Up All Night

Next time Lionel Richie comes to Melbourne, he’ll no doubt be excited that, thanks to Public Transport Victoria’s Night Network, he can party all night long.

On Friday and Saturday nights, trams along key routes run every half hour until regular services start again the next morning. It means that no matter how late you end up staying out, you’ll be able to get back to wherever you’re staying. Here are some highlights on the lines.

Tram 19

This route takes you along Sydney Road, Brunswick, a buzzing strip that parties well into the night. The Retreat Hotel(open till 3am Friday and Saturday nights) is a pillar of Melbourne’s live music scene. If you like your music with a bit more of a beat, DJs keep the Railway Hotel (till 6am) pumping until breakfast time.

Tram 75

Rolling along Bridge Road on route 75, you’d almost miss the Bridge Hotel (till 3am) unless you knew where it was. A trendy pub with well-priced wines and late-night fun every weekend, it’s the perfect spot to go after a fine Italian meal at Romulus & Remus (till midnight) a few doors down.

Tram 67

South of the city there are plenty of options for late-night revelry. For something a little more relaxed, stay on the tram until you reach Glenhuntly Road and stop for a cocktail or two inside the candlelit Antique Bar (till 3am).

Tram 86

Once labelled the ‘coolest route in town’, this line from Docklands through the inner northern suburbs and to La Trobe University hits all the trendy streets. There’s no hotter restaurant precinct right now than the area around Smith and Gertrude Streets. Forester’s Hall (till 4am) serves pizza until 2am, and one of the area’s most resilient live music venues, Yah Yah’s (till 5am), usually has one gig each weekend kicking off at 2am.