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Helena Bradbury

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Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades | Helena Bradbury travel blog | melbourne laneways | street art melbourne | melbourne lanes and arcades | melbourne laneway | block arcade melbourne | hardware lane mel…

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades

Helena Bradbury July 4, 2020

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Melbourne is famous for its laneways. They’re all over the city; you’ll stumble on many alleys and lanes with the world-famous Melbourne street art, amazing murals, cute corners and tucked away cafes. Some even have secret bars built into them.

You might have seen some of the Melbourne laneways on a city walking tour, but it’s likely you haven’t seen the most famous streets yet, as well as some of the hidden gems!

This article will not only give you a self-guided CBD tour of all the best Melbourne laneways and street art, but also some spots around the city where you can see more amazing pieces of artwork. 

You might also be interested in my Melbourne 3 day itinerary.

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades | Helena Bradbury travel blog | melbourne laneways | street art melbourne | melbourne lanes and arcades | melbourne laneway | block arcade melbourne | hardware lane mel…
 

Self-guided Melbourne street art and laneways tour

Start your day or later morning with coffee or brunch on Hardware Lane at one of the Melbourne staples such as Hardware Societe, White Mojo or Hash Coffee.

Walk south-east on Hardware Lane and take in all the coffee shops, independent stores and laneways off this pedestrianised area. Walk towards the corner of Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street.

 

From Elizabeth street, starting at the Royal Arcade, you can follow this route.

The Block Arcade

The Block Arcade

  • Royal Arcade

This Melbourne arcade was the first arcade in the city and is still the longest standing arcade in Australia. The Victorian Royal Arcade building began construction in 1869. The renaissance style has been restored over the years but it still remains a popular tourist attraction and the home to many local and independent retailers in Melbourne.

 
  • Cross Little Collins Street into Block Arcade

Chuckle Bar

Chuckle Bar

As you cross over Little Collins Street, peer into Clyde Way. This laneway is on the same side of the road as the Royal Arcade you just left. In this alleyway is one of the tucked away bars squeezed into this small laneway space - Chuckle Park Bar. It’s an awesome place for a drink and shows how diverse the lanway usage is in Melbourne.

 
  • Block Arcade

Another of the famous Melbourne arcades. The Melbourne Block Arcade was built in 1892 and the architect took inspiration from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. The interior is richly decorated and is home to the largest mosaic floor in the southern hemisphere. This arcade is famous for its luxury shops and tea rooms - make sure to try a cake from the Hopetoun Tea Rooms here!

 
Centre Place

Centre Place

  • Come out of Block Arcade onto Collins Street

  • Cross over into Centre Place

 Full of bustling cafes, restaurants and street food stalls, Centre Place, Melbourne is possibly the most famous laneway in Melbourne. The best place for pictures is from the top of the steps just as you come in off Collins Street.

  • Walk straight through Centre Place onto Flinders Lane

 
  • Along Flinders Lane, stop at Hosier Lane

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Hosier Lane

Hosier Lane

Hosier Lane graffiti and street art is possibly the most famous of all Melbourne street art. It changes almost daily with new artwork and you will often see artists at work creating a new piece. Walk all the way down Hosier Lane and back up to take it all in. Also take a peek down Rutledge Lane which is just off Hosier Lane.

 
  • Continue along Flinders Lane to Higson Lane

All the way along Flinders Lane you’ll see lots of alleyways with street art and graffiti, head down and explore as many as you like. Also be sure to stop at Higson lane if you’re a Star Wars or Elton John fan as there is a large Elton John and Yoda street art mural.

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
  • Continue along Flinders Lane to ACDC Lane

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades

ACDC Lane in Melbourne is another must-see laneway. And yes, ACDC Lane is it’s real name! Here you can see rock music artwork, even some 3D artwork attached to the side of the buildings. The artwork here is often changing too so make sure to snap some photos and take it all in!

 
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades | Helena Bradbury travel blog | melbourne laneways | street art melbourne | melbourne lanes and arcades | melbourne laneway | block arcade melbourne | hardware lane mel…
  • Turn left onto Duckboard Place

At the bottom of ACDC Lane turn left onto Duckboard Place to see the famous ‘Melbourne’ artwork piece. You’ll need to stand quite far back if you want to fit the whole thing in a photo.

Also look up to the left and see the hundreds of pairs of shoes hanging from the electricity cables above! You can look all the way around Duckboard Place to get back to Flinders Lane.

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades
 

This is the end of the self-guided tour from Elizabeth Street to Exhibition Street. However if you want to see more, I suggest turning left onto Exhibition Street and walking up a couple of blocks to Bourke Street and Chinatown. Here you will also find these great laneways full of Melbourne street art:

  • Meyers Place - a huge green fantasy style jungle artwork which is the size of the whole building. Also check out the Loop rooftop bar down this laneway.

  • Tattersall Lane - full of authentic Melbourne street art and also home to the awesome Section 8 laneway bar

  • Croft Alley - lots of raw and authentic artwork tucked down this alleyway in Chinatown. Make sure to walk around the corner to see it all

  • Flinders Court - more authentic Melbourne street art which changes regularly

  • Presgrave Place - full of street art but also an awesome wall covered in empty picture frames.

  • Union Lane - this laneway joins Bourke Street mall and Little Collins Street behind the Royal Arcade where you started. This laneway is often seen as the starter lane for new artists so sometimes it’s just full of tags but sometimes you’ll find a gem down here!

Meyers Place
Meyers Place
Croft Alley
Croft Alley
Presgrave Place
Presgrave Place
 

Melbourne street art further afield

Johnston Street - Fitzroy

This is one in my neighbourhood. Fitzroy is full of street art tucked down alleyways and on street corners but you’ll find something on almost every corner of Johnston Street. Explore a bit further into the residential area and you’ll discover entire buildings painted as an old-era map or rainbows and cat art!

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades | Helena Bradbury travel blog | melbourne laneways | street art melbourne | melbourne lanes and arcades | melbourne laneway | block arcade melbourne | hardware lane mel…

Rose Street, Fitzroy

Rose Street hosts the artists’ market so of course there has to be plenty of street art in this area! Check out the market and the street art in the surrounding streets.

Collingwood

Home to this huge mural by Adnate on the site of a residential building, Collingwood is also full of street art tucked away in residential areas. 

Where is your favourite street art?

 

Like it? Pin it!

Melbourne street art self-guided tour: the best laneways, street art and arcades | Helena Bradbury travel blog | melbourne laneways | street art melbourne | melbourne lanes and arcades | melbourne laneway | block arcade melbourne | hardware lane mel…

Want some help travelling like me? These are my favourite resources I use for planning my trips:

Flights: I use Expedia to find great flights and the best deals all over the world, they have regular sales and offers so I always check their website. I also check CheapOair to find cheap deals on round trip flights.

Car Rental: I love the customer service I've always gotten and the variety of options with Rental Cars. But for short notice rentals, I've been using Expedia for the last year, they always seem to have great one-day rates or last-minute rates from the main rental companies.

Accommodation: I prefer the flexibility of booking accommodation with Booking.com so I can cancel or change my reservation without a fee or only pay on arrival for most properties. For longer or more unique stays I prefer AirBnB because you can get the long stay discount, you can also find more unique properties and book experiences with talented locals and businesses. For my budget trips, I always stay in hostels and book through Hostelworld because they have great guarantees if anything does go wrong. If you arrive and your booking is not at the property, they refund the full deposit AND give you $50 extra credit.

Tours and organised trips Although I don’t use tours that often, I do like to book local experiences or day trips once I reach my destination. For that I use GetYourGuide because it has the biggest selection and variety of tour and experience options.

Travel Insurance: I currently use SafetyWing Nomad Insurance. Which allows me to pay a rolling monthly fee to cover my long term travels.

My camera gear and equipment: I use a Canon 77D with an 18-135mm lens or a 50mm lens. And a DJI Mavic Mini Drone. For all my gear including laptops, tripods and more camera accessories read my travel photography gear guide.

In Australia Tags melbourne, australia, melbourne street art, street art, graffiti, self-guided tour, laneways
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Hi, I’m Helena!

A traveller and content creator from the UK and lover of outdoor adventures, bright colours and early sunrises!

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🔸️Ložišća
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#visitbrac #visitpostira #postirabrac #
7 easy day trips from Postira on Brac Island 🇭🇷 

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