Rod Laver Arena

Melbourne


This giant, versatile space with a retractable roof is used for headline international concerts and the Australian Open tennis championship. It's not the most atmospheric of venues, but then it’s all about the spectacle.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Melbourne attractions

1. Holden Centre

0.18 MILES

Built to host the swimming events for the 1956 Olympic Games, this dramatically shaped structure is now used by the Collingwood AFL club as a training…

2. Melbourne Cricket Ground

0.29 MILES

With a capacity of 100,000 people, the "G" is one of the world’s great sporting venues, hosting cricket in summer and AFL (Australian Football League,…

3. Federation Bells

0.31 MILES

Created to celebrate the centenary of Australia’s federation in 2001, these 39 brass bells perch on the upper level of Birrarung Marr and ring out three…

4. Australian Sports Museum

0.36 MILES

Hidden away in the bowels of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, this sports museum features exhibits focusing on Australia’s favourite sports and historic…

5. Birrarung Marr

0.38 MILES

Multi-terraced Birrarung Marr is one of Melbourne’s most unique parks, featuring grassy knolls, river promenades, thoughtful planting of Indigenous flora…

6. Government House

0.44 MILES

On the outer edge of the Botanic Gardens, this Italianate Government House dates from 1872. A replica of Queen Victoria’s Osborne House on England’s Isle…

7. Cooks' Cottage

0.49 MILES

Built in 1755, this humble family cottage lays claim to being the oldest building in Australia, but that's sidestepping the fact that it was shipped from…

8. Scar Tree

0.49 MILES

This fenced-off stump of a river red gum is a rare reminder of pre-colonial Melbourne. The bark was removed by the local Wurundjeri people with a stone…