Discover Melbourne on foot

Melbourne Street Art Tours

The best things about Melbourne are easy to miss. They’re often hiding down laneways, on rooftops or underground, in places that visitors might not think to look. For those unsure of where to start, a walking tour makes it easy to navigate some of the city’s hidden treasures.

LocalingDesigned ‘for people who don’t like tours’, Localing is run by well-informed and well-connected Melbourne locals who are passionate about the city and its surrounds. Founded by old friends, Dan and Dean, the tours aim is to show visitors around at their own pace and with their interests in mind. All tours are private which means that  routes are planned based on individual likes and dislikes as determined at the outset. Where possible, Localing tours include behind-the-scenes experiences to showcase the ‘real Melbourne’. Since it launched in 2013, the company’s popularity has led to a fast-growing team of eight guides who can cater for Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, Spanish and French speakers.

Hidden SecretsOwner, Fiona Sweetman and her suite of guides pride themselves on dishing out Melbourne’s Hidden Secrets. The aptly named walking tours encompass a range of topics including Laneways and Arcades, Cafe Culture, The Golden Mile Heritage Walk, Architecture or Art and Design, and Vintage Outing Tours. All options hero the laneways, the local characters, and the city’s creative heart to show visitors why Melbourne is the world’s most liveable city. The informed guides impart information that many locals are unaware of and as much as possible, the tours include products that are locally sourced and manufactured.

Melbourne Food ExperiencesMelbourne is a foodie’s heaven. Its people are passionate about what they cook, eat and drink and the city is filled with fresh produce markets, famous chefs, award-winning restaurants, food stores galore and festivals dedicated to food and wine. Melbourne Food Experiences, founded by well known local foodie Allan Campion, makes all this and more accessible for visitors. Its walking tours lead guests to the city’s latest and greatest restaurants, food stores and culinary icons and through lanes, alleys and grand boulevards to find the latest foodie hot spots. Guests can choose to explore Melbourne city, or nearby foodie precincts including Lygon Street, Victoria Street or Footscray. Those looking to sample the best of Melbourne’s bar scene can join award-winning cocktail expert Sebastian Raeburn on the Melbourne Cocktail and Bar Tour, while visitors with a penchant for art can combine their passions on the Melbourne Art and Food Tour.

Melbourne Coffee ToursMelbourne is famed for its cafe culture, and city’s baristas pride themselves on serving some of the world’s best coffee. From single origin to siphons, filters and third wave brews, the uninitiated can find the art of coffee a world unto its own. Visitors stumped by where to start can join Maria Paoli on a Melbourne Coffee Tour. The professional coffee trainer and judge will lead guests to the city’s most innovative cafes and reveal the locals’ favourite spots. Group tours operate with a minimum of six people while for smaller groups, Private Espresso Treks are also available.

Street art toursRun by street artists, Melbourne Street Art Tours reveal some of the city’s most famed street art destinations. The well informed guides share information about the artists, their techniques and their significance in making Melbourne one of the most important destinations in the world for street art. All tours end at the famous Blender Studios, where participants can take a tour both the studios and the gallery (Dark Horse Experiment) by director Adrian Doyle. Here they can meet practicing street and fine artists, and get a feel for the art world in action.

Melbourne ArchitoursRun by a group of local Melburnians who work, live and breathe architecture and design in the city, Melbourne Architours shares knowledge and generates discussion about the built environment. Architours focus on Melbourne’s evolution through its building fabric in the city and inner urban neighbourhoods. Options for tours in the city include Settlement to Marvellous Melbourne, Art Deco to Moderne and Modernism to Contemporary tour (East and West). Just outside the city, the South Yarra tour takes in a range of architectural styles and eras represented in the area, and the Fitzroy tour reveals the social and cultural heritage of Melbourne’s first suburb.

Chocoholic ToursAs the name suggests, Chocoholic Tours are designed for those with a sweet tooth. Meandering through the city’s lane ways and arcades, visitors will experience a selection of milk and dark chocolate tastings at Melbourne’s best chocolatiers. Tour options vary from the Chocolate Wonderland Tour, where a little history is thrown in the mix, to the Chocolate and Sweet Temptations Tour, for those who prefer their chocolate organic and raw. Chocoholics who love it all can opt for the Chocolate Lovers Tour, while lovers of milk chocolate are best suited to the Bittersweet Chocolate Tour. During June and July, a new ‘Winter Warmer Chocolate Tour,’ will take place every Saturday and Sunday to showcase the best hot chocolates around town.

Walk MelbourneMonique Bayer founded Walk Melbourne to share her passion for food and Melbourne. Her tours feature food and stories about the people behind the city’s thriving food and coffee scene. The Melbourne Experience showcases a selection of the city’s best coffee, sweet treats and Chinese dumplings as well as some of Melbourne’s best designer fashion stores and finishing at one of Melbourne’s famed rooftop bar. Topic specific tour options include: Coffee Lovers Walk, Dumplings, Chocolate and Rooftop Bars.

Melbourne by FootMelbourne By Foot offers a range of small group tours that highlight the city’s past and present. Led by passionate Melburnians with a vision of sharing local knowledge and experience the tours are enjoyed by visitors and natives alike.  The original tour, Cultural Walk looks at everything from Aboriginal and colonial history through to modern aspects of Melbourne. Melbourne by Foot also runs a Beer Lovers Guide to Melbourne and a Beer Lovers Guide to Fitzroy.