© Destination NSW
© Visions of Victoria
Melbourne’s Famous Laneways
To Market To Market
Melbourne – Sporting Capital
Melbourne’s hive of bustling laneways, with their covert boutiques, famed restaurants, holein-the-wall cafés and astonishing bars are always exciting.
For fresh food, irresistible treats, unique gifts and endless bargains, there’s nothing like a market – and Melbourne has them scattered across the city.
Addresses reveal themselves to be velvety jazz clubs and flashy wine bars, or bare-bone student hangouts and dimly-lit hideaways. Meyers Place still hosts the eponymous bar plus no-fuss Italian, The Waiters Restaurant, while Pellegrini’s on Crossley Street is a Melbourne institution.
Whether you’re after supplies for a simple picnic or an extravagant banquet, you’ll be spoilt for choice at Queen Vic, Prahran and South Melbourne markets. Browse aisles of fresh produce and endless glass cabinets of heavenly deli goods, as well as organic wines, freshly brewed coffee and baked treats. Best of all, the stallholders’ spruiking and bargaining is great theatre. Enjoy the show!
Get set for world-class sporting events across Victoria. Cheer on the horses in picture perfect settings and feast your eyes on some of the world’s most beautiful golf courses – with international golf players to boot!
If a tiny laneway isn’t hiding a boozy den or caffeine lair, you’re likely to find colourful street art. More secret artwork can be uncovered in the galleries of Guildford Lane, or duck into lofts showcasing independent exhibitions. With shops selling streetwear and bespoke footwear, soak up the diversity and then ride away with a takeaway coffee from a little-known café.
Pick up artworks, jewellery and clothing by local creatives at Fitzroy’s Rose Street Artists’ Market, or head to Fed Square for cheap books. Twilight retail therapy at beachside night markets are especially eclectic – and special!
Cheer for Australian Rules football teams, or celebrate the world game in distinctly Victorian locations. Watch the super-fit run, ride and race, as yachts set sail, and surfers carve up the waves. Hear the racing engines roar with the sea as your backdrop. At the MCG, pair a game-day experience with a behind-thescenes tour and a visit to the National Sports Museum, or get onboard a Melbourne Sports Tour and discover the city’s many other iconic sporting venues. In Victoria, the sporting vibe is year-round infectious; the next big sporting event just around the corner.
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