Melbourne is Australia's second largest city and the capital of the state of Victoria. Melbourne is the collective name for the City of Melbourne and greater suburban area and is home to circa 3.7 million people.
The City of Melbourne is located on the banks of the Yarra River and is renowned for its parks and gardens. The Victorian state parliament is located in the inner city. The Greater Melbourne area has an extensive system of street trams and suburban railway lines.
The Greater Melbourne area surrounds Port Phillip Bay. Due to a rapid increase in population and a consequent increase in land and house values the metropolitan area now extends almost to the tip of the Mornington Peninsula and the City of Geelong.
Melbourne is famous for being the home of the Australian Football League and for its large Greek community (Melbourne is reputed to be the third largest Greek city in the world).