Melbourne – From the Bay to the Laneways
4.5 hours
Melbourne’s afternoon food tour that skips the CBD and takes you to where the city’s food story began: the market, the cake shops, the coffee. All with time to eat, wander and linger at every stop.
| Locations: Melbourne | Duration: 4.5 hrs |
| Start: 13:00 hrs | End: 17:30 hrs Southbank |
| Min: 2 adults Max: 11 people | Departures: Daily except Monday and Wednesday, approx 12:30–13:00 hrs (exact meeting time and point on booking confirmation) |
Highlights & Inclusions
- Four of Melbourne’s favourite eating neighbourhoods in one afternoon, deliberately outside the CBD, travelling by comfortable small bus with a small amount of easy walking.
- Tastings included: cheese and cured meats plus fresh seafood at Queen Victoria Market, a true vanilla slice and coffee in Acland Street’s original cake shop, and a beer in a pub pouring since 1856.
- Free time built into every stop: explore the market aisles, Fitzroy’s storied streets and the St Kilda foreshore at your own pace.
- An expert local guide sharing the stories behind the counters: the market callers, the 55-year baker, Melbourne’s coffee culture and the neighbourhoods that built the city’s food reputation.
- See Melbourne between the bites: the drives between neighbourhoods double as a city orientation, including the drive along the bay from St Kilda to the pub.
Inclusions
- Expert local guide throughout<
- Travel by comfortable, modern small bus (large windows, clear views from every seat)
- All listed tastings: cheese and cured meat plate, fresh seafood tasting, vanilla slice and coffee, and a beer (or non-alcoholic alternative) at the pub
- Selected Hotel pick-up (connection from Oceania morning tours available; see Notes)
Exclusions
- Additional food and drink purchases during free time
Itinerary
Depart central Melbourne. Guests finishing an Oceania morning city tour or Moonlit Sanctuary and Brighton Beach tour can join this tour.
Tasting of cheeses and cured meats, followed by prawns or oysters fresh off the ice in the seafood hall. Free time to explore the aisles: the fruit and veg you’ve never seen, the traders calling the afternoon’s specials. Approx 45 minutes.
Free time in Melbourne’s oldest suburb: Wurundjeri Country, and home to every identity the city has tried on: Victorian terraces, former factories and warehouses, now cafés, galleries and local designers. Wander Brunswick Street, grab a coffee, browse the shops. Approx 45 minutes.
A true vanilla slice and coffee in Acland Street’s first cake shop, where the baker has been at it for 55 years. Time to walk the cake-shop strip or stroll to the foreshore. Approx 45 minutes.
Drive along the bay from St Kilda to a beer where Melburnians have been having one since 1856, original charm intact. You’ll feel at home the moment you step inside.
Return to central meeting point in Southbank. Approximate finish time; traffic dependent.
Note: Dairy and Gluten free options available for cake shop stop. No alternatives available for cheese, meat or seafood. Please advise at booking.
Non-alcoholic alternative available at the pub.
What to bring:
Comfortable shoes, weather-appropriate layers (Melbourne does all four seasons), and an appetite