Yarra River Tours and Tickets

Popular attractions along the Yarra River in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) include Flinders Street Station, the Arts Centre Melbourne, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the King's Domain parkland, and the Southbank Promenade. Outside of the CBD, other riverside attractions include the Abbotsford Convent and Scienceworks museum.

Yes, you can go boating and kayaking on the Yarra River in Melbourne. You can book a boat cruise or hire a boat to drive yourself around the Yarra River and the Docklands area. Kayaking on the Yarra is also very popular, either as part of a kayaking tour or independently with a hired kayak.

No, you cannot swim in the Yarra River in Melbourne’s CBD or in the Yarra River Park. It is illegal to swim in the Yarra River anywhere downriver of Gipps Street in Abbotsford. But you probably wouldn’t want to anyway, as the water quality in these areas is quite poor.

Yes, there are many river cruises you can take along the Yarra River. Boat tours on the Yarra range from sightseeing cruises that let you see Melbourne from a new perspective to dinner cruises where you can enjoy dinner and drinks while admiring the illuminated city center. Most river cruises depart from the CBD area.

Yes, you can go fishing in the Yarra River if you have a fishing license for Victoria. If you catch fish from the Yarra River, you should consult advice from the local council before eating it, as industrial pollutants are known to be at high levels in certain fish.

The best places to photograph the Yarra River and Melbourne skyline are Morell Pedestrian Bridge in South Yarra and the riverfronts at Alexandra Gardens and Birrarung Marr Lower Terrace, opposite each other. In the CBD, two good spots are the Queens Bridge and the Princes Bridge.