Melbourne Star or Eureka Skydeck 88?

If you want to experience the ‘most liveable city in the world’ from the top, there are a couple of options to choose from – Melbourne Star observation Wheel located in the Docklands area Or Eureka Skydeck in the Southbank precinct.

We initially went to see the Melbourne Star, that gives you a 360-degree view of the areas up to 40 kilometers including the Docklands precinct, Melbourne’s CBD, Port Phillip Bay and as far as Mount Macedon, Arthur’s Seat and the Dandenong Range. The height of the observation wheel is 120 m (394 ft) and it takes about 30 minutes for a ride. Here’s a shot of the same (we didn’t take the ride though, i’ll explain why below):

The other option is a 297 m (975 ft) tall structure, called Eureka Tower, and is the 14^th tallest residential building in the world. The observation deck occupies the entire 88^th floor of the Tower. The best part is a glass cube, called The Edge, which extends 3m from the edge of the tower, thus adding to the viewing experience! The tallest building in the view below is the Eureka Tower (the river is another attraction, called Yarra River):

We chose to go atop Eureka Skydeck over Melbourne Star. Here’s why:

1. Ticket prices: Just for the day time view, it is almost half of the one at Melbourne Star, excluding The Edge experience.
2. Much taller structure, so better views: Needless to say, Moon would provide much better views of the Earth than a plane 🙂
3. Right in the heart of the city: Eureka Skydeck provides much better views of various attractions in Melbourne, which are closer to it than to the Star.
4. Close to other attractions: Eureka Tower is right in the Central Business District (CBD) and if you are going through other hot spots in Melbourne, you would be right besides it.

Leaving you with views from the Eureka Skydeck!

Yes, that is the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the last view!