Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs from east to west. Collins Street is named after Lieutenant-Governor David Collins who led a group of settlers in establishing a short-lived settlement at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne in the early 1800s. He subsequently became the first governor of the colony of Van Diemens Land, later to become Tasmania. It has always been at the centre of Melbourne history.

Collins Street is well known for its 'Paris end'. Although modern development has destroyed some of the European flavour of the top-end of Collins Street it still retains designer boutiques and cafes. The length of Collins Street between Elizabeth and King Streets has long been the financial heart of Melbourne and is home to the stock exchange, banks and insurance companies.

Recently extended west beyond Spencer Street, Collins Street now also runs through the new Docklands precinct. This creates an intersection between Bourke Street and Collins Streets, Melbournes two most important streets, something previously impossible.

Collins Street also has some of Melbourne's largest churches such as the Collins Street Baptist Church, the Scots Presbyterian (1874) and the St Michael's Uniting Church (1986). The Melbourne Club is on Collins Street, and so is the Reserve Bank of Australia's Victorian branch.

Collins Street is also home to the Athenaeum and Regent theatres and the Rialto Towers observation deck provides the best view of Melbourne. Trams also run down Collins Street, mainly to Melbourne's eastern suburbs and the Docklands precinct.