Harbour city, Docklands

I've never gone shopping there - what do you recommend?

Hi WishfulThinking,

Have you actually been there? I was down at Harbour City roughly a month ago, and I was not impressed. It was very windy, and very cold. I suppose it suffers from the same problems as the Docklands. It just felt really cold to me...I guess it will take a while before it takes off, I have no doubt it wheel. Perhaps when the big wheel is fixed :)

One of the major problems for me is that to get there, you really have to drive through the city to get to it, and in that case, I just go shopping in the city instead. I was not that impressed.

AJ

Harbour city still seems like a ghost town, I went there a while ago.

Driving over the M1 I noticed a new Discount Factory Outlet, Borders Books and other new stores going in next door to the Hilton and the Convention Center? This should help generate foot traffic.

Perhaps Costco has pumped it up a bit being in the area? The big wheel being dismantled can't have helped either.

@AJ, I have a solution for the traffic issue. On the weekend we put our boat in at Williamstown boat ramp and drove the boat along the Yarra (is it the Yarra??) to Docklands, berthed in one of the public bays there, enjoyed lunch at Moored - then with my take away latte', jumped back in the boat and headed back to Williamstown.
Apart from a wrong turn which saw us nearly outside the Casino :) it was stress free, slightly amusing and something different.
And no issue with parking or traffic. I do agree though.. Windy and not exactly warm.
Highly recommended transport option though.

It is gorgeous to cruise around the Yarra and provides a view of Melbourne most of us havent seen. Frustrating about the 5 knot speed limit though, takes you a while coming from Williamstown.

@Vecci2004 sounds AMAZING! Very jealous :) I think summer will be very kind to you I think. What size boat do you have berthed at Williamstown? And I've never had lunch at Moored...any good?

@JVS - The 5 knot speed does mean you have little choice but to absorb the "scenery" along the way.. i am still very much bemused when along side a huge cargo ship (is it just me or is everyone else also baffled by the water displacement theory!)
@AJ - i have to say, As for our boat - i would love to say we have a Whittley Cruiser 2600, but - unfortunately we boat at essentially the opposite end of the boating spectrum (not a canoe, but close ;) ) Our little boat, berthed next to a WC in docklands, caused a high level of amusement to many a spectator. But hey - its the experience right!? As long as i am on, in or near the water - Summer will be very kind to me.

Harbour Town is the biggest stuff up; clearly didnt do their research where the retail and restaurants are all outdoors... A model that works well in the northern states of Australia, not Melbourne - the state of 4 seasons in one day. DFO Southwharf is everything that Harbour Town should have been...

@Vecci2004 I totally agree, as long as you are near the water, it's all good!!

@lala81 DFO Southwarf I've never been? Any good?

AJ - DFO Southwharf is great! JB Hi Fi, Borders, Gap, and all the other usual DFO suspects. The Esplanade down there will be great when its finished. The good thing about Southwharf is that it doesnt suffer the same wind tunnels that the structures down at Docklands created...