Spending a month in Melbourne, what should we do there?

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We're going to Melbourne for the whole of November. We're staying with some of DH's relatives and going with our DC who will be 12, 11 and 8 by then. Does anyone have any suggestions of where we should go whilst we're there?

Great Ocean Rd. Yarra valley. Healesville zoo. Melbourne Aquarium. Melbourne museum. Federation square. Scienceworks.
For starters. There is a lot to do for DC that age.

If you are there for a month definitely take some time to go to Tasmania - Hobart specifically - for a few days.

Take the children here www.bonorong.com.au/
It's well worth paying for the feed the animals experience.

The Great Ocean Road is aweseome for adults (spectular scenery) but if you have young children you'd be better doing a self drive than a coach trip.

There is so much to do - what kinds of things are you interested in?

Also note that start of November is spring racing carnival (first Tuesday is melbourne cup day which is a public holiday in Melbourne) so there will be loads of horse racing silliness that week / loads of tourists in town.

Take a tram to the beach at St. Kilda. Lygon Street has amazing cake shops 😊

Phillip Island to see the penguins 🐧.
Eat in the restaurants in the Lanes .

A day trip to Philip Island for fairy penguins and seals, gorgeous scenery and food.

You can also see fairy penguins at the end of St Kilda pier at dusk. It's a nice suburb to spend an afternoon... beach, amusement park, amazing Jewish cake shops on Acland St. Great boardwalk with restaurants for a sunset drink.

In the city, wander around Southbank and the arts precinct, there's a market on Sundays, and along the river to Birrarung Marr on a nice day. The art gallery is free.

The museum is fantastic kids and useful on a rainy day, as is Scienceworks. Melbourne Zoo also very well done.

Definitely 2-3 days to do Great Ocean Rd, making sure you spend time at a lovely surf beach like Lorne, around to the Twelve Apostles, and inland to the rainforest in the Otway Ranges (check out Otway Fly and treetop walk online).

Try to get the kids minded and go to a spring horse race event, Melbourne Cup is crazy busy but Oaks or Derby day around the same time is also fun.

Other cool day trips could include Peninsula Hot Springs, a bushwalk (You Yangs, Macedon Ranges or Dandenongs depending on which side of Melbourne you're on), ferry to Williamstown for lunch and for grown ups the Yarra Valley wine trail.