Staff writer
Priya Sundaram is a staff writer at MelbourneLyf.
She covers the city’s food and drink, its arts and culture, and the weekly business of working out what is actually worth doing. She has lived across Melbourne’s inner north and writes, for the most part, about places she has been to herself.
Her approach is simple: describe what somewhere is genuinely known for, check the details against a venue’s own page before pointing readers at it, and be honest about the things - opening hours, prices, menus - that change often enough to be worth confirming before you go.
She can be reached at priya@melbournelyf.com.
The central choice for anyone settling in Melbourne is between a CBD apartment and a suburban house. Here is how the two ways of living really differ, beyond the floorplan.
Melbourne is a city of distinct neighbourhoods, and choosing between them matters more than the exact street. Here is how the main areas differ in character, before you look at any listings.
Melbourne's laneway street art is one of the city's signatures, and it changes constantly. Here is where to find it, and how the city ended up with sanctioned graffiti in its centre.
The National Gallery of Victoria is the busiest gallery in the country and its general entry is free. Here is how its two sites work and how to plan a visit.
Markets are one of the best ways to spend a Melbourne weekend, from the historic food halls to the artist stalls of the inner north. Here is how to plan a run of them.
Melbourne organises much of its year around a handful of major events. Here is the calendar that locals plan around, from Moomba in March to the Cup in November.
Melbourne treats the weekend cafe breakfast as something close to a civic ritual. Here is how the city's brunch culture works, and how to order without looking new in town.
The Queen Vic Market has fed Melbourne for more than a century. Here is how to shop and eat there without wasting the trip, including the days it is closed.
The line about Melbourne having four seasons in one day is a cliche because it is true. Here is why the city's weather swings so fast, and how locals actually dress for it.
Melbourne is one of the only cities in the world with a public holiday for a football match it has not yet played. Here is how Grand Final Friday works, and what actually happens across the long weekend.
Late winter is quietly one of the best times to be in the city, if you plan around the cold rather than against it. Here is how to spend a weekend well, indoors and out.
Melbourne's rooftop bars are a warm-weather institution and a cold-weather surprise. Here are the CBD and inner-city ones worth the climb, and how to use them well.
Melbourne's big cultural institutions are world class, close together and, in most cases, free to walk into. Here is how to see the best of them without paying for what you do not need to.
Melbourne's oldest suburb is still its most characterful. Here is how to spend a day in Fitzroy, from Brunswick Street to the Saturday art market, without doing the obvious tourist loop.
Melbourne calls itself the coffee capital of the world, and the laneways are where the claim is made. Here is how the city's coffee culture actually works, and how to order like a local.
Melbourne's Chinatown is one of the oldest in the western world and still one of the best places in the city to eat. Here is how to navigate it, and what to order, dumpling by dumpling.
Some of the best of Melbourne costs nothing at all - the galleries, the gardens, the trams and the markets. Here is how to fill a day in the city without opening your wallet.
