Over fifty cultural, historic and Indigenous walking tours! The perfect learning and social event for club members of U3A, Probus, Rotary, Life Activities, Reconciliation, Senior, Meetup.
We continue our special discount rate for Probus, Rotary, U3A, Life Activities Clubs and Seniors Clubs of only $25 per person for a 2-hour tour if they have 12 or more persons Our usual maximum is 20 or more depending on which tour. Book early!
Melbournewalks.com is one of Melbourne’s oldest walking companies. We deliver over fifty highly-researched walking tours (examples below) in Melbourne’s city centre and also suburbs including Lanes and Arcades, Street Art, Unsolved Crimes, Early Melbourne, Indigenous, Architecture, Rooftop tours, Subterranean tours and many more.
“On behalf of the Sherbrooke U3A members who took the Bearbrass Early Melbourne Tour last Thursday, I wish to express our thanks and appreciation…everyone enjoyed it immensely. Most of us have lived in the Melbourne area for many years, yet know very little about its history. The facts and stories that you shared with us will whet our appetite and encourage us to research into our collective past. I hope to plan further walks in the future.Kind regards”.
Sherbrooke U3A
‘Hi Meyer,, Many thanks for the tour on Monday last. We all learnt a great deal about our wonderful city from you.’
U3A Emerald
SEE – BOOKINGS AND PRICES – FOR INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND SCHOOLS
SOME POPULAR TOURS
MELBOURNE LANES TOUR:
Explore the fascinating labyrinth of lanes in Melbourne’s historic warehouse, fashion, maritime and residential precincts with their amazing culture, shops, architecture, hidden places. More..
MELBOURNE WOMEN TOUR:
Retrace the historic places and significant buildings which tell the story of Melbourne’s women campaigners for equality and social justice from settlement to today including Vida Goldstein, Emma Silcock, Saint Mary MacKillop, Clarence, Mary and Clara Stone, Helen Dugdale and others.
LIVING WILD OFF THE LAND:
Go on a foraging expedition on suburban parks, waterways, street and foreshore and learn how Indigenous people, pioneers and locals harvested wild food, medicine, tools, shelter and other resources from before and after settlement to today.. More…
MELBOURNE STREET ART TOUR:
Melbourne’s back lanes are internationally famous as creative galleries and feature thousands of amazing stencils, posters, paintings, murals, light boxes, graffiti and installations as well as historic typographies. Journey with us through the maze to learn how the radical transformation of industrial lanes into urban canvases occurred. More…
MELBOURNE DUNNY LANES TOUR:
Re-enact an 1880 dunny crew undergoing training in the maze of historic lanes and arcades exploring Melbourne’s hidden infrastructure… More…
1835. THE FOUNDING OF MELBOURNE (BEARBRASS):
Explore all the original places of settlement before the gold rush in the heart of the CBD… More
ON TOP OF MELBOURNE TOUR:
An unforgettable history tour on top of Melbourne. Adventure to the high places of Melbourne often by mysterious access routes, to discover secret places and extraordinary views from rooftop cafes, car parks, fire-escapes, stairwells or whatever it takes.Normal fitness required. Don’t forget your binoculars and camera! See Pictures. More…
LOST MELBOURNE TOUR
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MELBOURNE BOOKSHOPS AND WRITERS TOUR:
A walking tour of booksellers and books: Melbourne is the world’s second UNESCO City of Literature. Explore, with a local writer, many of the 70 CBD booksellers hidden in obscure and historic locations. Learn about the history of Melbourne writers and read extracts from stories, poems and scenes from books set on location in Melbourne. More…
MELBOURNE ARCHITECTURAL TOUR:
Take a tour of landmark architectural buildings in the Melbourne CBD that reflect local and international achievements. More…
MELBOURNE DREAMING:
Explore Melbourne’s Aboriginal history: the characters, events, places, landscapes, corroborees and ceremonies of the traditional owners before and after settlement. Our hunting and gathering tours are located variously in the CBD, Footscray, Merri Creek, Black Rock – or choose a local site convenient to yourself. More…
MELBOURNE’S CRIMES TOUR (COLD CASES):
Explore the history if crimes inclouding unsolved and crimes and mysteries from settlement to today including gangland, theft, conspiracy, robbery, bombings, fraud, bombing, Ned Kelly. More…
SOCIAL JUSTICE MELBOURNE:
Discover the packed history of left-wing oppositional troublemaking rebels in the back lanes of Melbourne – communists, ‘wobblies’, mutiny, anarchists, Chinese activists, bombers, rebellion, rioters, suffragettes, feminists, gays, stirrers, eccentrics and madmen. More…
MADAM BRUSSELL’S MELBOURNE:
Explore the 19th century life and times of Marvellous Smellboom during the reign of the city’s greatest ‘Madam’ visiting the slum sites of former opium dens, brothels, music halls, joss houses, sweatshops, dance halls, gold rush theatres, lodging, houses, ‘salvation janes’ and ‘slum sisters. More…
AROUND AND UNDER QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET:
Did you know that there are 9000 bodies of early settlers, Aboriginals, Quakers and bushrangers buried under the Queen Victoria Market Car Park and nearby Flagstaff Gardens? Walk the market and learn their astonishing stories using maps, photos and records. Find the last monument standing. Read the many grave inscriptions on record. We remember, honour and pay our respects. More…
SIGNS IN THE CITY – A MELBOURNE CULTURAL TYPOGRAPHY TOUR:
Explore the City of Melbourne’s oldest historic neon and electric signs as well as other heritage letterforms in architecture, infrastructure , murals, puzzles and stencils and learn their cultural stories. More…
MELBOURNE ARCHAEOLOGY TOUR:
Explore the archaeological sites of magnificent Half Moon Bay, Black Rock including pre-history wells, ochre site, stone scatters, shell middens, fossils, lookouts and stone tool ‘knapping’.
THE LAST MAN HANGED – THE RONALD RYAN TOUR
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MELBOURNE HALLOWEEN TOURS
On the evening of Hallows Day the boundaries with the Otherworld fade and the dead can cross to the world of the living. Experience the lost cities of the dead at Flagstaff Gardens and Queen Victoria Market. Or travel though the haunted back world of St Kilda at night. More…
SQUIZZY TAYLOR TOUR
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