Melbourne — Laneways

Melbourne Laneways Guide

Melbourne's laneways are the part of the city that most tourists photograph and most visitors experience as a pleasant confusion. The laneways are best understood not as a sight to tick off but as the infrastructure of a particular kind of city life — the place where Melbourne hid its café culture, its street art, its best bars, and its most interesting architecture when the main streets got boring.

6 picks
01

Hosier Lane

CBDFree

Melbourne's most photographed wall. A rotating street art installation where what you see today is not what was there six months ago.

The entire lane runs between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane, one block east of Federation Square. The pieces change, get painted over, get responded to, get tagged. That's the point.

Local tipMorning for photos — the light is better and the crowds are smaller. Don't just photograph the first wall; walk to the end.
02

Degraves Street

CBDFree

The laneway that made Melbourne's café culture famous.

Degraves runs between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane and has been the centre of CBD café culture since the 1990s. The cafés are now tourist-facing but the atmosphere is genuine — the narrow width, the tables spilling onto the pavement, the sound of a city moving. Order a coffee and stand, don't sit.

Local tipMorning on a weekday for the best version of this. On weekends it's a queue.
03

Centre Place

CBDFree

Narrower than Degraves and even more atmospheric.

Centre Place runs from Flinders Lane to Collins Street and is the laneway where the width makes you feel like Melbourne is doing something deliberately European. Several of the city's best small cafés have addresses here.

Local tipCafé Andiamo at the Flinders Lane end for coffee. The graffiti on the walls changes slowly and consistently.
04

Hardware Lane

CBDEvening dining

The Italian restaurant strip of the CBD laneways — Hardware Lane comes alive in the evening.

Runs between Little Bourke Street and Bourke Street. Outdoor tables, lights strung overhead, the sound of multiple kitchens at once. Good for a warm evening dinner when you don't want to book ahead.

AvoidThe better restaurants are in the middle of the lane. Avoid the ones with laminated menus and large photos.
05

AC/DC Lane

CBDLive music

Named after the band. The Cherry Bar at the end is one of Melbourne's great small live music venues.

The Cherry Bar is at the end of ACDC Lane — sticky floors, loud guitars, genuinely committed to the form. The lane itself has street art with obvious musical themes.

Local tipThe Cherry Bar is open Thursday to Sunday. Cover charge on weekends. Get there before 10pm.
06

Caledonian Lane

CBDBest after 5pm

Less visited than the main laneway circuit and worth it for that reason.

Caledonian runs off Little Collins Street and has some of Melbourne's best small bar addresses — Eau de Vie for serious cocktails is here, along with a handful of other bars that reward discovery.

Local tipFind it off Little Collins between Swanston and Elizabeth. Best after 5pm.

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