Federation Square sits at the intersection of Swanston and Flinders Streets, across from Flinders Street Station, and has become the functional centre of Melbourne's public life. The complex of buildings clad in fractured sandstone and zinc panels — a deconstructivist design by Lab Architecture Studio — houses the Ian Potter Centre (Australian art), the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), and a large public square that serves as Melbourne's unofficial town hall.
Major events unfold here: New Year's Eve, public screenings of AFL finals, protests, community celebrations. The square is always busy, which is partly the point — a place people genuinely use rather than merely pass through. The riverside edge has good views over the Yarra and across to the Southbank arts precinct. The tourist information centre inside is useful for maps and transport advice.