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Melbourne's Hidden Secrets, Lanes and Arcades

(A tour review by Kristie – March 2013) Recently I took a walking tour of Melbourne, on the popular Lanes and Arcades tour. I had a really great time, and I just want to tell you a bit about it. I’m a Victorian who relocated to Queensland as a teenager and I lived and worked in Melbourne for 9 years not that long ago. While I’d been in a few of the more well-known lanes, there are many places we visited that I had no idea about, so even locals will enjoy this tour

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For those that don’t know, Melbourne was originally designed in a simple grid fashion. Each cross street had its own lane behind it to service the buildings. This has left copious little hidden locations where resourceful retailers and shopkeepers were able to run their businesses. We met our tour guide at Federation Square before heading off on our adventure with our souvenir bag which includes a map of where you will visit on your tour. This way you can easily come back and explore more on your own.
Our tour guide, Meg, is a fount of information throughout our tour, with little bits of historical trivia to keep you interested and intrigued.

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After a quick stop outside the famous Young and Jackson’s pub where Meg tells us the story of Chloe, the famous nude portrait, we head off to our first arcade of the day. Campbell Arcade is an arcade beneath the street which connects the underground exit of the Flinders Street train station to nearby streets. The arcade is filled with outlets for young designers and artists and houses the little hole in the wall coffee shop that works on an honour system. Shout out your order and toss your money in the mug. Now that’s trust. I can understand why it’s called The Cup Of Truth.

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Campbell Arcade leads out to Degraves Lane, home to lots of cafes all serving great food for breakfast and lunch, some for dinner too. The other end of the lane has some great little shops. The first cupcake shop in Melbourne, an Italian paper shop, a branch of the oldest children’s bookshop in the world, and Clementines, where all the products are Victorian made.

I don’t want to give away all the secrets of the day, but you’ll visit a variety of hidden laneways, each with their own specialities and history, and a number of the historic arcades around the city too.

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Want to find out more about Melbourne? Including our favourite tours, latest specials, travel information and plenty more. See our Melbourne Things to Do Travel Guide.

You’ll enjoy a break for Coffee or a specialty Hot Chocolate at one of Melbourne’s best chocolatiers before resuming your tour to find more unexpected treasure. I especially enjoyed the contrast between the beautiful but unexpected frescoes on the ceiling of a clothing store and the graffiti or street art which can be just as stunning in its own way. The retro clothing, haberdashery, button and craft stores up a few floors of what looks from the outside like an old long-abandoned office building was definitely unexpected.

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If you are staying in the city, take this tour early on during your stay as it gives you a wonderful insight into some of the places you would otherwise miss out on. There really are hidden gems all around the place, whether you are looking for good food or quirky shopping, and I’m sure that a Lanes and Arcades Tour is one of the best ways to uncover the treasures of Melbourne.

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