Yarra Scenic Drive is a tourist drive following the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...

, in Victoria, Australia. The route traverses approximately 60 km from Williamstown - where the Yarra empties into Port Phillip Bay - to

Warrandyte Warrandyte is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Warrandyte recorded a population of 5,541 at the . Warrandy ...

- Melbourne's first goldfield site on the banks of the Yarra.

Route

Warrandyte to Bulleen

Through these outer north-eastern suburbs, the route winds near to the Yarra River, but rarely can the driver see the river itself. The roads do, however, pass by a number of Yarraside parks, including Pound Bend,

Westerfolds Park Westerfolds Park is a metropolitan park situated in Templestowe, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Westerfolds is classified as a metropolitan park and conserves riparian habitat within the Melbourne urban environment. The park nestle ...

, Finns Reserve, Birrarung Park and Banksia Park, which are all well-liked serene picnic locations with a view of the outer-suburban Yarra River, where it is still safe to swim and canoe.

Heidelberg to Alphington

There is little in the way of a Yarra view along this section of the drive. The best Yarra vantage point is found alongside the Boulevarde, but there are many stores and some industry through these middle-northern suburbs.

Yarra Boulevard, Kew

A winding but road on the edge of a hill which provides a marvellous view of both the Yarra and the inner suburbs. It also runs alongside several golf courses.

Burnley to Southbank

For most of this section, the road runs directly alongside the Yarra River after it widens past

Dights Falls Dights Falls is a rapid and weir on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, just downstream of the junction with the Merri Creek. At this point the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000-year-old volcanic, basaltic lava flow and a mu ...

, with a clean view of the bridges and surroundings. Alexandra Avenue also provides access to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Birrarung Marr. Alexandra Avenue, however, is an important thoroughfare in inner-eastern Melbourne, and so traffic can often be unpleasant.

City

Route 2 briefly takes in the CBD, driving directly past Crown Casino and the

Melbourne Aquarium Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is a Southern Ocean and Antarctic aquarium in central Melbourne, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Yarra River beside and under the Flinders Street Viaduct and the King Street Bridge. The attraction is a ...

West Gate Bridge

The famous

West Gate Bridge The West Gate Bridge is a steel, box girder, cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It carries the West Gate Freeway and is a vital link between the inner ci ...

spans the Yarra at its widest, and gives a panoramic view of the city, the docks, the industrial western suburbs, and Port Phillip Bay. Traffic is chaotic during peak hour.

Yarraville to Williamstown

This is a drive along the inner-western beachfront to the end of the mini-peninsula at Williamstown, finishing the route alongside a scenery of blue skies, yellow sand and marinas - a far cry from the leafy green beginnings of Warrandyte. This section coincides with the newer ''Bay West Trail'', signed as Tourist Route 11.

History

The drive was originally signed as Metropolitan Route 2 in 1965, and was signed accordingly with the standard blue and white curved shield signs. When the route was extended from Ivanhoe East to Warrandyte, it was re-signed using the brown five-sided shield in 1989, usually shown in the centre of a small green and white sign bearing the words Yarra Scenic Drive.