With the craziness of 2020 behind us (knock on wood!) it’s time to start getting excited about doing special things with your loved ones again. We’ve put together a list of our top 10 things to do on Valentine’s Day in Melbourne, The Nonsense Maker style!
Send Valentine’s Day cards
If there is one thing we learned from lockdown, it’s that you don’t need to be physically with someone to want to show them how much they mean to you. Telling someone you love them will never go out of style, and neither will a hand written heart felt Valentine’s Day card.
The best thing about sending a card is there is no limit to how far you can spread that love! Friends overseas, lovers interstate, neighbours next door, send as many as you want, as far as you like!
Where to find the perfect card
Support local by buying a card from one of Australia’s many talented artists this Valentine’s Day. Depending on your location, here are a few great little shops that are stocking greeting cards from independent Australian artists this Valentine’s Day:
-
LoveLuvo, Seddon VIC
-
Hope Street Space, Brunswick VIC
-
Avonsleigh General Store, Avonsleigh VIC
-
Dymocks, Sydney NSW
-
Paperjamm, Indooroopilly QLD
-
Ebb and Flow, Manly QLD
-
Field Trip, Balhannah SA
-
Meet Gather Collect, Canberra ACT
-
Lily and Dot, Hobart TAS
Visit the gallery
Running from December through to April, the NGV Triennial is a wonderful exhibition featuring contemporary artists and designers from all over the world, and it’s totally free! You and your Valentine can easily spend an entire day here exploring the many different rooms and interacting with the exhibitions. Modern art isn’t for everyone, but like it or not you certainly won’t run out of things to talk about here!
Have a picnic
2020 was the year of the picnic and we loved it! Restrictions or not, we want to keep this trend going. Undoubtedly romantic, people have been wooing each other on picnics since the begging of time. Here are a few of our favourite Melbourne picnic spots to take your Valentine to this February.
-
Royal Botanic Gardens, South Yarra
-
Edinburgh Gardens, Fitzroy North
-
Rippon Lea House, Elsternwick
-
Fairfield Park and Boathouse, Fairfield
-
One Tree Hill Picnic Grounds, Tremont
Not from Melbourne? Take a look at the linked articles for great Valentine’s Day picnic spots near Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart.
See a movie
As much as we love cuddling up on the couch with Netflix and ice cream, there is nothing quite like visiting a cinema for an extra romantic Valentine’s Day experience. Here are our favourite cinemas around Melbourne.
Coburg Drive-in
Old fashioned romance is on the cards at this nostalgic 1950’s themed drive-in cinema. Bring some blankets from home and snuggle up in the boot of your car with your Valentine and a bucket of popcorn.
Pentridge cinema Outdoor sessions
Melbourne’s newest cinema, this place has the bizarre bonus of being situated inside the historic walls of Pentridge Prison. This summer they also have an open-air cinema, with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet playing over the Valentine’s Day weekend.
The Sun Theatre Yarraville
This boutique art deco cinema first opened in 1938 and still holds a lot of the original charm, but with the added bonus of a bar and comfortable seats!
Go bush(ish)
It’s been rough year for our country dwelling friends. They need us to start heading out of the city and stimulating their local economies. With adorable country towns like Maldon, Castlemaine and Daylesford offering some of the best local produce, art and music, what more motivation do you need?
Eat something fancy
They say the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, and we wholeheartedly agree with this one! Impress your date with the modern French food at Hell of the North in Fitzroy, which is co-owned by the owners of The Rose Street Artists Market. We also love Congress for extra fancy Australian dinning, and Bar Idda for mouth-watering Sicilian in an intimate setting.
Drink something fancy
What better way to end your perfect Valentine’s Day than with a drink in an intimate bar? Melbourne has so many romantic little bars perfect for Valentine’s day. Step back in time at 1806 in the city, or find a quiet corner at The Everleigh in Fitzroy.
Do a fun activity
If you and your Valentine don’t mind a bit of healthy competition, you might be looking for more adventurous things to do on Valentine’s Day. It’s hard to go past the old school classics here – bowling, mini golf, or even hitting the roller skating rink for some 70’s style romance.
For a more adrenaline fuelled adventure iFly in Essendon is sure to get your Valentine’s heart racing, and I’m not just talking about the (not so) raunchy jumpsuits you get to wear while flying. This indoor sky diving experience lets you fly above the ground in a controlled environment, no jumping out of planes necessary!
See some live music
Melbourne is lucky enough to have one of the best live music scenes in Australia. With so many amazing venues all over the city hosting great local talent and international artists, there really is something for everyone. Keep an eye out for upcoming gigs this Valentine’s Day, or play a game of live music roulette and just pop in to your closest venue! Here are some to try.
-
The Corner Hotel, Richmond
-
The Northcote Social Club, Northcote
-
The Espy, St Kilda
-
Section 8, CBD
-
Howler, Brunswick
Spend the day with your friends
Who said Valentine’s day is only for couples? Valentine’s day celebrates all forms of love, which absolutely includes your best friends! Here at The Nonsense Maker HQ we are lucky enough to spend every day with our best friend, but for those of you that aren’t so lucky use this weekend as an excuse to have a great time with the greatest people.
Join our world: become a friend of The Nonsense Maker!
Did you enjoy these Valentine's Day ideas? We update our blog regularly with handy tips, tricks, and ideas for fellow Nonsense Makers. Scroll down to the footer to sign up to our mailing list, and we will let you know when there are new articles to be read!
