People sitting on the banks of a river in the city.

What's free and what's open on the Easter long weekend

What's better than a three-day weekend? That would be a four-day weekend! Take your Easter break to the next level with the city's best comedy shows, exhibits, theatre and more.

When are the Easter long weekend public holidays?

In 2026, Good Friday falls on 3 April and Easter Monday falls on 6 April.

When do the Easter school holidays start?

The Easter school holidays start on Friday 3 April and end on Sunday 19 April 2026.

What’s free on the long weekend

A person dressed in yellow, holding a small yellow bunny close to their face, the entire image drenched with a yellow filter.

Lygon Street Market

Celebrate your Easter Sunday at The Lygon Street Market.

The foyer of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Convention and Exhibition Centre, with balloons and banners overhead, and a large sign above a doorway with the words 'good friday appeal' written on it.

Kids Day Out

A family fun festival day out, hosted by The Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

Animator and filmmaker Adam Elliot working on a claymation set, adjusting characters.
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Making Memoir of a Snail

Explore handmade sets, props and characters from Adam Elliot's claymation film Memoir of a Snail.

Person looking at a display in a glass case, rows of colourful books in the background.
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World of the Book

Explore the rare, the sacred and the iconic in the 20th anniversary of this annual exhibition.

Market stallholder with her puppet toys, beside the Yarra River in the CBD.
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The Sunday Market at Southgate

Explore the Sunday Market at Southgate and meet the makers.

Some of the best events on during the long weekend

A large caramel chocolate egg with 24 karat gold leaf, resting on a small platter with a sprig of a native Australian bush.

Mörk Chocolate City

Enjoy Mörk's take on the Hot Cross Bun or their Easter egg dessert experience. Daily until Easter.

Special offer
A pink tea cup with a gold handle and a small bunny-shaped treat on a matching saucer, with a gold spoon and a pink teapot in the background.

Easter Wonderland High Tea at Collins Kitchen

Enjoy a decadent Easter-themed High Tea Wonderland at Collins Kitchen.

A woman and child sit in a museum, looking up at a glass case displaying a preserved human body posed in a dramatic leap, with exposed muscles visible.
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Body Worlds: The Anatomy of Happiness

Discover what lies behind the skin to reveal how our health, emotions and environment impact us.

Painting of two individuals in a parking lot setting. A woman in a red top is perched on the roof of a vehicle, while a man stands nearby looking toward her.
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Top Arts

Top Arts 2026 offers a captivating look into the inventive and imaginative spirit of young artists.

Novelty wind-up chattering teeth against a yellow background.
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Weekend Showcase: Basement Comedy Club

See the very best of Australian standup comedians perform four days a week during the holidays.

Two people seated below a neon sign.
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The Story of the Moving Image

A permanent exhibition that journeys through the past, present and future of the moving image.

An early watercolour painting of ³Ô¹ÏÍø's Yarra River.
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Yarra: Stories of ³Ô¹ÏÍø's River

Explores the chequered history of the stream we call the ‘city’s river’.

Four cabaret performers surrounded by pink and yellow feather fans.
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Cabaret Ridiculous

An hour of variety entertainment that’s as unpredictable as it is unforgettable.

A large group of people in active wear all running on a path in park.
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Run the Tan: Run Club

Start the weekend off on the right foot with a run around the Tan.

Three people walking with a Fit City tour guide through a leafy laneway in central ³Ô¹ÏÍø.
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History and Donuts Walking Tour

History, laneways and donuts – explore ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s sweet side on this 2.5-hour walking tour.

A woman walking through a display with shelves of military-style food packages.
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Taste of Combat

Honouring the vital work of the Catering Corps and the evolution of military food.

A plate of fluffy pancakes with ice-cream and chocolate over the top.
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Chocolate Family Adventure Day

Enjoy an all-inclusive, stress-free family outing filled with fun, creativity, and delicious treats.

People looking up at the trees on a guided walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
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Aboriginal Heritage Walk

Wominjeka: journey into ³Ô¹ÏÍø Gardens with an Aboriginal guide.

People participating in a Capoeira Angola class, with two people dancing and moving in the centre of a seated group of onlookers.
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Capoeira Angola: Ecamar

A Capoeira Angola class blending martial arts, dance, music and culture.

Historic photo of protesters at a women's rights demonstration.
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Protest ³Ô¹ÏÍø

An exhibition about Victoria's long history of public protest.

Hand holding a brush over marbled pattern in a water bath.
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Water Marbling Workshop

Learn the art of water marbling and apply it to textiles.

Family activities during the long weekend

Twinkle Hollow

Collect virtual eggs during your VR game session, and exchange them for chocolate Easter eggs.

Special offer
A male performer dressed in a red ringmaster-style jacket and black trousers on a stage with blue and red lighting, holding a stick and gesturing with his other hand during a circus and magic show.
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The Greatest Magic Show!

The Greatest Magic Show is a spectacular packed with magic, comedy and larger-than-life fun.

A family of four wearing pyjamas and sleepmasks lying on mattresses in a museum with lamps, dinosaur skeleton in the background.
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Family Museum Sleepovers

Explore the museum after dark in this unique overnight experience at ³Ô¹ÏÍø Museum.

Three children looking at colourful pamphlets while standing on the stairs inside the Old ³Ô¹ÏÍø Gaol.
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Billie B Brown and the Case of the Missing Treasure

Join Billie B and the Secret Mystery Club as they take on one of their trickiest cases yet.

A male circus performer in a purple jacket and black pants stands on a stage in a circus tent under bright lights, holding a flaming torch, with an audience watching and a large CIRCUS sign in the background.
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Circus The Show

A family circus spectacular that families are raving about.

A male performer operates a large, yellow, barrel-shaped smoke cannon, which fires a large, blue-lit smoke vortex across a dark stage during a live science show.
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Kaboom!

See Australia’s favourite family science show.

Young children playing in a tunnel structure at the Children's Gallery at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Museum.
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Autumn School Holidays at ³Ô¹ÏÍø Museum

Autumn adventures await at ³Ô¹ÏÍø Museum.

A portion of an ancient Roman colonnade at an archaeological site, against a blue sky.
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Mosaic Monuments

A drop-in activity that invites families to step into the world of ancient Rome!

Man wearing a tuxedo performing sleight of hands tricks with a glass in front of a seated audience.
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³Ô¹ÏÍø Magic Show

Enjoy a theatrical magic experience like no other.

Two people standing on the 'ceiling' of an inverted living room.

House Down Under

Australia’s favourite inverted house photo experience brings topsy-turvy fun to ³Ô¹ÏÍø.

Three women joining hands and fooling around against a fantasy backdrop.

ArtVo

An interactive 3D art gallery with optical illusions that visitors can touch and explore.

Family in a glass tunnel looking up at a very large stingray.

SEA LIFE ³Ô¹ÏÍø Aquarium

Discover thousands of aquatic animals in four enchanting worlds at this top ³Ô¹ÏÍø attraction.

Where to eat and drink on the long weekend

Exterior of Bottega restaurant on Bourke St showing surrounding buildings, and patrons dining on the footpath.

Bottega

Offering timeless Italian dining on Bourke Street.

Rooftop bar with white paving, white seating and tables, green-tiled bar with city buildings in the background.

Hotel Nacional

An entirely gluten-free Mexican-inspired rooftop bar and restaurant.

People dining outside at Florentino Cellar Bar in Bourke Street.

Florentino

Florentino has set the bar for Italian fine dining in ³Ô¹ÏÍø since 1928.

A table set for two with a pizza on one plate and a pasta dish on the other, with two glasses and a carafe of red wine.

Ombra

Guy Grossi's Ombra serves cured meats, Venetian tapas and excellent wines to share.

A bartender making a cocktail at Arlechin.

Arlechin

Arlechin is an intimate cocktail and wine bar.

Array of dishes including bread and dips, salads and meat.

Stalactites Restaurant

One of ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s longest established and best-known Greek restaurants.

Diners seated at tables at an outdoor rooftop bar in the fading evening sunlight.

Johnny's Green Room

A rooftop bar above King & Godfree with great views, tunes and Italian inspired food and drinks.

Neon-lit entrance to Yakimono restaurant.

Yakimono

Yakimono is a high energy Japanese-inspired eating house.

People gathered at tables in an outdoor eating area wiht umbrellas.

The Terrace

Chocolate covered strawberries, gelato and a curated seasonal menu within The Botanical Gardens.

People seated outside under shade umbrellas at a rooftop bar

Good Heavens

Rooftop bar on Bourke Street serving fabulous cocktails, craft beer and Australian wine.

Restaurant interior with wooden floors, tables and chairs, windows looking onto greenery and moody lighting.

Hacienda Cocina Mexicana

Brash, loud, bold and fun, delivering honest Mexican food and great cocktails.

A French bistro-style restaurant with seated patrons and an open kitchen.

Maison Bâtard

Chris Lucas' Maison Bâtard heralds a grand new legacy for a heritage Bourke Street site.

Inside a dimly-lit restaurant, showing a long bar and several tables.

Maha

This opulent, award-winning restaurant brings Middle Eastern flavours to modern fine dining.

Exterior of restaurant Grill Americano, showing windows and blue awnings.

Grill Americano

Offering Italian classics with signature Chris Lucas spin in sophisticated surrounds.

Interior of Chin Chin restaurant, filled with patrons seated at dining tables, high ceilings giving an industrial warehouse feel to the busy space.

Chin Chin

A fast-paced hawker-style dining sensation serving Thai-inspired food.

Entrance to Brunetti's showing tables outside, large doors and the coffee bar counter.

Brunetti Classico

Brunetti Classico Carlton boasts one of ³Ô¹ÏÍø's biggest arrays of cakes and pastries.

Outdoor diners under gas heaters on Lygon Street.

Tiamo

Tiamo is a traditional Italian cafe serving classic Italian dishes for decades.

A table with several wood-fired pizzas and someone pouring a beer.

Roccella

An all-day dining Italian restaurant located across from the Fitzroy Gardens.

Interior of Central Club Hotel showing curved art-deco bar, soft lighting and patrons eating and drinking at high bench tables and the bar area.

Central Club Hotel

Great craft beer and delicious market-to-table food, opposite the Queen Victoria Market.

Street view into a large white warehouse style building, with the words EziStreat written in red type above the open roller door; a car parked on the street and people milling around at the entrance.

EziStreat

EziStreat transforms North ³Ô¹ÏÍø into a multicultural culinary melting pot of food and fun.

Visitor centres open on Good Friday

Two people in a local handicrafts store, one in a red uniform showing the other some products.

³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Hub

Located in the centre of the city, the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Hub can provide helpful advice and tips.

A man getting help from an information stand in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Booth

The ³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Booth is your go-to spot for maps, tips, and recommendations.

The ³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Pod in City Square, with a translucent roof and a large grass tree in the foreground, with two people in red jackets standing near the entrance with a red umbrella.

³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Pod

Stop in at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Visitor Pod for quick information about all things relating to the city.

Tourist information centre, with a person in a red uniform talking to a visitor.

Fitzroy Gardens Visitor Centre

This visitor centre is your first stop to explore the beautiful surrounds and Cooks' Cottage.

More to do over the long weekend

Last updated on Tue 17 Mar 2026

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