QT Melbourne’s 11th-storey bar, Rooftop at QT, offers views of Melbourne’s high-rise dotted skyline, situated as it is in the heart of the CBD. There’s an extensive wine and beer list, and the cocktail menu features a collaboration with popular Victorian distillery Four Pillars – try the QT Colada Fizz with white cacao, pineapple and coconut cream.

The greenery-filled rooftop bar is the perfect spot to set up a perch for a long summer night but it’s the innovative cocktail menu that will keep you there for longer than you planned – the award-winning bartenders make many of their own syrups, liqueurs and oils to use in the concoctions.

Soak up summer rays with a direct view of Melbourne’s Neoclassical Parliament House from the mammoth rooftop of The Imperial Hotel. For sustenance, devour American-style pizzas and burgers and one of the almost 20 on-tap beers and ciders.

Tiki-inspired cocktails, Australian botanicals and a portrait of Bill Murray hanging in pride of place over the bar – Union Electric’s eclectic influences make it stand out in Melbourne’s rooftop scene. Ordering from the funky cocktail menu is a must, with sustenance provided by Connie's New York-style pizzas.

Step onto the rooftop of the Carlton Hotel and be whisked away to the tropics, complete with full-size palm trees, bougainvillea, neon cocktails and a tiki-style bar. The only reminder that you’re still in Melbourne is the skyline.

Climb the grand staircase of the European to find Siglo, the city’s little slice of Paris. Dine on late-night snacks (caviar anyone?) paired with a substantial wine list and pick of international beers. The outlook over old-world Melbourne, from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to Parliament House, is well worth it.

This revered rooftop in St Kilda specialises in local, limited-run beers. Novices can order a tasting paddle, or choose from a selection of brews on tap (the pub taps more than 400 different brews per year) and an extensive range of bottled ales, stouts, pilsners and ciders.

Bringing ‘80s Americana (think Palm Springs in its heyday) to inner Melbourne, Good Heavens slings old-school cocktails with a modern twist, such as the Lil' Havana Slammer spin on a classic Havan, with decadent mango nectar, OJ, sparkling wine and Mathilde Framboise liqueur.