Fun Date Ideas in Melbourne Set to Impress This Summer
Looking for fun things to do in Melbourne for you and your partner? We’ve rounded up the coolest date ideas in Melbourne for date night with a difference.
From humble, albeit awkward beginnings, to going steady and beyond, there will always be one question that greets you and your partner throughout all the phases of your blossoming relationship:
“So, what do you want to do for date night?”
To help you and your beau settle on a date night to remember, we’ve gathered a hit list of romantic experiences that range from dinner dates dialled up a notch to hot and steamy spa days to quiet city escapes, guaranteed to satisfy all tastes.
Up the romance and impress your S.O with these fun date ideas in Melbourne.
Get Cute and Cuddly...at Puppy Yoga!
Yoga is a fun date idea in Melbourne for any active couple, but this specific class takes it to the next level by adding adorable puppies into the mix! Soflo Studios is dialling up the cuteness with its 'Pups & Poses' classes, providing you the opportunity to go on an adorable date with you, your boo, and some puppies! Flow through a relaxing yoga class while puppies run around and cause adorable chaos.
After the class, you'll be able to give them some much-deserved pats and cuddles Follow with brunch at a local cafe, and you've achieved the perfect daytime date!
Pups and Poses subject to puppy availability
56 Garnsworthy Street, Springvale
Reach New Heights at Urban Climb
Want your romance to reach new heights...literally? For a unique date idea in Melbourne, head to Urban Climb. Show off your nimble rock climbing skills—or learn something new— as you try your hand at bouldering and scaling up the giant walls as your partner belays you. It's the ultimate test of trust, but it's a whole lot of fun!
Plus, there are different walls accommodating for all skill sets and levels of experience, so you don't need to worry about looking foolish or not being "good enough"!
29/41 Down Street, Collingwood
Unit 5/15-33 Alfred Street, Blackburn
Unleash Your Competitive Streak at Archie Brothers Cirque Electric and Strike Bowling
Let your inner child run wild at Archie Brothers Cirque Electric and Strike Bowling. This nostalgic date idea lets you embrace your playful side, from arcade games to bowling lanes. Lace up your shoes, challenge your date to a friendly match, or team up for quirky games together.
Feeling competitive? Hop into the dodgem cars and race each other around the track for some high-energy fun!
285 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley
Get a Taste of Everything with a Progressive Dinner Date
Ditch the boring dinner date and dive into a culinary adventure! This isn’t just any dinner – it’s a progressive journey where each course takes you to a new spot in the city, sampling the best of Melbourne’s vibrant food scene.
Here’s the plan: Start at one restaurant for an entrée, stroll to the next for mains, and finish with a sweet treat at a dessert spot. It's the perfect way to explore multiple venues, try diverse flavours, and keep the night exciting. Plus, walking between courses means you can work up an appetite (and digest in between!).
Sitchu Tip: Choose areas like Carlton, Fitzroy, Armadale, the CBD, or Glen Waverly where fantastic restaurants are just a short stroll apart. Ready to eat your way through Melbourne?
Enjoy a Saturday Night Boogie and Vinyl Night
Whoever said Saturday night fever was dead was a liar. If you've got the urge to enjoy some incredible food and also have a boogie all under the one roof, Pincho x Disco is hosting a vinyl DJ night every Saturday from 7pm. Here, you'll be able to enjoy a symphony of Latin American flavours, sip on a variety of cocktails until you feel buzzed and ready to move your feet to some funky disco tunes, dancing until the early hours of the morning.
Every Saturday from 7.00pm
59 Cambridge Street, Collingwood
Get Swept Away in the Romance of an Orchestra
You're meant to treat life like you're the main character, right? What better way to live out that romance movie moment than by watching a live orchestra? The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra offers regular performances, including MSO at the Movies sessions, where you can enjoy films like Harry Potter, Home Alone, and Star Wars—all with a live orchestra soundtrack! It's so immersive, you’ll almost forget the music is happening in real time.
See MSO's what's on schedule for upcoming events
Spend the Night at VIVA, Melbourne's Hottest New Destination
For couples seeking a thrilling date night in Melbourne, newly-minted VIVA is the ultimate destination. This luxurious cabaret venue blends modern sophistication with the vintage charm of a 1920s Spiegel tent. Enjoy premium dining and captivating performances, starting with "Elegant," a dazzling show of comedy, dance, and drama. As the night unfolds, the energy builds with "Exotic," a bold series of performances that captivate and challenge the audience.
VIVA redefines both entertainment and dining, offering an unforgettable experience for couples looking to spice up their night with glamour and flair. Moulin Rouge, eat your heart out!
64 Sutton Street, North Melbourne
Attend a Candlelit Concert
Hold hands and get swept up in the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience, all under the glow of candlelight. For an unforgettable date idea in Melbourne, you simply can't look past attending a candlelit concert from Fever. There are orchestral tributes to Coldplay and Taylor Swift, as well as the soaring sounds of Mozart's Requiem and Vivaldi's Four Seasons played out to a transfixing degree, in stunning and oft-historic venues like the Athenaeum Theatre and Collingwood Town Hall.
Multiple locations, see website for more details
Create your own meet-cute within the pages of the city's gorgeous State Library
If you want a classic rom-com first date experience, the State Library is your best bet. You might like to flick through the immense amount of literature that surrounds, to find a book that sums up your date perfectly. Exchange your picks (and flirty eyes) beneath the iconic domed ceiling, pull up a chair and begin to flick through the pages, to see if they’ve read you right. We highly recommend renting out your books and taking them out on the library lawn, first grabbing some delicious takeout tacos from CDMX in Melbourne Central.
328 Swanston Street, Melbourne
See a Show at Malthouse Theatre
The Malthouse Theatre is a vibrant Melbourne gem, tucked in the Ngargee Courtyard next to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA). With both an indoor venue and a large outdoor amphitheatre, it offers the perfect space for couples seeking culture and entertainment. Experience a variety of live performances, from theatre to music, dance, and comedy, all set in an energetic and welcoming atmosphere. Whether indoors or outside under the stars, it's an ideal spot for a unique date night in Melbourne, combining art, culture, and the city's lively arts scene.
Check here to plan your next memorable experience.
The Malthouse, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Go on a Cute Wine Tasting Dinner
Love is blind, and so is good wine—especially when you make a date with Good Booze. Blind. This unique platform is all about making wine appreciation accessible for everyone, even beginners, without any of the ego. Set within the atmospheric space of Wide Open Road in Brunswick, it’s the perfect spot for a fun, heartwarming evening. Enjoy blind tasting events, blind tasting packs, or even a cute wine date at home with their curated selections. The perfect way to set hearts a-flutter and eyes-a-twinkling. Find out more about upcoming events here and start planning your next wine adventure, pronto.
274 Barkly Street, Brunswick
See a Movie Before Cosying Up With Some Live Jazz – All in the Same Venue
Star in your own version of Midnight in Paris with a visit to Paris Cat Jazz Club, which will transport you to the French jazz bars of the '20s and '30s without stepping a toe outside the CBD. Hidden down an alleyway (of course), it might take you a while to find, but you’ll be rewarded with cosy, candlelit rooms and intimate performances of swing, soul, blues, bebop and funk four nights a week. Need we say more?
6 Goldie Place, Melbourne
Spend a Day at Collingwood’s Coolest Arts Precinct
For creatives and art lovers, Collingwood Yards provides the perfect date setting. The not-for-profit arts precinct is home to artists, agencies, book shops, cool clothing stores, not one but two gorgeous bars, gallery spaces, a coffee shop and more.
Visit on the weekend and the space is alive with artsy shoppers during the day and avid bar hoppers at night. The newly opened rooftop bar, Runner Up, is perfect for a spritz at sundown and features extremely stylish interiors, while downstairs at Hope St Radio you can enjoy a view of the leafy green courtyard while dining on delish pasta and vinos.
35 Johnston Street, Collingwood
Try Your Hand at Pottery
Bring out your inner Demi Moore (Ghost, anyone?) at The Wheelhouse. Offering one-off classes where you and your beau can learn the art of throwing on a potter’s wheel, you will be sculpting Ghost-style in no time! The two-hour session includes all clay, tools, glaze and the firing of 1 piece. Once you have mastered the wheel you can book either for one of their six- or eight-week terms, because as we all know- couples that hobby together, stay together.
From $120 per person (per session)
The Wheelhouse: 174 Gladstone Street, South Melbourne
Get Hot and Steamy
In need of a little pampering? Upgrade your date night to a full day of R&R, with a couple’s trip to the day spa. Providing you both with the time and space to get away from it all and lock in some much-deserved relaxation, you can indulge in massages, body scrubs, facials, and pedicures. So ready your robe, sit back, and let the serenity wash over you.
You can keep it local and head to your closest day spa in Melbourne, or turn it into a full day trip and head down the Mornington Peninsula to wade through the thermal mineral hot springs. Take your pick from the Peninsula Hot Springs, Alba Thermal Springs, or the newly opened Aurora at the Intercontinental Sorrento.
Appreciate Some Art
For artsy duos, the NGV provides the perfect date night setting. As Australia’s oldest public art gallery, it’s built up a collection with both breadth and depth, spanning everything from irreplaceable classical paintings to contemporary acquisitions from modern masters. In short, this is the place to see your Picassos and Rembrandts. Enter from the famous water wall and make your way around four floors of galleries. Head there before dinner and you will have endless things to discuss.
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Have a Bingo Date
Brunch, bloody marys and bingo – not a conventional date, but a fun one nonetheless. Every Saturday, Windsor’s favourite Japanese diner, Tokyo Tina runs bingo bottomless brunches. Think pork belly bao and free-flowing prosecco, coupled with lively bingo and the chance to win a slew of prizes. Now, that’s a winning date.
Saturdays 12.00pm to 2.15pm
66A Chapel Street, Windsor
Test Your Cooking Skills
Make your next date night unforgettable with a home-cooked feast from Free to Feed's incredible cooking classes. This social enterprise offers culinary experiences led by instructors from hospitable corners of the globe, guiding you through the vibrant flavors of Burmese, Egyptian, and other diverse cuisines. With hands-on cooking, rich cultural storytelling, and a shared feast, these classes are more than just a date night—they’re an opportunity to connect, learn, and celebrate cultures while crafting lasting memories. Perfect for foodies and first-timers alike, Free to Feed offers a date that’s both enriching and delicious.
205-211 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North
Looking for more date night inspo? We've got plenty to keep you and your loved one entertained besides these cute date ideas. From underground cocktail haunts and cosy Melbourne pubs, to weekend getaways and boozy brunches, we've whittled down the coolest things to do in Melbourne to make sure your next date night is a complete success.