A Bayside guide to Valentine’s Day
Whether you're coupled up, single, whether your happy place is with hanging with your bestie or your furry friend, Valentine’s Day is the day to show your love.
With our cracking coastline, top-notch restaurants, prime picnic spots, fabulous libraries and galleries, gorgeous gardens and eclectic mix of stores and boutiques, we offer something special for your someone special.
In fact, we are calling it. There is nowhere in Melbourne better than Bayside for a celebration of love in whatever form that takes and here are 9 ways to do just that...
1. Pamper that pooch
Love your dog the most? Let them run free at one of Bayside’s fabulous off leash parks or beaches and treat your goodest boy/girl to a puppachino after at a local café.
2. Find the food of love
Head out to your local shopping village and enjoy a meal at your favourite restaurant with a family member, partner, a friend or a big bunch of people you like to hang with. Love is… laughter, conversation and great food.
3. The art of love
Visit our beautiful Bayside Gallery. Not only do you get to celebrate Valentines Day but an array of incredible local talent, too. Now in its fifth year, Bayside Local is a much-anticipated annual exhibition that celebrates the high calibre of work produced by artists who live and work in the Bayside area. This year we are also including year 11 and 12 VCE and IB students.
4. Host the perfect picnic
There’s not much to it. Grab a takeaway or shop up a storm at your local deli or grocer, round up that someone, or group of someones, who make you feel good and choose a fabulous Bayside reserve or beach – including our accessible beaches - on which to enjoy. Easy.
5. Be adventurous
Want a bit more adventure? Go for a bike ride along the newly refurbished Bay Trail and marvel at the incredible 17 kilometres of coastline right on your doorstep. Or download our cycling map with trails to explore different areas of Bayside. Try paddleboarding or kayaking and soak in the sunset at a beautiful Bayside beach.
Enjoy one of the many walking paths and trails. You can even choose a theme – how about an architectural trail or the Indigenous Coastal Trail.
6. Give a gift
Be a number one Valentine and spoil your loved one. A thoughtfully chosen gift – big or small – is always wrapped in a lotta love. Whether it’s a fragrance, a candle, candy, jewellery, clothes and a myriad of things in between, you’ll find it in one of the many awesome boutiques and stores in your local retail village.
Follow your local shopping village on socials and never miss out on Bayside's traders' deals, events and more: Beaumaris Concourse, Bay Street Brighton, Black Rock Village, Church Street Brighton, Hampton Street, Martin Street Brighton, Sandy Village
7. Blind date with a book ️
Don't judge a book by its cover. Visit one of our Bayside’s library branches today (Tuesday 14 February) to celebrate Library Lovers' Day and go on a blind date with a book. Titles have been specially selected by our staff and wrapped in brown paper with a short teaser alluding to the mystery title inside.
Simply pick one that matches your mood and borrow it - no need to unwrap it until you're ready to read. This is a wonderful opportunity to discover titles you may not have otherwise considered.
You can also borrow a stack of works by your loved one’s favourite author from one of Bayside’s libraries. If you prefer to buy, there are wonderful bookstores scattered across the municipality.
8. Bloomin' lovely
Pick a plant or posie from one of our brilliant florists or nurseries. Flowers and plants boost our mood and the choice is wide and varied. Be classical or creative – the choice is yours.
9. Treat your lover, friend or even, doggo
Buy a voucher or a relaxing treatment for your loved one at a local beauty or hair salon. Even your four-legged friend can have a makeover at one of Bayside’s many dog grooming salons. It is Valentines Day after all.
Happy Valentine's Day, Bayside ♥️
