Top Melbourne Art & Culture - page 2

Step back in time and explore downtown Melbourne’s gangster past. Discover buildings along Lonsdale Street that were once brothels and speakeasies from the 1870s to the 1930s. Hear myths and legends about the famous gangsters of the era such as Squizzy Taylor and the slum of ‘Little Lon,’ and how these gangs used lolly shops—candy stores—as fronts for massive drug operations.

Experience the scenic Yarra Valley on the Puffing Billy train. This full-day trip takes you through the Dandenong Ranges to Emerald Lake, the Healesville Sanctuary Zoo, and the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. At the last stop you can enjoy free samples and chocolate shopping. This trip starts and ends at The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne.

Melbourne is Australia’s culinary capital, but to discover the city’s foodie hotspots, you need a local guide. On this food walking tour, explore Melbourne’s atmospheric laneways and arcades; visit the city’s coolest bars, cafés, and street food stalls; and sample everything from Chinese dumplings to sweet pastries. This small-group tour is limited to 10 people for an authentic local experience.

Get a taste of Melbourne on a foodie walking tour of the 19th-century Queen Victoria Market. Enjoy a personalized experience with a guide and small group as you browse the myriad stalls and mingle with locals and vendors. Enjoy tastings of delicious seasonal delicacies, such as fresh seafood, grilled peppered kangaroo, local goat-milk cheese, fresh dips, and gelato. Bring your own drink bottle to refill at stations in the market.

Experience the best of the City in three hours: our famous laneways, our coolest bars and our fascinating history. Why do three different tours, when you can get the best of Melbourne in just one! Explore Melbourne’s famous laneways, home to some of our most interesting places. This is the side of Melbourne most tourists (and even some locals!) never see. Learn about Melbourne’s love affair with drinking, the persecution of barmaids, our booziest Police Commissioner, secret men’s clubs and much more. Discover three amazing laneway bars, plus a cheeky trivia quiz at our second bar for your chance to win! Photos of your tour can also be provided at no extra charge.

Taste your way around Melbourne on the ultimate foodie tour. Discover a variety of cuisines including Spanish, Asian fusion, and contemporary Australian, as you traverse the city. Learn about Melbourne’s vibrant history and how it became one of the world’s food capitals from your informative guide. Sample several dishes during this tour with a group of eight guests or less, to ensure an intimate and personalized experience.

Melbourne has a sporting history of more than 150 years, and one of the best ways to learn all about it is by joining this small, intimate group (max 8) walking tour. Your guide talks about Australian football, tennis, cricket, horse racing and more. Ask your guide any sporting questions you can come up with as you explore Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne & Olympic Parks, AAMI Park, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

See a side of Melbourne that way too many tourists don’t get to see, and immerse yourself in a side of Australia’s history that you don’t want to miss. Ride the Puffing Billy Railway, which first opened back in 1900, with your legs dangling over the open carriages and soak up the lush rainforest views that you don’t get anywhere else.

Visitors often miss some of Melbourne’s best attractions because they don’t know how to reach the city's outer locations. This full-day tour makes visiting easy by handling the transport for you. Travel from the city out to the Dandenong Ranges to ride the famous Puffing Billy steam train, then go see all sorts of native Australian wildlife at Healesville Sanctuary.

Whatever sport you follow, you’re sure to enjoy touring Melbourne’s sporting venues. The Australian city is big on sports, as you’ll learn on this walking tour that covers about 5 miles (9 kilometers). From the National Tennis Centre to Olympic Park, Australian footie grounds and the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, you’ll get an insight into all facets of Melbourne’s sporting culture. Take photos at iconic venues and relive sporting history through your guide’s stories. A must for all sports fans.

There are plenty of great Yarra Valley wine tours to choose from, but some of them feel a lot more rushed than others. With this tour, you move at a chilled-out pace, checking out three specially selected wineries with the option to indulge in a cheese platter or charcuterie at one of the stops to fuel up.

Discover Melbourne's multicultural heritage with your taste buds on a walking food tour. Visit to the city’s most famous market, the Queen Victoria Market to see how residents shop, sampling delectable bites along the way. Learn how Melbourne evolved into a foodie destination as you chat with vendors and cooks at a range of ethnic eateries, and cap it off with a drink at a cozy pub.

Tasting your way around the Yarra Valley means driving between wineries and producers spread across the region, the designated driver missing out. Ride out from Melbourne with the route and transport handled, stopping at family-run wineries, a dairy, a distillery, and a chocolate maker along the way. Sample wine, cheese, gin, and chocolate as you go, with a wood-fired pizza lunch built into the day.

Spot Aussie icons and exotic beasts on a thrilling family-friendly day out at the Serengeti-themed Werribee Open Range Zoo. Hop on an open-window bus for a safari tour and get up close to the wildlife. Then, explore the rest of the park on foot and at your leisure, visiting the different animal enclosures, enjoying zookeeper talks and presentations throughout the day, or making the most of the playgrounds.

Reaching the Puffing Billy railway in the Dandenong Ranges takes some sorting from central Melbourne, especially without a car. Ride out with transport arranged, then board the heritage steam train through the ranges, with the open-sided carriages that the line is known for. At the Lakeside Visitor Centre, walk around Emerald Lake Park and stop for food (own expense) before returning.

Discover Melbourne’s architectural scene dating back to the 1850s on this small group tour of the city. Your guide will take you to several places to show you different architectural designs and explain their significance. Stop at Federation Square, Flinder Street Station, ANZ Bank Museum, Scots Church, and more. Make sure to wear comfy shoes as this is around a two hour walking tour.

Let one simple booking sort out a whole day’s worth of Melbourne sightseeing and get a unique first-hand experience with not just Aussie nature, but a piece of its history too on this Puffing Billy, forest, and Yarra Valley combo tour. Start by hopping aboard the over-100-year-old railway, before walking around huge Californian Redwoods, then make the trip your own with either a wine tasting or a sweet treat.

Discover the natural delights of Phillip Island with an eco-tour from Melbourne. See the iconic Brighton Beach bathing boxes, visit the beach and take some time to admire these historic landmarks. Head to the Moonlit Sanctuary Conservation Park for an up-close encounter with kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and other native Australian wildlife. Finish the day at a local beach where you can watch hundreds of some of the world's tiniest penguins waddle out of the ocean and across the sand to their burrows.

Enjoy a new perspective of Melbourne’s port and Docklands area as you cruise down the Yarra River toward Hobson’s Bay. Learn about Melbourne’s history as a 19th-century port town while watching the sights go by on this narrated tour.

Get a good look at the sporty side of Melbourne on this half day tour, including a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). You and your small group will meet outside the Transport Bar at Federation Square, and then head to Birrarung Marr and walk along the river to Rod Laver Arena for tennis history, the Melbourne & Olympic Park, AAMI Park for soccer and rugby news, and finally at the MCG for a guided tour.

Take a walk through Melbourne's seedy side on a true crime tour of Fitzroy, once the city’s most dangerous and notorious district. Feel transported back to the turn of the 20th century while a historian guide shares the dark deeds of thieves, murderers, gang bosses, pimps, and other scoundrels who once stalked the streets. Meet these hardened criminals through a booklet with historic photos that bring the chilling stories to life.

Skip the trial and error of exploring Melbourne’s food scene and experience eateries you wouldn’t find on your own on this shared evening food tour of the city. Follow your guide as they take you to hole-in-the-wall eateries around Melbourne, including in Chinatown and by the Yarra River. As you walk, explore the city’s laneways including Hosier Lane with its popular street art.

Uncover Melbourne's spookier side on this ghost tour of the city center. Hear ghostly tales that span the history of the city, passing by Queen Victoria Market, the Old Melbourne Gaol, Chinatown, and more. While walking between locations, pause for a drink (own expense) at three bars—each with their own creepy tale. A must-do for any fan of the macabre when visiting Melbourne.

Spend a full day exploring the landmarks of the Great Ocean Road. Watch the sunset at the famous Twelve Apostles rock formation, pass the Otway Ranges and spot koalas, explore landmarks in Port Campbell National Park and more. Known as one of Australia's most beautiful drives and one of Victoria's most popular destinations, the Great Ocean Road offers great photo ops of coastal scenery, picturesque seaside towns and pristine wilderness—a must-do excursion from Melbourne.