Most lists of things to do in Melbourne, FL send you straight to the beach and stop there. The beach is genuinely the right answer for about half a day. The other half is the part visitors miss, and it is mostly downtown, in Eau Gallie, and along a lagoon that runs the whole length of the city.
Here is how a local actually spends it, in the order the day tends to go.
Start at the Beach
The beaches here are a short drive east over the causeway, and the quiet ones are better than the busy ones.
Melbourne Beach is the relaxed default. Indialantic, just north, has a boardwalk and a family crowd. If you want fewer people, Pelican Beach Park and Spessard Holland South Beach Park are the two locals tend to name, and Spessard Holland has lifeguards and showers.
For surfing, Sebastian Inlet State Park sits south in Melbourne Beach and draws boards year round. There is also a hammock trail about a mile long if you want to walk instead of paddle out.
Downtown Melbourne
Historic downtown Melbourne is a walkable few blocks around Strawbridge and New Haven avenues, and it is the easiest stretch in the city for killing an afternoon on foot.
The mix is boutiques, galleries and restaurants, close enough together that you can park once. Meg O’Malley’s is the long-running Irish spot people meet at. Chart House handles the waterfront dinner end of things.
Two blocks off the main drag, the Crane Creek Promenade on East Melbourne Avenue is a paved walkway over the lagoon. Manatees show up in the creek, more often in cooler months, and the walk takes ten minutes if you do not stop.
Eau Gallie Arts District
EGAD, the Eau Gallie Arts District, runs along Highland Avenue and is the part of Melbourne that surprises people who thought this was only a beach town.
Studios and galleries line Highland, and the district runs art walks and family events through the year. Schedules move, so check before you plan an evening around one.
The Rossetter House Museum at 1320 Highland Avenue is worth the stop even if museums are not your thing. It is a home built in 1908, and the tour gets you original furniture, wood-paneled rooms, an early 1900s doll and a windup birdcage. Nearby, Intracoastal Brewing Company on West Eau Gallie Boulevard has run outdoor events that are dog and family friendly.
Green Gables, a Queen Anne home from 1896 on the Indian River Lagoon, sits south on South Harbor City Boulevard and hosts teas and seasonal events including a harvest festival.
Parks, the Zoo, and the Lagoon
Melbourne’s outdoor options are not all coastline, and the inland ones are free or close to it.
Brevard Zoo on North Wickham Road is the anchor, with more than 900 animals across 72 acres, giraffe feeding and a splash pad for kids. Paddling trips have run out of the zoo as well, so confirm what is on the schedule.
Wickham Park, on Parkway Drive, is the big municipal one: paved paths, lakes, picnic areas, disc golf, equestrian trails and a campground. Erna Nixon Park is the small one worth knowing, a 3,000-foot boardwalk through dense hammock that feels nothing like the road you parked on.
For something louder, Andretti Thrill Park has go-karts, mini golf and an arcade. Hours shift with the season.
Day Trips Along the Space Coast
Melbourne sits in the middle of the Space Coast, which means a lot of the region is a day trip rather than a weekend.
Kennedy Space Center is about an hour north and is the one to clear a full day for. Cocoa Beach and Vero Beach are both close enough for a beach day in either direction. Orlando is roughly 70 miles northwest, about an hour and a half by car, if somebody in the group wants the parks.
If a launch is on the schedule while you are here, you can watch it from the beach without driving anywhere.
Evening, and a Day Plan
Evenings here are downtown, at a theater, or somewhere open late, and the city gives you all three.
The King Center for the Performing Arts on North Wickham brings in Broadway tours, concerts and comedy. The Melbourne Civic Theater on East Strawbridge is the small intimate one. Downtown itself fills up on weekend nights across the bars and restaurants on Strawbridge and New Haven.
Our Melbourne bar is one of the rooms open late, and there is no alcohol in it. Kava is 18 and up and we do not serve it to anyone who is pregnant. There is Wi-Fi, outlets and no pressure to turn the table over, and at 1pm and 1am the whole room drinks a shell together, in 60 seconds or less. Hours and directions are on the Melbourne page, anything scheduled is on the events page, and the rest of the Florida bars are listed by city under Florida.
A day that works. Beach in the morning at Spessard Holland or Melbourne Beach. Lunch and a walk downtown, with the Crane Creek Promenade for the manatee odds. Afternoon in EGAD for the galleries and the Rossetter House. Dinner downtown, then a show at the Civic Theater or somewhere open late. That is a full day without driving more than fifteen minutes between stops.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Melbourne, FL for a day?
Beach in the morning at Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Pelican Beach Park or Spessard Holland South Beach Park. Downtown Melbourne around Strawbridge and New Haven for lunch, shopping and the Crane Creek Promenade. The Eau Gallie Arts District in the afternoon for galleries and the Rossetter House Museum. Dinner downtown and a show in the evening.
What is the Eau Gallie Arts District?
EGAD is Melbourne’s arts district, centered on Highland Avenue, with studios and galleries along the street plus art walks and family events through the year. The Rossetter House Museum, a home built in 1908, sits on Highland at 1320.
What beaches are near Melbourne, FL?
Melbourne Beach is the easy default. Indialantic has a boardwalk and a family crowd. Pelican Beach Park and Spessard Holland South Beach Park are quieter, and Spessard Holland has lifeguards and showers. Sebastian Inlet State Park to the south is the surfing spot.
What is there to do in Melbourne, FL at night?
Downtown Melbourne on Strawbridge and New Haven is the main concentration of bars and restaurants. The King Center for the Performing Arts runs Broadway tours, concerts and comedy, and the Melbourne Civic Theater is the small venue. A few rooms stay open late, including Kavasutra, which serves no alcohol.
How far is Melbourne from Kennedy Space Center and Orlando?
Kennedy Space Center is about an hour north of Melbourne. Orlando is roughly 70 miles northwest, about an hour and a half by car.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Kava is served to adults 18 and up and not to anyone who is pregnant.