Car Racing -- The annual Australian Formula One Grand Prix takes place in March at Albert Park, about 3km (2 miles) from central Melbourne. Call Ticketek (tel. 13 28 49 in Australia) or check out the Grand Prix's website at www.grandprix.com.au for information on tickets, accommodations, and airfares.
Cricket -- From October through March, cricket's the name of the game in Melbourne. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Brunton Avenue, Yarra Park, Jolimont, is perhaps Australia's most hallowed cricket field. The facility (the main stadium for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic games) can accommodate 97,500 people. For the uninitiated, "one-day" games are the ones to look out for; "Test" games take several days to complete. Buy tickets at the gate or in advance from Ticketmaster (tel. 13 61 00 in Australia; www.ticketmaster.com).
Tours of the MCG and its museum (tel. 03/9657 8864; www.mcg.org.au) start every half-hour daily from 10am to 3pm. Tours take about 75 minutes and cost A$15 (US$12/UK£6) for adults, A$11 (US$8.80/UK£4.40) for children, and A$40 (US$32/UK£16) for a family of four. The tour price includes admission to the Australian Gallery of Sport and the Olympic Museum, which are also at the MCG. They're open daily from 9:30am to 4:30pm. The Olympic Museum traces the development of the modern Olympics with individual display sections for each city. Tours leave from Gate 3 in the Olympic Stand on non-event days only. Also in the complex is a coffee shop that serves snacks and lunch.
Football -- Melbourne's number-one sport is Australian Rules Football -- or simply "the footy" -- a skillful, fast, and sometimes violent game the likes of which you've never seen (unless you have ESPN). Melbourne is home to 10 of the 16 Australian Football League (AFL) teams, with the others coming from Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and Brisbane. The season starts on the third weekend in March and ends with the Grand Final on the last Saturday in September. The most accessible fields are at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (take tram no. 75 along Wellington Parade), Telstra Dome (behind Southern Cross Station in Spencer St.), and the Optus Oval at Carlton (take tram no. 19 from Elizabeth St.). The cheapest tickets cost around A$20 (US$16/UK£8) per person, or A$40 (US$32/UK£16) for a family. For game information, call AFL Headquarters (tel. 03/8663 3000; www.afl.com.au). Buy tickets through Ticketmaster (tel. 13 61 00 in Australia; www.ticketmaster.com.au).
Horse Racing -- The Melbourne Cup, on the first Tuesday in November, has been contested by the best of Australia's thoroughbreds (and a few from overseas) since 1861. Melbourne society puts on a show, dressing up for the occasion, and the entire nation stops in its tracks to at least tune in on TV.
The city has four racetracks: Flemington (which holds the Melbourne Cup), 400 Epsom Rd., Flemington (tel. 1300 727 575 in Australia, or 03/8378 0888; www.vrc.net.au); Moonee Valley, McPherson Street, Mooney Ponds (tel. 03/9373 2222; www.mvrc.net.au); Caulfield, Station Street, Caulfield (tel. 03/9257 7200; www.melbourneracingclub.net.au); and Sandown, Racecourse Drive, Springvale (tel. 03/9518 1300). If you're staying in the city center, Flemington and Moonee Valley are the easiest to get to. Take tram no. 57 from Flinders Street to reach the Flemington racetrack, and catch tram no. 59 from Elizabeth Street to Moonee Valley.
Tennis -- The Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam events, is played during the last 2 weeks of January every year at the Melbourne Park National Tennis Centre, Batman Avenue (tel. 03/9286 1244). Tickets go on sale in mid-October and are available through Ticketek (tel. 13 28 49; www.ticketek.com.au) and on the Open's website, www.australianopen.com. To get there, take a train from the Flinders Street Station at the bottom of Swanston Street to Richmond Station and catch the special Tennis Centre tram from there.
