Have 2 days to spare. Looking for history/art museums and places to see their wildlife (zoos, sanctuary parks).

Buy a ticket to Sydney, go to Taronga Zoo and the aquarium in Darling Harbour.
Then fly back to Melbourne and catch your flight home.

Full disclosure, I was a Sydneysider for 12 years and probably made 6-7 business trips to Melbourne.

Melb is more known for its food, beer and coffee than Syd.

The big deals in Melbourne are the Australian Open tennis, Australian Rules Football (AFL), the Formula 1 race, and the fact that they're the second largest Greek city behind Athens.

Good Luck.

I am going for the F1 race hence why I won't have much time to explore the city, but by the sounds of it seems like there is not much to see

Well, there is plenty to do, it's just that what to do in Melbourne revolves around being a food snob, coffee snob or a beer snob.

Check out Crown Casino for gaming and a variety of restaurants. Docklands is a relatively new area, opened about 5 years ago.

I'll have to look up this place I went for Indian in the SE suburbs.

Australia does have much better Asian food than the USA does - at least in my experience. There was this great gyoza place when I was working on Bourke street.

Just get online and figure out whatever restaurant is trending.

Check out the Fairy Penguins….

https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/

It's a bit south of the city but well worth it.
We stopped at a sheep farm along the way that had Border Collie shows, sheep sheering and beautiful scenery.

Take a tour of the Yarra Valley, lots of vineyards.

Most importantly, have a drink with Chloe at Young and Jackson Hotel…

https://www.youngandjacksons.com.au/?utm_source=google_yext&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=book-a-table

Old Melbourne Gaol, where Ned Kelly was hanged.

https://www.oldmelbournegaol.com.au/

ETA: Second the penguin parade. Underground viewing if you can.

Always forget to ask you...is there anything worth seeing in the area where they filmed The Man from Snowy River ?

Always looked great in the movie, but I never knew if it was worth a visit.

Melbourne is great, but agree, very cosmopolitan in the food/cocktail/beer scene. Agree, lots of good Asian food, lots of Asians there, haha. They have a zoo and the botanical gardens. Queen Victoria market is good to walk through and explore. Starward distillery is a good spot for some Australian whisky. The Everleigh and Above Board were fun cocktail bars just east of downtown.

Okay, this one took a long time to dig up but the Indian restaurant I went to in late 2019 that was so good (expensive but it was for work) was called Atta.
https://www.attarestaurant.com.au/

Also in South Melbourne, just before the war fully kicked off in March 2020, I went to an event on The Albion Hotel Rooftop.
https://thealbion.bar/

CanyonAg77 said:

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Always forget to ask you...is there anything worth seeing in the area where they filmed The Man from Snowy River ?

Always looked great in the movie, but I never knew if it was worth a visit.

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My kids went down there for school camp and climbed Mount Kosciuszko.

There are a couple of ski resorts in "The Snowies" but I've never been down there because the prices were outrageous.

I have seen a couple of Australian movies set in that area that were pretty good.
Jindabyne is one worth taking a look at:

Love Sydney and Melbourne, but for entirely different reasons. I view Sydney as the Aussie version of LA. I view Melbourne as a combination of NYC and SF.

That having been said, here are some reca for Melbourne.

Take a scenic drive along The Great Ocean Road. Stop by Bells Beach and Anglesea. Absolutely stunning views.

Collins Street has a lot of high end shopping. But Flinders Lane has lots of bars and restaurants.

Lastly, take a trip to the Yarra Valley for dining and really good wineries. Stone is one winery I highly recommend.