Discover Melbourne: River and Laneways

About the audio tour

This walk will give you a feel for Melbourne via its laneways, arcades and the riverside. You can walk the whole tour in under an hour, or take things at a more leisurely pace by pausing to enjoy the sights and stopping at some of the numerous cafés, bars and restaurants along the way.

Image credit: Derek Midgley, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0. The image has been cropped from the original.

Major Landmarks

Flinders Street Station, Hosier Lane, Degraves Street, Block Arcade, Royal Arcade, Manchester Unity Building, Yarra River.

Directions to starting point

The tour begins on the corner of Flinders Street and Russell Street, opposite The Forum Theatre. To get there, take any tram along Swanston Street. Stop at Flinders Street Station and walk about 300 metres to the theatre.

Tips

Places to stop along the way:

Movida Next Door (Fri-Sun afternoons), Australian Centre for the Moving Image (10am to 5pm), The Organic Food and Wine Deli (TOFWD), Princes Bridge, Ponyfish Island. The tour can be extended by adding a river cruise at the end or a visit to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at the start.

Best time to walk:

Begin this tour by mid afternoon if you want to visit the Block Arcade before closing time. Start earlier if you plan on doing side trips like a river cruise or a visit to ACMI. Some arcades do not open until 9am.

Precautions:

Be aware of your surroundings when entering quiet laneways and underpasses. The smaller laneways are not recommended after dark if you are on your own in an unfamiliar location. Please note, the tour includes a number of flights of stairs.