I am sorry to the people of Melbourne, but this really is one of the least interesting WHS among the 401 that I have visited. In retrospect, back at my hotel room after a site visit of about 15 minutes, I think the worst thing is that no real effort is made to highlight the building or the gardens. All attention goes to the adjacent Melbourne Museum, currently the venue of a popular Tutanchamun exhibition.

• The gardens are pitiful. The AB evaluation notes that they are at least of "considerable botanical significance for their collections of trees". It looked like a regular small city park to me, one you can see in every city around the world.
• The complex isn't authentic. ICOMOS already had a lot of doubts about that and suggested deferral of the nomination. The building of the main Industry Hall is probably the only original feature left. The northern gardens have been turned into a kid's playground, and several outbuildings have been demolished. And of course, there's the Melbourne Museum, a 2000 addition right in the core zone. ICOMOS doubted it would have allowed its construction if the Exhibition Building already had been a WHS at that time.
• It is unclear how and when to visit the interior. According to the official website, guided visits can be booked from the Melbourne Museum. I enquired at the ticket office, but no visit was scheduled for the day I was there. The reaction I got led me to believe that these guided visits are pretty rare. If someone has seen the interior (a lot of it has been taken away also), I would love to read a report on this webpage below.

The best thing about this visit was my decision to book a hotel in Carlton, close to the WHS. Carlton is Melbourne's Italian neighbourhood. Its Lyston Street has dozens of Italian restaurants, with heated terraces and a great atmosphere. I had a wonderful spaghetti scoglio here the night before.