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94 Travel | Melbourne © Robert Blackburn / Visions of Victoria; © Paul Philipson / Visions of Victoria
1
It isn’t normally the sensible advice you hear when visiting another
city, but the next time you’re in Melbourne, wander down a few back
alleys in the city centre. Yes, you’ll find graffiti, but the aroma of coffee
will be wafting from cafés, shop windows will be full of fashions and
you’ll join a parade of in-the-know locals. Amuse yourself with store
names – SHAG, The Cat’s Meow, Smitten Kitten – and take a closer
look at the graffiti, some of which is heritage listed.
Melbourne’s laneways are all about cafés There are also few better cities in which to sip
and shops. If you’re tired of cookie-cutter a good cup of coffee and enjoy the passing street
shopping malls, you’ll find nothing bland life. In many laneway cafés, you can still enjoy
here, just the quirky and interesting. From the old-fashioned feel of yesteryear, as well as
high art to low camp, chic to shabby, laneway traditional Central European pastries with
shops showcase the best of young Melbourne odd-sounding names, from dobosh (a spectacular
design talent, as well as the latest hip creations Hungarian sponge cake) to kugelhoupf with 2
from around the world. With nearly 300 chocolate and candied fruit. Yet next door
outlets to choose from, it’s alternative shopping you’ll find a contemporary café of suave
at its finest, and it makes Melbourne the best design or the latest hipster hangout.
shopping city in Australia. The city’s laneways
offer such variety that some companies Melbourne’s downtown laneways run between
even offer walking tours so you won’t miss Bourke and Flinders, and Swanston and 1 Street art along Hosier Lane.
the most eclectic shops or what has Elizabeth streets, with a few more around the
changed since your last visit. intersection of Swanston and Lonsdale. Some 2 Graffiti on a wall in Croft Alley.
1
It isn’t normally the sensible advice you hear when visiting another
city, but the next time you’re in Melbourne, wander down a few back
alleys in the city centre. Yes, you’ll find graffiti, but the aroma of coffee
will be wafting from cafés, shop windows will be full of fashions and
you’ll join a parade of in-the-know locals. Amuse yourself with store
names – SHAG, The Cat’s Meow, Smitten Kitten – and take a closer
look at the graffiti, some of which is heritage listed.
Melbourne’s laneways are all about cafés There are also few better cities in which to sip
and shops. If you’re tired of cookie-cutter a good cup of coffee and enjoy the passing street
shopping malls, you’ll find nothing bland life. In many laneway cafés, you can still enjoy
here, just the quirky and interesting. From the old-fashioned feel of yesteryear, as well as
high art to low camp, chic to shabby, laneway traditional Central European pastries with
shops showcase the best of young Melbourne odd-sounding names, from dobosh (a spectacular
design talent, as well as the latest hip creations Hungarian sponge cake) to kugelhoupf with 2
from around the world. With nearly 300 chocolate and candied fruit. Yet next door
outlets to choose from, it’s alternative shopping you’ll find a contemporary café of suave
at its finest, and it makes Melbourne the best design or the latest hipster hangout.
shopping city in Australia. The city’s laneways
offer such variety that some companies Melbourne’s downtown laneways run between
even offer walking tours so you won’t miss Bourke and Flinders, and Swanston and 1 Street art along Hosier Lane.
the most eclectic shops or what has Elizabeth streets, with a few more around the
changed since your last visit. intersection of Swanston and Lonsdale. Some 2 Graffiti on a wall in Croft Alley.
