ALTERNATIVE MELBOURNE WALKING TOUR

Melbourne is renowned for its street art. Even our hostel had jumped on the bandwagon and hired graffiti artists to plaster the walls with colourful designs. We had heard that there was a great self-guided walking tour you could do through the city centre to see some of the best graffiti Melbourne offered, so, after a bit of research we headed to Flinders Street station to see for ourselves. I’ll reproduce the route here so if you ever happen to be in Melbourne you can go have a look too. I’d highly recommend it and it won’t take you more than an hour with ample stopping time. 

Start your walk from the main entrance of Flinders Street station. From here cross the road to St Paul’s Cathedral (it feels so wrong calling any other building than the lovely London St Paul’s by that name) and then continue east along Flinders Street until you reach Hosier Lane on the left hand side. It’s pretty hard to miss!

The walls are completely covered in incredible street art here. This was my favourite stop on this walk just because of the sheer scale of the work here. 

You’ll also probably come across some people working on new pieces here, which is the beauty of this particular spot - it’s constantly changing.

After you’ve wound your way to the end of Hosier Lane walk left down Flinders Lane, cross over Swanston Street then look for the first lane on the left side called Cocker Alley. Here, you won’t find much anymore. This is where Banksy’s ‘Little Diver’ piece used to be, until a perspex screen was placed over the work to deter vandalism and the work was promptly destroyed. Evidently someone didn’t appreciate the glorification of this piece. All that remains is a plaque commemorating the ruined artwork. Take a quick look and move on. 

Keep walking west down Flinders Lane until turning right onto Centre Place. 

Centre place is full of cafes and restaurants and is usually pretty bustling. The shutters to these eateries are covered in graffiti but they’re usually up during the daytime. The street has a dead end with some cool artwork and Centre Place is also just a great place to have a look round and maybe pick up a coffee and a sandwich.

Head back on to Flinders Lane and go east back to Swanston Street. Keep going until you hit Little Bourke Street and there turn left. After that take the first right onto Caledonian Lane. 

After snapping all the Instagram-able quotes you can find, walk north onto Lonsdale Street and turn right. Walk until you see Heffernan Lane on your right hand side. Turn onto Heffernan Lane, the last street on the itinerary. I stupidly forgot to get pictures here but what you’re looking out for are the street signs. Some are real but some are fakes comprised of unusual quotes. A very different form of street art but worth having a look at! 

Melbourne was definitely the most unique city I’d visited in Australia and parts of it almost felt like London. Definitely go and have a look at all the street art if you ever find yourself there, you wouldn’t want to miss it.