Melbourne/Western suburbs

The Western suburbs of Melbourne include the areas of Airport West, Caroline Springs, Essendon, Kensington, Flemington, Footscray, Keilor, Melton, Point Cook, Sunshine, Sydenham, Werribee, Williamstown and Yarraville. Many of these suburbs will hold no interest for travellers but a few such as Footscray and Yarraville attract tourists for their restaurants and bars, while Flemington and Moonee Ponds may attract tourists for special events such as horseracing.

Footscray


A number of frequent bus routes also operate from the CBD to Footscray. The 402 operates every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes on weekends from St Vincents Plaza through the inner-north suburb of Carlton to Footscray. The 220 also operates through Queen Street from Gardenvale to Sunshine via Footscray, operating every 15 minutes on weekdays.

While Footscray is not connected directly to the city by tram, the route 82 from Leeds Street, 150 m from the train station, runs to the Moonee Ponds bus and tram interchange on Mount Alexander Road, which connects with trams to the city and north-western suburbs, with buses that run to the north-west and cut across the northern suburbs.

By train
Trains on both the Werribee and Williamstown lines stop at, and  railway stations. Both lines officially originate at Flinders Street station in the city centre, but most trains come from Frankston. Trains on these lines almost never run through the City Loop, but some trains on the Werribee line run express through Yarraville and Spotswood stations. All trains on the Williamstown line stop at all stations.

At Newport, the lines diverge, with local Werribee trains running through the Altona Loop to Seaholme, Altona and Westona. station is most likely to be useful to a visitor, as it is located just next to the Altona shops and a very short walk from Altona Beach.

The Williamstown line continues to, , and stations. North Williamstown is closest to the main shopping area in Williamstown, Williamstown Beach is closest to the beach, and Williamstown is closest to Point Gellibrand.

By road
From the city, take the West Gate Freeway. If travelling to Spotswood, Newport or Williamstown, take the Williamstown Road exit (number W6) and turn left (follow signs for Williamstown). If travelling to Altona, take the Millers Road exit (number W7) and turn left (follow signs for Altona).

From Geelong or south-western Victoria, take the Princes Freeway and exit at Kororoit Creek Road (exit 11). Turn left and follow the signs for your destination, as this road connects to multiple suburbs in Hobsons Bay, including both Williamstown and Altona.

By bicycle
There is a bike route from Docklands in the city centre to Altona, and a second from Port Melbourne to Altona. Both go via Spotswood and Williamstown. To ride from Docklands to Williamstown or Altona, start on the bike path on Footscray Road. The cycle path is obvious most of the way, however near the Newport Power Station, there are a few diverging paths. Most of these quickly end or turn into dirt paths, so you'll quickly know if you've gone the wrong way. If in doubt, it can be best to look at a map, although staying right at each fork in the path generally works too.

The route from Port Melbourne is slightly more convoluted and includes a ferry (see below for more details). It could also be easily followed from most eastern bayside suburbs, as the bike path is continuous. From the Bay Trail (which runs along the beach), head east and follow it as it turns up Todd Road, passes under the West Gate Freeway and enters Westgate Park. Within Westgate Park, the path can be difficult to follow, but almost all of the paths form a loop, which means that you should end up in the right place in the end. The correct path goes under the West Gate Freeway again, so looking at a map could be useful at this point. Once out of Westgate Park, the path goes under the West Gate Freeway a third time. About 100 metres beyond the freeway is the Westgate Punt landing jetty. Take the ferry across the Yarra River. The brick building visible ahead is the Pumping Station at Scienceworks. If you're not visiting Scienceworks, turn left on the other side of the pipeline and follow the path. This is the same path as the one from Docklands.

By train


Regional trains on the Geelong and Warrnambool lines call at and  stations. Please note that alighting from these services at Footscray and Sunshine station (from Southern Cross Station) is illegal, and ticket inspectors often wait at the V/Line platforms to issue fines.

By bus
Bus route 439 departs from Werribee railway station and goes to Werribee South (which will be of no interest to most visitors) via Werribee Park and the zoo. The service operates roughly hourly in each direction every day of the week, although it is important to note that services leaving Werribee station before about 9AM will not stop at Werribee Park or the zoo. There are also no buses towards Werribee station from Werribee Park or the zoo after about 4:45PM, depending on the day of the week.

By road
The Princes Freeway conveniently connects most Wyndham suburbs to the city centre and Geelong. For the Werribee town centre, get off at the Duncans Road exit-ramp and turn right, about 30 minutes from the city.

Buy
Downtown Footscray has a great community feel, with a dozen streets filled with small businesses. As well as the listings below, Footscray has a number of interesting shops selling traditional African clothing, art and hair products.

While far from being one of Melbourne's shopping destinations, Footscray houses two large markets:



Eat
The inner western suburbs, in particular Footscray and Flemington, are emerging as major players on Melbourne's food scene. In addition to a strong history of Vietnamese restaurants and noodle shops, particularly on Hopkins Street in Footscray, the inner west is emerging as Melbourne's African (Ethiopian in particular) food hub. Ethiopian cuisine, despite the tired old jokes, is an increasingly popular niche in the West due to its combination of approachability and uniqueness; the food is characterized by stews and curries, many vegetarian or vegan, eaten with a slightly sour flatbread known as injera. The many Ethiopian options available throughout western Melbourne are universally inexpensive, generously portioned, and tasty. Many are buffets, all have extensive vegetarian/vegan options, and some are exclusively vegan.



Stay safe
Although the western suburbs are gentrifying fast, they have long had a bad reputation in terms of crime. Now, the western suburbs are generally as safe as anywhere else in Melbourne. Use normal common-sense precautions as in any other large city. Drug users do tend to congregate in Footscray, especially near the station, but they won't bother you.

The inner west suffers from increasing road traffic and congestion. Use Google Maps to find bike lanes if you intend to cycle: new ones are popping up constantly.