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From the Claimradar journal

What Actually Makes a Richmond Weekend Worth It

Written by the Claimradar team Richmond, Victoria Six minute read
Most people visiting Melbourne book something in the CBD and then spend the whole trip getting in and out of it. Richmond is the smarter play, and I say that as someone who has worked in this postcode long enough to have opinions. You are two tram stops from the city, but you get a neighbourhood that actually feels like one: bakeries that open at six, pubs that have been there since your grandfather was young, and the Yarra running along the western edge of it like someone planned it that way. The weekend really starts on Friday around four, when Bridge Road shifts gear. You can walk from the hotel to a decent bowl of pho in under ten minutes, grab a flat white on the way back, and still be sitting on a rooftop with something cold in your hand by six. That is the thing people miss when they stay downtown. In Richmond everything is close enough to be spontaneous, which is the whole point of a weekend away. Saturday morning is where a lot of visitors waste their time queuing. My advice is to skip the famous places and go east instead. The stretch around Swan Street has the same quality without the forty-minute wait, and you can be back in the room with pastries by nine. If you have booked a penthouse, the terrace is where that breakfast belongs. Sitting above Church Street with the city still hazy in the distance is a genuinely good way to start a day, and no café in Melbourne can sell you that. By Sunday you should be slowing down, and Richmond rewards that too. Walk the river trail towards Studley Park, take a long lunch somewhere on Church Street, and leave the afternoon loose. The best weekends here are the ones with no itinerary, a comfortable bed waiting, and the knowledge that the airport is only twenty-five minutes away when reality comes calling. Book the room, leave the plan at home, and see how the neighbourhood fills it in for you.

The best stays at Claimradar are the ones where nothing has to be arranged twice.

A line our head of guest services uses in every briefing. It holds up.

Got a question about this piece, or want to see the rooms for yourself? Call the team on +61 3 8472 6193 or email claimradar@gmail.com.

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