Travel Channel

Antipodes

Melbourne Celebrates its Greek Roots

Lonsdale Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Nearest Train: Melbourne Central train station; Swanston Street trams

As home to the world's third-largest Greek community, the largest outside Greece, it is hardly surprising that Melbourne hosts an annual festival of Hellenic culture. The Antipodes Festival salutes the achievements of the immigrants who arrived in Australia after World War II and celebrates classical and contemporary Greek culture. The largest event is a two-day street party, or Glendi, in Melbourne's Lonsdale Street Greek precinct. It features traditional music, dance and Greek food such as bitter-sweet cakes and souvlaki. The festival also runs a Greek film festival at the Treasury Theatre, 2 McArthur Place, East Melbourne.