Melbourne City Walking Tour: Overview
Joined 2022
A tour through Melbourne's CBD is the perfect way to explore the coolest city in Australia.
A tour not only on foot, but by tram – which is an essential Melbourne experience.
Melbourne's delights are subtle. It rewards those who are curious.
Some attractions just waiting to be revealed include:
* the epicure and style of the Laneway Culture
* the grandeur of the public buildings
* the boldness of the street art.
Melbourne has a vibe that enters your being. Let me help you find it.
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
Your hotel foyer
- Alternative meeting point: Steps of Flinders Street Station
Degraves Street
Introduction to the Laneway Culture
* creative small businesses
* vibrant al fresco dining area
* gateway to the city.
Centre Place
Melbourne's emblematic laneway
* cosy, dark, intimate
* most photographed location
* like no other thoroughfare in cities throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Collins Street
Melbourne's most famous street
* home to luxury shops and international brands
* wide, bustling, tree-lined
* focus of finance throughout the city's golden history.
Block Arcade
Tasteful and tasty since 1892
* modelled on major galleria in Milan, including the beautiful mosaic floor
* high-tea cafe – featuring sumptuous cakes – has a history that stretches back to the opening of the arcade
* no pinball machines; the original meaning of the word "arcade" was small businesses under one roof.
Royal Arcade
The original citadel of shopping
* modelled on the earliest arcade, in Covent Garden in London.
* home of Thomas Gaunt clock, traditionally the city's most accurate
* home of Gog and Magog, European mythological figures who bring unease to some and delight to others.
Bourke Street Mall
Art and commerce
* closed off to traffic since 1983
* once the site of cinemas and dance halls; now defined by department stores Myer and David Jones; soon to become a hotel hub
* home of the General Post Office, a grand building that is considered the central point in Melbourne.
Tram Stop 5
Catch the 86 or 96 tram for four stops up Bourke Street.
Tram Stop 9
Get off at the top of Bourke Street, in the shadow of Victoria's Parliament House.
Meyers Place
Colourful laneway of epicurean delights
* site of Melbourne's first bar (as opposed to pub), which opened in 1995
* site of a huge art work on a brick canvas, featuring a tropical rainforest scene that was commissioned to bring a touch of green to the laneways
* site of Melbourne's only Argentinian restaurant and a bar that must be accessed via a fridge.
Ridgway Place
Somewhat secret passage
* obscure walkway between Little Collins and Collins streets
* skirts alongside the forbidding brick wall of the Melbourne Club, an historic club for gentlemen who have deep roots in the old-money set
* site of the Lyceum Club, a bastion for women of a certain station, in an extremely cool building from the late 1950s.
Flinders Lane
The heart of the Laneway Culture
* cafes, restaurants, bars
* former home of the Rag Trade; since transformed into a residential, small business and epicurean hub
* downhill to further delights.
AC/DC Lane
Let There Be Rock
* popular street art laneway, featuring mostly paeans to music
* murals, abstracts works, and a raised sculpture of Bon Scott by the artist who calls himself Makatron
* huge work by Fintan Magee, featuring a comment on urban life.
Duckboard Place
Gritty glamour
* renowned restaurants of varied cuisine, including Pastuso (Peruvian), A Hereford Beefstouw (Scandinavian), Tonka (modern Indian) and Lee Ho Fook (modern Chinese)
* street art: big deals and small wonders
* once to be avoided; now to be celebrated.
Hosier Lane
Home of the street art movement
* ever-changing urban canvas
* political and frivolous; from the Adnate portrait of an Aboriginal boy to small ceramic orbs in unlikely places
* restaurants and bars from Movida (Spanish) to Misty (cocktails).
Ending Point
Your hotel foyer
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
The fee for the guide.
A snack such as coffee or tea with a cookie.
No added fees unless we go to a ticketed event.
Tour Important Information
Please note:
* While we do catch trams (at super stops, which enable disabled access), this is a walking tour. There are only a few small sets of steps along the route, but a reasonable ability to shuffle along from sight to sight is required. You'll be getting your steps up!
* Be prepared for Melbourne's changeable weather. This means bringing an umbrella or a spray jacket if there are clouds about. It also means wearing a hat if the sun is out (even if only for a while).
Important message from the supplier
I do walking tours through Melbourne's CBD, but I sometimes use our free trams to get to the next location. This in itself is an essential Melbourne experience. I am available most days. My tours take from four to eight hours, and include stops at cafes or bars along the way. I'm very happy to tailor a tour to your request.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2022
About Tour Guide Paul D.
Hi, I'm Paul, a proud Melburnian who loves showing off my city. I love its history. I love its restaurants, bars and cafes, which underpin the famous Laneway Culture. I love its emphasis on major events, both in sport and the arts. I'm into Australian football, cricket and tennis, and anything to do with music, books and the arts. This is a truly dynamic city. And I'm the one to describe it to you.
$260/ per group
