Melbourne Laneways and Bars: A Journey Through History and Nightlife
4.9
132 Ratings
Melbourne
Experience the best of Melbourne in just three hours with our Laneways and Bars tour. Explore hidden laneways, learn about the city's fascinating history, and visit three amazing bars. Don't miss out on this boozy journey through Melbourne's nightlife!
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Federation Square - Melbourne’s famous (and some say ugliest) town square, built in 2002. This is where we begin our journey with a background to the role alcohol played in Melbourne’s foundation.
- Oliver Lane - Our first laneway for the tour, here we talk about the history of Melbourne’s Laneways and start to peel back some of the city’s best eateries.
- ACDC Lane - One of Melbourne’s most famous laneways, get ready for an explosion of street art.
- Duckboard Place - More street art to see, plus the history of Melbourne’s street art scene - plus a run down of some fantastic eating and drinking locations.
- Ridgway Place - Home to one of Australia’s oldest men’s social clubs, and the consulate of one of the world’s smallest countries, here we talk about Melbourne’ booziest police commissioner and the strange persecution of barmaids.
- Meyers Place - The spiritual home of Melbourne’s laneway bar culture. Let’s talk about the rise of Melbourne’s bar scene starting with an important rule change in the 1980s. Also home to some of the City’s best hidden bars.
- Parliament House - Victoria was founded on gold rush, and our emergence as a state is closely linked to those early findings.
- Chinatown Melbourne - The world’s second oldest China Town and home to some of the City’s best bars.
- Little Bourke Street - The City’s old red light district certainly hides more than its fair share of secrets, and amazing bars!
What's Included
- Expert guidance from a professional
- Inclusive of all Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- Complimentary map of Melbourne’s finest bars (available on request)
- Free tour photographs (available on request)
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic Beverages
Additional Information
Uncover the best of the city in three comprehensive hours with Boozy History and Hidden Bars. This tour combines Melbourne’s intriguing history, its most captivating bars, and renowned laneways into one unforgettable experience. Save time and effort by experiencing Melbourne’s finest in a single tour.
Journey through Melbourne’s well-known backstreets, the heart of the city’s allure. This lesser-traveled side of Melbourne often goes unnoticed by both tourists and residents alike.
Delve into Melbourne’s affair with alcohol, including tales of barmaid oppression, our hardest-drinking Police Commissioner, clandestine men’s gatherings, and much more.
Experience the charm of three hidden laneway bars. We also provide photographs of your journey at no additional cost.
- Minimum age is 18 years
- Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities
- Dress code is casual!
- While the tour route is flat, some of our bars may require steps (we choose different bars for each tour, and while some are at ground level, others require steps to acces)
Location
Fed Square
Meet your guide at the edge of Princes Bridge, opposite Flinders Street Station, behind Transport Bar.
Look out for the black shirt/hoody/jacket (depending on the weather) and our distinctive black, white and pink logo on the left breast.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(132 Ratings)
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Brad_f
Apr 3, 2024
Great fun and educational - Awesome way to spend an afternoon in Melbourne.
Bars and Laneways were great and so was our guide Bridgette, who was very knowledgeable and fun.
Review provided by Viator
Pebblesy17
Mar 25, 2024
Great tour, fantastic guide - We did this on our first day in Melbourne and it was a great way to get a sense of the central city, the history.. and have a cheeky drink or two on the way.
Our guide was awesome, her knowledge far wider than the history of Melbourne. She pointed us to the best place to buy F1 supporter gear and confirmed some good restaurant options as well!
Thank you 😄
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary
Mar 22, 2024
Would certainly recommend it to visitors and locals - Great tour. Our guide Bridget was so informative about the history. Great bars, some jaw dropping great evening . Of course some great drinks
Review provided by Tripadvisor
583izzyc
Mar 20, 2024
Highly recommend this tour! Thank you Bridgette! - Our tour guide was Bridgette. She was very knowledgeable and passionate (and very qualified for the job). We loved each of the bars we went to and the history on the way to each was fantastic. Bridgette also gave us heaps of recommendations for other bars, food and places to go during our stay in Melbourne. We would highly recommend this tour! Thanks for having us!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sentientr
Mar 17, 2024
Helps form a rolodex of convo starters and sweet meeting spots. - Love getting the quirks and features of things and now I know some of Melbourne's! Great hearing things from someone at PhD level interest in history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susando7427at
Mar 9, 2024
Good fun, something different - What a great experience, Michael out guide was very knowledgeable. Being a first timer to melbourne was great to learn about its history. Would highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shelbyhh75
Jan 21, 2024
Hidden bars and laneway legends - My 22yo daughter took some convincing to do this tour with me but absolutely loved learning the drinking history of Melbourne and discovering some hidden gems we will be sure to return to again. Our guide Michael was very knowledgeable, approachable and ensured our tour was relaxed and fun. We were lucky to have been able to join a great group. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephhughes24
Jan 10, 2024
Our best night in Melbourne - We had a fantastic time visiting bars we’d never been to and now look forward to returning to. Tom was a friendly, funny and very entertaining guide. He was keen to share his recommendations of other bars to visit and places to eat. We met a lovely group of people, most of us continued on and found a couple of bars Tom suggested.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q1479ikclarem
Dec 23, 2023
Drinks, history and sights must do !! - This tour was amazing !!! 👏
City sights, history and drinks what more can you want. Huge shout out to our Tour Guide Tom. Fun and informative
A must do in Melbourne!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R3870gejacquic
Dec 23, 2023
You would not be disappointed!! - What a fun and informative tour! Tom couldn't be more enthusiastic, what a great afternoon.
10 out of 10
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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