Princess Theatre, Melbourne

This ornate theatre on Spring Street, opposite Parliament House, is one of the oldest continuously operating theatres in Australia. The current lavish building dates from 1886, its Second Empire facade topped by figures and a central dome. Long a home for grand musicals and opera, its gilded auditorium retains a Victorian splendour rare among the city's venues. A resident ghost, said to be a nineteenth-century performer who died on stage, adds to its legend.