AiFly automatic review on 2 Jul 2026 at 19:35 UTC found that current prices for every advertised date are over 30% above the published €780 — booking links are no longer accurate.
Melbourne's thing is coffee — not a tourist line but a real obsession, brought by Italian and Greek immigrants after WWII. Skip the chains: the independent espresso bars down the graffitied laneways (Hosier Lane for the street art, Degraves Street for cafés packed wall to wall) pour some of the world's best flat whites. The Greek precinct around Lonsdale Street reflects one of the largest Greek communities outside Greece — go there for souvlaki. The weather is the local joke, "four seasons in one day," so pack layers whatever the forecast says. AFL football is closer to religion than sport; a match at the MCG is the real experience. Come March–May for mild autumn days and cheaper fares; December–February is hot, heatwave-prone (40°C), and pricey around Christmas — the season to dodge for value.
🛬 Bonus: 17h 50m Shanghai layover on the outbound
MU244 lands at Shanghai Pudong (PVG) at 06:25 and the onward MU739 to Melbourne doesn’t leave until just past midnight — almost a full day to explore the city. Italian and most EU passport holders qualify for China’s 240-hour visa-free transit at PVG as long as you have an onward third-country ticket (the Melbourne leg satisfies this). The Maglev train reaches downtown Longyang Road in 8 minutes at 300 km/h, with Metro Line 2 connecting onward in another 30 minutes. Plenty of time to walk The Bund, see Pudong’s skyline, visit Yu Garden, wander the French Concession, and grab dumplings at Din Tai Fung or a Nanjing Road xiaolongbao spot before heading back to PVG. Carry a printed itinerary and use the dedicated “24/240-hour visa-free transit” lane at arrivals.
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