Melbourne has been crowned Time Out’s Best City in the World for 2026 – the first Australian city to take the title, ahead of Shanghai, Edinburgh, London and New York. A fortnight later, it was named the third most climate-resilient city on Earth in an AlphaGeo analysis, behind Chicago and Addis Ababa. The city is thriving.
Nowhere is that clearer than after dark. According to the 2026 Measuring the Night-Time Economy Report, Melbourne now has Australia’s fastest-growing night-time economy, adding almost 3,000 jobs and 180 new venues in a single year. Nearly 60 per cent of businesses stay open between 6pm and 9pm. The old 9-5 has given way to 5-9pm, and increasingly, 5-9am too. RISE Studio Manager & Instructor Sophie Appel is part of a generation making the most of the hours either side of the working day.
“Working close to the CBD, and having friends who do too, makes it easy to do something together after work,” Sophie says. “There are heaps of wellness and fitness classes around 5pm, which you can follow with dinner or a show. It’s good not to cram everything into the weekend; getting it done during the week gives you more time for family or rest and recovery on the weekends.”
She splits her peers into two camps: morning people and night people. “At 101 Collins, plenty of people do lunchtime classes, but there are also those who run after work before grabbing a drink around the corner. My gym is rammed at 5pm. Personally, I’m both – I often meet a friend for a 45-minute run after work, then we’ll get a frozen yogurt or one drink. Something low key.”
Sophie’s Melbourne Night Out
For one after-work session, Sophie swapped the low-key version for the full night out to prove how much a few hours in this city can promise.
It started with a 5km run along the Yarra from 101 Collins, then back to the building’s end-of-trip facilities to get ready. From there, NGV Friday Nights: live music, pop-up champagne and nibbles, with the option to mingle outside the exhibition or go in for the full experience. “You can learn a lot from the full exhibition,” Sophie says.
Dinner was a walk along the river to Robata for Japanese food and a sake flight. Then ice cream at Piccolina, which has lots of vegan options for her partner, and a final stop at Gimlet for a cocktail and fries to end the night. “You could do this itinerary in any order,” Sophie says. “You can walk, jump on a tram – the city feels like your oyster.”
One of the most appealing elements of the 5-9 mindset is that there’s not just one way to do it. If Sophie’s night out is one mood, there are others. A solo reset might mean a RISE class, a run and dinner at Tonka. A staycation night might mean Pilates, a check-in at Hyde Melbourne Place and dinner at Chin Chin before drinks at Cleo Rooftop.
Whatever you’re in the mood for, you can fully play into it. Melbourne, the best city in the world, is ready for it.
