10 per cent off minimum three-night stays between 25–28 September using the code Wild26, subject to availability.
When: 25–27 September 2026
Where: Mallacoota, East Gippsland
Cost: Prices vary; some events are free, while selected experiences require bookings or entry fees.
Best for: Seafood lovers, families, nature escapes and spring road trips.
Need to know: Accommodation and ticketed experiences should be booked early. The full festival program is available via the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival website.
Free Things to Do
Treaty at State Library
State Library Victoria’s free Treaty exhibition is a powerful stop for anyone wanting to better understand Victoria’s past, present and future. Held in the South Rotunda, the exhibition explores the 1835 Batman Treaty through original documents, maps, John Wesley Burtt’s painting of the signing and video perspectives from Victorian Aboriginal communities. As Victoria continues its path towards Truth and Treaty, this is a rare chance to sit with the archive, the contested history and the conversations still shaping the state today.
Where: South Rotunda, State Library Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne
When: Until Sunday 18 October 2026
Cost: Free
Best For: History buffs, thoughtful city wanderers, students, culture seekers and anyone wanting a deeper understanding of Victoria.
Need To Know: No bookings are required. The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 6pm.
Coming Soon
Bolobek Garden Fair
The Bolobek Garden Fair returns to Macedon on the first weekend in October, opening one of Victoria’s most beautiful private gardens for a rare spring weekend of plants, food and horticultural inspiration.
More than 50 specialist stallholders will gather across the historic property, selling rare plants, bulbs, garden tools, gourmet produce and wine, while guided tours reveal the stories behind Bolobek’s celebrated landscape. This year’s keynote speaker is Brae head gardener Jo Lawson, sharing her approach to seasonal growing, cooking and life close to the soil.
All profits support horticultural, botanical and environmental projects across the Macedon Ranges.
Best for: Garden lovers, spring day trips and rare private-garden access
When: Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October 2026, 10am–4pm
Where: Bolobek, 370 Mount Macedon Road, Macedon
Price: $20; children under 16 enter free
Barbie: The Exhibition
Barbie: The Exhibition is making its Australian debut at Melbourne Museum this summer, charting 67 years of the world’s most famous doll through design, fashion, architecture and pop culture. Created by London’s Design Museum in partnership with Mattel, the blockbuster show features more than 250 objects, including 150 dolls, a rare 1959 first edition Barbie, Totally Hair Barbie, Ken, dream houses, vehicles, accessories and prototypes. It is bright, nostalgic and genuinely fascinating, whether Barbie was your childhood icon or your favourite 2023 personality test.
Where: Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens
When: From 28 November 2026
Cost: From $20 per child; $30 per adult
Best For: Barbie fans, design lovers, nostalgia seekers, families and anyone still emotionally attached to Totally Hair Barbie.
Need To Know: Tickets are on sale now, and this is the exhibition’s Australian debut after a huge run at London’s Design Museum. Expect more than 250 objects, including 150 dolls and a rare 1959 first edition Barbie.
What’s On This Month in Melbourne: FAQs
Grand Final week leads the city, with AFL Footy Fest in Yarra Park, the Toyota AFL Grand Final Parade on 25 September and Brisbane facing Fremantle at the MCG on 26 September. The Melbourne Royal Show runs at Melbourne Showgrounds from 24 September to 4 October, while NGV Friday Nights offers two final after-dark sessions of Cartier on 25 September and 2 October. Melbourne Fringe Festival then opens on 29 September with more than 450 independent events through to 18 October.
Grand Final week has the city’s kitchens in full footy mode, from Builders Arms Hotel’s $110 long lunch and North Fitzroy Arms’ $55 game-day package to Chéri’s $12 wagyu Premiere Pie and Tarts Anon’s Footy Tart. ST. ALi’s Kylie Minogue coffee truck makes 10 stops across Melbourne from 23 to 26 September, while High Cheese at The Westin runs Tuesday to Saturday evenings until 17 October from $91 per person. For a coastal detour, the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival brings oysters, abalone and sea urchin to Mallacoota from 25 to 27 September.
Cartier continues at NGV International until 4 October, with Friday night sessions adding live music, drinks and dining on 25 September and 2 October. Reverb: A Journey Into Sound runs at ACMI until 4 October, and State Library Victoria’s free Treaty exhibition explores the 1835 Batman Treaty until 18 October. Mid-Autumn Festival also brings Beneath One Moon to Creative Asia Art Centre, a contemporary art exhibition exploring migration, belonging and family.
SIX the Musical continues its Melbourne season at the Comedy Theatre, while Melbourne Festival of Puppetry runs until 27 September. Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations take over Chinatown, Docklands and Box Hill across 26 and 27 September, with lion and dragon dancing, guzheng music and live performances. Melbourne Fringe Festival follows from 29 September to 18 October, filling Trades Hall, Meat Market and venues across the city with theatre, comedy, cabaret, circus and music.
Chinatown’s Lion and Dragon Moon Festival on Saturday 26 September includes a twilight Children’s Lantern Parade, and kids are welcome to bring their own lanterns. Moon Fest Market at World Trade Centre offers hands-on workshops such as lantern making and zodiac charm making across 26 and 27 September, while Moon and Mates at Box Hill Town Hall fills Sunday 27 September with family activities. Further afield, the Wild Harvest Seafood Festival in Mallacoota features family fishing clinics and guided rockpool rambles from 25 to 27 September.
Mid-Autumn Festival brings free entry to the Chinatown Lion and Dragon Moon Festival, Moon Fest Market and Moon and Mates across 26 and 27 September. ST. ALi’s Kylie Minogue coffee truck is handing out 100 free drinks at each of its 10 stops from 23 to 26 September. State Library Victoria’s Treaty exhibition is free to visit daily until 18 October, and The Lobby by Ellison Studios in Prahran is free to view on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Bolobek Garden Fair opens one of Victoria’s most beautiful private gardens in Macedon on 3 and 4 October, with more than 50 specialist stallholders and a keynote from Brae head gardener Jo Lawson. Later in the year, Barbie: The Exhibition makes its Australian debut at Melbourne Museum from 28 November, featuring more than 250 objects including a rare 1959 first edition Barbie.
Looking for more fun things to do in Melbourne this winter? 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.
