12 Best Melbourne Markets You Must Experience

Visiting one of Melbourne’s markets is a feast for the senses and a must-do for any visitor to the city. 

Melbourne markets are ideal for shopping, sampling lots of different food and are an opportunity to enjoy cultural experiences. It’s a chance for tourists to experience life like a Melbourne local! 

Melbourne has some big-name markets like Queen Victoria Market, South Melbourne Market, Prahran Market and Dandenong Market, but there are also lots of smaller markets that run at fixed or roving locations, including Melbourne farmers markets and pop up Sunday markets.

Best Melbourne Markets 

1.Queen Victoria Market

Opened over 140 years ago in Melbourne CBD, Queen Victoria Market (also known as Queen Vic or the Vic Market) spans two city blocks with over 600 traders.

Shop Queen Victoria Market for fresh food, and discover speciality grocers, restaurants, cafes and ice-cream stalls. The bustling marketplace is also home to a multitude of traders selling everything from indoor plants to leather goods and Australian souvenirs. 

There are even markets within Queen Victoria Market, such as the Summer Night Market (currently running Wednesday evenings until 6 April 2022) and the Melbourne Book Market (open weekends).

Queen Victoria Market, Victoria Street & Peel Street, Melbourne, 03 9320 5822

Tuesday, Thursday – Saturday 6am – 3pm, Sunday 9am – 4pm

2. South Melbourne Market

Not too far away from the main hustle and bustle of Clarendon Street is South Melbourne Market. 

It’s full of fresh food, cafes and restaurants, food stalls, fresh flowers, speciality groceries, plus fashion and homewares stalls.

Before visiting, check out What’s On to find live music events and special kids’ activities. We highly recommend visiting Paris-inspired Agathe Patisserie for an abundance of fresh pastries and a crusty baguette or two. Cheese lovers will enjoy Emerald Deli – with a dedicated cheese room!

South Melbourne Market, Cnr Coventry and Cecil Sts, South Melbourne, 03 9209 6295

Wednesday 8am – 4pm, Friday 8am – 5pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am – 4pm

3. Prahran Market

Just off famous Chapel Street is Prahran Market, catering to the affluent local population with plenty of fresh organic produce, sustainable seafood and free-range meat. 

The Commercial Road location has been home to this iconic Melbourne market since 1891, and the market atmosphere of times gone by is still cherished with plenty of speciality traders.

A major drawcard to Prahran Market is the regular kids’ activities and live music, including free face painting and the Mexican Music Man on weekdays.

Prahran Market, Commercial Road, South Yarra, Melbourne 03 8290 8220

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 7am – 5pm, Sunday 10am – 3pm

4. Arts Centre Melbourne Sunday Market

Every Sunday, between Hamer Hall and the iconic Arts Centre spire, is the Sunday Market, stocked full of locally made wares.

The original Sunday market in Melbourne CBD offers numerous one-of-a-kind treasures and quirky finds with woodwork, leather goods, jewellery and crafts. I suggest trying the poffertjes when the stall is open – they’re delicious!

Arts Centre Melbourne Sunday Market, St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 03 9281 8581

Sunday 10am – 4pm

5. St Kilda Esplanade Market

For over 50 years, the St Kilda Esplanade Market has been an icon of St Kilda and Melbourne. 

Shoppers browse stalls along the Esplanade while taking in the view and the sights of St Kilda Beach. 

Stalls are all run by people who had a hand in making the goods, including health and well-being, jewellery, arts and crafts, fashion and food stalls with donuts, coffee, and more. 

Regular buskers entertain visitors at the market, and dogs on leads are welcome to accompany their humans.

St Kilda Esplanade Market, The Esplanade, St Kilda, Melbourne 03 9209 6634

Sunday 10am – 4pm AEST and 10am – 5pm AEDST

6. Dandenong Market

Visit Dandenong Market, one of Melbourne’s oldest markets, to bag a bargain and experience multicultural wares in a traditional working market.

You can taste street eats from around the world in the Market Hall and shop at 200 traders, including homewares, fashion, shoes, plants, fresh food, deli goods and more. Make sure you grab a hot jam donut from Dandee’s Donuts! 

Dandenong Market also hosts a vibrant calendar of events and market tours.

Dandenong Market, Clow Street, Dandenong, Melbourne 03 9701 3850

Tuesday, Friday, Saturday 4am – 6pm, Sunday 7am – 6pm

7. The Rose Street Artists’ Market

Right off trendy Brunswick Street is the iconic Rose Street Artists’ Market – a Fitzroy market with up to 120 creatives on display. 

Modelled on markets in London, Berlin, and New York, this is a unique opportunity to meet the people behind the creations and learn more about their process while scoring unique pieces, like fashion, art, and jewellery.

The Rose Street Artists’ Market, 60 Rose Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne 0414 803 228

Saturday & Sunday 10am – 4pm

8. Fitzroy Market

The Fitzroy Market operates every Saturday at the Fitzroy Mills Market site. Its 70 stalls are full of food, seasonal goods, artisan, handmade, preloved and vintage goods. There’s also live music to enjoy and a friendly vibe. 

Even better, it’s right next to Rose Street Artists’ Market for a 2-for-1 market experience!

Fitzroy Market, The Fitzroy Mills Market, 75 Rose Street Fitzroy, Melbourne

Saturday 9am – 2p

9. Chinatown Melbourne Market

Chinatown Melbourne Market is a vibrant night market in Chinatown in Melbourne’s CBD held on Fridays and Saturdays. Head there to try street foods cooked before your eyes in one of the world’s oldest Chinatowns. 

Chinatown Melbourne Market, Heffernan Lane, Melbourne

Friday & Saturday evenings

10. Camberwell Market

It’s hard to predict what you’ll discover each week at Camberwell Sunday Market – but it’s always interesting there! 

Regular visitors have made Camberwell Market part of their Sunday routine, with weird and wonderful (sometimes even valuable) purchases being made over the decades since its inception.

While you’ll always find beautiful fresh flowers, plants and street food – the rest is a second-hand mystery until you get there. 

Look out for vintage, retro and antique wares, homewares, Gen Z cleaning out their wardrobes and general decluttering.

Take plenty of cash to Camberwell because many stallholders don’t accept cards. You’ll also need a gold coin donation for Rotary on the way into the market.

Camberwell Sunday Market, Market Place, Camberwell, Melbourne

Sunday 7am – 12:30pm (except Sundays that fall between 15 December and Christmas Day)

11. Melbourne Farmers Markets

Looking for the freshest produce in Melbourne and the opportunity to meet the farmers that grow it?

Melbourne Farmers Markets hold vibrant farmers in various locations mostly in Melbourne’s north and north-east and every market is dedicated to promoting Victorian food and producers. The farmers and producers who attend the markets are accredited with the Victorian Farmers Markets Association, which means they have genuinely grown, reared, caught, baked or made the food they are selling.

Melbourne Farmers Markets
Various times and locations

12. Other Notable Melbourne Markets

Other regular markets worth visiting around Melbourne’s suburbs include the Docklands Sunday Community Market, Williamstown Community Market, Yarraville Village Farmers Market and Yarraville Village Craft Market, run by Melbourne Markets.  

Melbourne Markets are community markets, held in the fresh air, with products ranging from baked goods to fresh produce and craft.

Melbourne Markets, 0412 910 496
Various times and locations

TOT: HOT OR NOT is Melbourne and Victoria’s largest and longest-running family travel site. 

It is a trusted resource for people looking for things to do and places to go with children in Melbourne, Regional Victoria and the world. It contains 1000+ curated reviews and tips gathered through 10 years of exploration and experience. 

The site is produced by Joyce Watts, an inner-city mum of two, writer and photographer and proud Melburnian.