In 'Marvelous Melbourne,' a fine - and fun - arts odyssey

Along those lines, Melbourne's arts offerings have gone kaleidoscopic. The essential guide to its galleries is the Art Almanac, which had 166 illustrated pages for November. It can be found in most bookstores for about $2.25 (US). For an overview of the performing arts, stop at a city information kiosk for the free Arts Centre Event Guide.

The National Gallery of Victoria's NGV International - four airy levels - can devour the better part of a day, exposing visitors to historical Asian and European and ancient Greek and Roman art, as well as contemporary works and new mediums.

Australia's contribution to film finds recognition at the Australian Center for the Moving Image, which also celebrates international moviemaking and houses digital studios that allow guests to play filmmaker.

Next door, the NGV's Ian Potter Centre showcases Australian art. Follow the Icons of Australian Art Trail to hit all the highlights, including some stunning contemporary aboriginal works in ochre.

But a more grass-roots look at current Australian painting - a chance to smell the paint before it dries - calls for a walk east from the city center to quiet Albert Street and the Victorian Artists' Society. With no government support, its 30 or so members get by teaching and renting gallery space, says Ted Dansey, the society's secretary.

Established in 1870, the place exudes a university art-studio feel. The paint on the staircase is chipped, a few light sockets hang empty. Upstairs, two members show their still-life and impressionist work. A plate by the front door invites coin donations.

Mr. Dansey seems pleased to have had a guest - local media attention, he says, is scant. He hurries into his office and emerges with a parting gift - a book published at the society's centennial. Its pages give off a pleasant old-book smell.

A few days in Melbourne suggest the warm gesture is in character. Locals ride the Circle Line alongside map-clutching tourists, weighing in with good advice.

Most Melbourne residents even appear willing to forgive a foreign driver a blown "hook turn" - to make a right at some intersections, you pull to the far left lane and hook left to end up perpendicular to the street on which you were driving. (The idea: Make way for trams in a city where the old rail system has expanded.)

The best of Melbourne, of course, can be found on foot. In a moment that seems choreographed, a driver amiably yields to a bride and groom as they just miss the clicking crosswalk signal and hustle to cross tony Collins Street, the bride gathering up her dress. On the near side, a tiny wedding guest lags behind on the sidewalk.

Like any city, Melbourne has its lowlights. For every artistic jewelry designer - jumping up to show a visitor a one-of-kind opal pendant - a handful of others hawk slivers of the stones at "50 percent discounts."

Queen Victoria Market in the city's northwest sounds alluring and has a meet-the-locals upside - one section of it is devoted to organic produce and eggs. But the bulk of its offerings seem to be goods as cheaply made as county-fair prizes - a plastic "weasel ball" with protruding tail, a T-shirt depicting the American rock band Slipknot.

Yet even in this city of art everywhere, some of Melbourne's vaunted public art draws critics. A bright-yellow piece of ironwork called "Vault" reportedly caused a stir when it hit City Square a few decades ago. It was given the nickname "yellow peril" and banished to a less conspicuous spot.

Most newer installments stay put to become part of the scenery. As landmarks, they can be useful, helping a wanderer find his hotel in the dark. If that's the colossal, track-mounted sculpture "History-Making Apparatus" - and who could mistake it for anything else? - then this must be Russell Street. This must be Melbourne.

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