The Royal Exhibition Building is the grand domed pavilion at the heart of the Carlton Gardens, built in 1880 for Melbourne's great International Exhibition at the height of the gold-rush boom that made the city, for a time, one of the richest in the world. Its enormous dome — modelled loosely on Florence's cathedral — still dominates the parkland, and the painted interior under the cupola is worth timing a visit around.
It remains a working exhibition hall, hosting trade shows, exams, and fairs, so public access to the interior is limited to guided tours (usually booked through the adjoining Melbourne Museum) or whatever event happens to be on. Even from the outside, set among the formal Victorian gardens with their fountains and avenues, it is one of Melbourne's most impressive sights and a direct link to the city's boom-era confidence.