Melbourne Self-Guided Walking Tour: Bars, Theatres, Supper Clubs

Melbourne is one of Australia's most liveable cities, and its laneways, rooftop bars, and hidden venues are where locals actually spend their time. On this walking tour, you'll find out where Melburnians eat, drink, and gather - from century-old arcades to tiny theatres tucked down back alleys. You'll also pick up enough insider knowledge to fill a week's worth of evenings.

The tour starts at Flinders Street Station and heads straight into Degraves Street and Centre Place, the laneway network that locals use for breakfast meetings and coffee. You'll pass through the Block Arcade - built during the gold rush of the 1890s and still paved with original Italian mosaics - and on through the Royal Arcade, the oldest in Australia, before winding up through the Paris end of Collins Street toward Parliament House and the heritage-listed Windsor Hotel.

Along the way, you'll hear about the Butterfly Club in Carson Lane, a tiny multi-level theatre where shows rarely cost more than twenty dollars, and the Waiters Restaurant in Meyers Place, an Italian institution since 1947 that once doubled as an after-hours card game for hospitality workers. The tour ends beside the Yarra River, where bike hire, river cruises, and the National Gallery of Victoria - home to the world's largest stained-glass ceiling - are all within easy reach.

On this two-hour tour, you'll have a chance to:

• Grab discounted theatre and event tickets at Half Tix on Swanston Street, cash only
• Visit the Sofitel's 35th-floor Atrium Bar for panoramic views toward the Dandenong Ranges
• Catch free Monday night comedy at The Spleen Bar on Bourke Street
• Explore the Melbourne Supper Club above the European Café, open until 4am
• Watch graffiti artists' work evolve along Union Lane off Little Collins Street
• Learn how Harry Houdini made the first powered flight in Australia – in Melbourne, in 1910

This tour hands you a genuine local's shortlist, so you can spend the rest of your trip actually living the city rather than just passing through it.