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What’s On in Melbourne: Your Ultimate Guide for December & Beyond
Everything to see and do this month in Melbourne (and beyond).
December has arrived, and Melbourne is doing its usual impression of three climates before lunch. Still, the city feels charged with summer energy: wine bar courtyards fill the moment the sun cooperates, rooftops reopen with cautious optimism, and every forecast becomes an invitation to make plans anyway. This is the month where Melbourne thrives — unpredictable skies, unstoppable mood.
Here’s everything worth seeing, sipping and doing in Melbourne this month and beyond.
TMC Fine Jewellers’ $10K Ring Treasure Hunt
TMC Fine Jewellers is celebrating its first Melbourne showroom with a city-wide scavenger hunt — and the prize is a bespoke lab-grown diamond ring worth $10,000. From 8am on Saturday 6th December, participants will race across the CBD following four clues within a 5km radius, with hints dropping on TikTok throughout the morning.
Registered hunters receive the first clue early, giving them a precious head start. Collect all four clues, reach the final checkpoint, and the dream ring could be yours.
Follow @tmcfinejewellers for updates
Saturday 6th December, from 8am
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 from 7th December until 19th April 2026
NGV International
A Pink Christmas Moment Arrives at QV Melbourne
QV Melbourne has unveiled a dreamy new Christmas installation in QV Square — an 11-metre blush-pink scaffold sculpture that glows after dark and doubles as the city’s most playful festive meeting spot. From 12th to 21st December, the precinct also hosts Qris Qringle, a mystery-gifting activation with exclusive prizes for shoppers who spend $100 in participating stores.
With open-air dining across Artemis Lane, designer shopping along Albert Coates Lane and plenty of spots to linger, QV makes a stylish base for your Christmas browsing and city wanderings.
QV Melbourne
LOEWE’s Festive Fair at David Jones
LOEWE turns the David Jones Elizabeth Street windows into a surreal holiday playground this season, unveiling a shimmering installation inspired by Louis Wain’s wonderfully eccentric ceramic cats. The SS26 pre-collection takes centre stage along curling chrome slides, funfair lights and kinetic cat sculptures that seem to move through a futuristic production line. Iridescent green surfaces, animated details and a sense of theatrical whimsy make this one of the city’s most enchanting festive displays. Catch it before it disappears on 5 January.
Until 5th January
Elizabeth Street Windows, David Jones, Melbourne CBD
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
A Complimentary Wine Flight Awaits at Marvel Stadium’s The Wine Room: AKA Date Night, Decanted
A good night starts with a pour — and The Wine Room at Marvel Stadium makes it memorable. Located beside Friends of Fire, this elegant, wine-led dining space pairs low light with high flavour. The menu oozes indulgence: grilled baby octopus with nduja and pickled fennel, burrata with roasted hazelnuts, lamb merguez with fried mint, and a smoked chocolate torta with lemon cream to finish. Book a table and you’ll also be handed a complimentary wine flight, handpicked from the cellar — the kind of detail Melbourne drinks up beautifully.
Stadium Square Gate 3 Level 1 Marvel Stadium, 740 Bourke Street, Docklands
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.
