Growing up, together: A mother-daughter trip to Melbourne

MELBOURNE – Throughout the show, my 15-year-old daughter and I have been toe-tapping and in-seat grooving to Michael Jackson’s famous pop tunes. By the finale of MJ The Musical (mjthemusical.com.au; tickets from A$80 or S$73), the theatre erupts.

Like the rest of the audience, we are on our feet, dancing and cheering, swept up in the joy of the moment.

When the applause subsides, we look at each other and agree – the male members of our family, her two elder brothers and father, would not be so enthusiastic. We love them dearly, but are thrilled to have four days in Melbourne without them.

My daughter, who began senior high school in February, is leaning into adulthood right before my eyes.

Our relationship is solid, but daily life can be hectic and distracting. She is busy studying, doing extra-curricular activities and navigating the challenges of teenage life. It seems more important than ever to strengthen our relationship, letting her know I am always there for her.

The chosen destination for our mother-daughter trip in December is Melbourne, which neither of us has explored. Along with experiencing a musical, our goals are to stay in an inner-city hotel (her: must have a funky vibe), hunt down some of Melbourne’s tastiest (her: trending) food and, of course, sightsee (her: shop).

Stay and sightsee

Our accommodation of choice is 1 Hotel Melbourne (1hotels.com/melbourne; king rooms from A$345 a night), which opened in June 2025 in the revitalised Docklands precinct. The hotel is visually striking, featuring 7,000 indoor plants, a gym stocked with Technogym machines, and a luxe indoor pool with two saunas and a jacuzzi.

Its sustainable ethos speaks to us both. The property incorporates a heritage-listed shipping goods shed, circa 1895, and its adjacent retired crane. More than 4,500 sq m of recycled timbers have been used, some salvaged from the restoration of the wharf on which the hotel sits. Other sustainability features include solar power, rainwater harvesting and smart energy systems.

In our room, a filtered drinking water tap replaces plastic bottles. There is even a scheme, 1 Less Thing, which allows you to donate an item of clothing to those less fortunate, with hotel staff dropping off these items at a local charity for redistribution.

On our first morning, our top priority is wandering Melbourne’s laneways. We board an iconic city tram, part of the free inner-city tram network, and alight five minutes later in the Central Business District.

Hosier Lane features wild and colourful graffiti and is packed with sightseers. Nearby, AC/DC Lane is surprisingly quiet, and we happily browse the music-inspired, art-splashed walls.

Along Royal Arcade, we admire the quirky mounted figurines of Gog and Magog, two mythical giants that strike the time on a historic clock. The Block Arcade features original mosaic floors from the 1890s and we pop into Australian brand Essensorie to test deliciously scented hand lotions and burner oils.

Eat and cycle

Melbourne has a vibrant food scene and, hoping to encourage decision-making skills, I let my daughter choose our food stops.

She uses her TikTok know-how to guide us to Lune Croissanterie, a bakery with a cult following. It is famous as much for its queues as its pastries, but somehow, we fluke a quiet moment.

We are devouring our decadent treats on public deck chairs in Federation Square when a marauding seagull steals my daughter’s final morsel, en route to her mouth. It is so unexpected, we dissolve into hysterics.

Another day, she deftly uses smartphone navigation, steering us to a pasta and tiramisu cafe called Remo’s. While I demolish the best tiramisu (A$8) of my life, I notice she has ordered something else.

It is then that I realise she does not like the coffee dessert; she brought us here because she knows it is my favourite. It is an unexpected moment of maturity, a source of pride for me.

Keen on some light adventure, we make use of a welcome perk – our hotel’s free e-bikes. Dedicated bike paths start at our hotel door and, after brief instructions, we are soon crossing the river, trundling along to the lush Royal Botanic Gardens.

Another day, we cycle to Port Melbourne, following the bay to traverse the length of St Kilda Pier. We read about the resident fairy penguins, and although we can smell their nests in the rocky breakwall, the nocturnal birds remain elusive.

Sandwich shops are popular in the city, and on our way back, we drop by Hector’s Deli in South Melbourne for the fried chicken schnitzel sandwich (A$17.50). It is doused in tangy, housemade pickle mayonnaise and big enough for us to share.

Before dusk, we ride the lift up to Mexican-inspired diner and bar Mesa Verde. In the tiny garden bar, locals are chatting, surrounded by potted herbs and golden-hour sunlight. We sip teenage-friendly sodas (A$8) and happy-hour frozen margaritas (4 to 6pm daily; A$10), feeling fancy.

Even fancier is dinner in our hotel. We start with mocktails at Crane Bar & Lounge before adjourning to From Here By Mike, which has been awarded a Chef Hat by the Australian Good Food Guide. The restaurant prides itself on highlighting local, seasonal and ethical produce from the state of Victoria with a low-waste ethos.

While just a few years back, my girl was ordering cheesy pasta, tonight, we are relishing sophisticated flavours like spanner crab crumpet (A$25), confit of dry-aged duck with berry jam (A$26) and chargrilled octopus with hazelnut Romanesco sauce (A$30). We do not skip pasta though – the spaghetti with crab, bisque and fermented chilli (A$39) is a standout.

Shop old and new

Finally, I succumb to the shopping, and high on my daughter’s priority list is the new Mecca Bourke Street, the flagship store of the Australian-founded cosmetics brand. The three-storey shop offers not only make-up, but also beautician and hairdressing services, piercings, jewellery and naturopathy, and is heaving with customers.

Sensing my overwhelm, she leads me to the top floor Scentsorium, where we laugh as we inhale various perfumes through high-tech scent machines.

Seeking something less hectic, we take the tram to the nearby suburb of Fitzroy, a hub for vintage clothing stores. We buy nothing, but the chats are priceless.

Leaving for the airport, I realise that travelling with my daughter brings a different perspective to our relationship. As we wandered and lingered, I watched her speak to me more freely, learning to be an adult.

In the blink of an eye, she will no longer need watching over and I will need to find a way to let go. But for now, in the back of the taxi, I reach for her hand and she smiles.