Albert Park is a 225-hectare urban park wrapped around an artificial lake about three kilometres south of the CBD. The park is beloved by joggers, cyclists, and sailors on weekday mornings, and the 5.3-kilometre circuit around the lake is one of the best flat running routes in inner Melbourne. Sailing clubs have operated on the lake for over a century, and you will often see dinghies and skiffs on the water in the afternoons.
For one weekend each March, the park transforms into a Formula 1 circuit for the Australian Grand Prix. The roads that normally carry park traffic become race track, temporary grandstands spring up around the lake, and the sound of F1 cars fills Albert Park for the first race of the season. The event has been run here since 1996 and draws crowds of over 300,000 across the four-day meeting. The rest of the year, the roads carry everyday park traffic and the lake returns to its peaceful state.