St Kilda is the perfect place to head for when you need to get away from Melbourne and breathe in that ozone. You can relax in one of the cafes or historic pubs, have a great meal, build sandcastles, and swim or surf in the waters of Port Phillips Bay. But what makes St Kilda special is that it's an authentic seaside resort with esplanade, fun fair, and pier, just the place to enjoy the grand old style holiday experience.
What would a beachside resort be like without an esplanade to stroll along and take in the evening air? St Kilda's grand esplanade forms one of the suburb's most enticing thoroughfares along with Acland Street.
It's home to the famed Esplanade Hotel known as The Espy to insiders. The Espy offers the best views in the whole area, especially from the upper floors. There are also pool tables, a restaurant, and rooms offering musical performances such as the Gershwin Room. The Espy tends to get packed out on weekends when popular bands are playing.
The Esplanade is also home to the St Kilda Esplanade Arts & Crafts Market. Held every Sunday, the market features around 150 stalls hawking a variety of original art and handcrafts.
As for fun fairs, St Kilda is home to the daddy of them all, Luna Park with its renowned gaping mouth entrance. Located on the Lower Esplanade just a stroll from the beach, Luan Park features a historic roller coaster, the Scenic Railway, which is the world's oldest continually running roller coaster. Ride this roller coaster and enjoy amazing views over the bay.
The park opened in 1912 and has undergone many a facelift, the most recent in 2001. Now it offers a total of 16 attractions including G Force, Shock Drop and Pharaoh's Curse. One of the most popular rides is the Carousel, originally constructed in 1913 for an amusement park in Sydney. It was moved to Luna Park in 1918.
Another essential component of an authentic seaside resort is a pier. St Kilda Pier is a local landmark that also features grand views of the bay and the Melbourne skyline. It’s the setting for a range of fun activities such as strolling, cycling, roller blading and fishing. It's also the place to get a ferry to Williamstown.
Finally we’ll look at the pier, without which no seaside resort would be complete. A pier was originally built in 1859 here after a storm destroyed the Fitzroy Street jetty, and the kiosk was completed in 1904. In 1970 the pier was torn down and replaced with reinforced concrete.
Then in 2003 the kiosk was burned down. It was restored over the following years from original plans with a new café at the back with a public viewing deck on top. Interactive panels along the pier's length outline the pier's history. The kiosk is open daily from 8 am until dark and the restaurant from noon until 11pm.
St Kilda makes a great place to base yourself during your Melbourne holiday. You'll find plenty of great St Kilda hotels including the Cosmopolitan Boutique Hotel Melbourne and the Easystay @ The Bayside Motel Melbourne.
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