Melbourne Cafe and Coffee Culture Walking Tour
Description
Meet outside iconic Hill of Content Bookshop at 32 Bourke Street in the Melbourne CBD. Look out for our guide with the yellow golf umbrella. On this Cafe Culture tour, your guide will lead you to explore the maze of Melbourne’s laneways, learning how the coffee culture evolved from the coffee palaces of the ‘50s to the trendy cafes of today. This tour gives you the chance to escape the most crowded spots in favor of smaller, less-frequented lanes, hiding away some of the most unique and interesting cafes. Soak up the aroma of roasting coffee beans, while tasting the delights that Melbourne cafes have on offer. This tour isn’t just for coffee enthusiasts; tea, chocolate and sweet treats also feature on this tour. After indulging in some of the best cafes and delights Melbourne has on offer, your tour concludes with a great cafe-style lunch in yet another unique, hidden Melbourne location.
Tour Options
Itinerary
As cafe lovers will tell you, there is more to coffee than a 43-bean blend – it’s also about where you’re enjoying your cup of joe. Nowhere in Australia is this more true that in Melbourne, home to a thriving cafe culture. On this small-group walking tour through Melbourne’s maze of narrow laneways, hear from your local guide the stories of the coffee revolution, from the large coffee palaces in the 1950s to today’s hip boutique coffee bars.
Hop on the tram and ride away from the crowds to smaller, lesser-known lanes that are a coffee junkie’s paradise. As you walk, enjoy the rich aroma of coffee roasting and smell exotic herbs and spices coming from the cafes. Discover the individual characteristics of each cafe, which together make up the best cafe culture in Melbourne.
Finish your tour with a light and delicious cafe-style lunch and a cup of coffee, all included.
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Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Min 4, Max 8 guests per tour. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if min not reached. In this instance you will be offered an alternative tour/date or a full refund
- We do not recommend this walk for children aged 13 and under
- We operate in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Reviews(21)
Unfortunately, it was the worst tour that I have experience. Would have paid $10 for the tour, not the pricing you see. The title is misleading. “Coffee culture” does not reflect at all what we do. At the beginning, there is a portion of looking at the older coffee, shops area, but the tour doesn’t even drink coffee. And she did not know anything about coffee. There was one coffee included. Again, for a “coffee culture,” I expected more information about Melbourne coffee. Then it was walking tour about some alleys, which was interesting to a certain degree, but not something I needed a guide for. It was also very unorganized. Many times, we walked by a coffee shop, and the guide saying “ooops, it’s too busy here. Come back later on your own.” We did that 3-4 times. Some weird things to point out. - the tour guide did not seem to even know what the tour included as “food.” On our last stop, we had a sandwich and the guide told us we could have a beer. So we ordered one. The waitress corrected the guide, no it’s not included. - the guide does not drink coffee, so it does not make any sense for her to do the tour - it seems like one snack (pastry) was included. But she presented it as an afterthought. And she told us we could get it any other places we stopped. But with “oops too many people” we could not “redeem” our snacks properly. A guide present the options from the beginning. Overall, this has nothing to do with coffee, and don’t waste your money and time. We were with another couple, they felt exactly the same way. It was strange, unorganized, delivered nothing close to the title, and felt ripped off. Usually I don’t write reviews much, but this time, I felt compelled to share the horrible experience.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that in this instance your experience with us did not meet your expectations. Your comments regarding the tour title, organisation, coffee focus, and inclusions are taken very seriously. The Melbourne Café and Coffee Culture Walking Tour is intended to explore the history of Melbourne’s café scene alongside its laneways and food culture, and clearly this was not communicated or delivered to the standard advertised in this instance. That’s on us. Your review has been shared internally to help improve clarity, consistency, and delivery moving forward.
We had a lot of fun with Dee, our tour Guide. She Shared just the right amount of history and Culture Information, while having a relaxed conversation with us during the whole tour. We really enjoyed the time, discovered so many places and little details, we wouldn‘t have noticed without her showing us. Not to forget the delicious tastings and lunch.
I'm so pleased to hear that you had a wonderful experience on your tour with Dee! Our guides strive to create an engaging and enjoyable experience for all our guests, and it sounds like Dee exceeded your expectations. I'm also delighted that you enjoyed the tastings and lunch, and that you discovered so many hidden gems and fascinating details that you might have otherwise missed. Thank you for sharing your positive feedback. We truly appreciate it and will be sure to pass it along to Dee.
This tour exceeded our expectations. Dee was a wonderful guide and shared her knowledge, wisdom, sense of humor and great tidbits of information. She opened our eyes to the cafes and restaurants hidden in the lanes of Melbourne...we would never even have known they existed. Our samplings were delicious, whether coffee or sweet treat and lunch was a special surprise in another hidden away restaurant.
Dear Kmlein11, What a lovely message to find here, thank you so much. So very pleased you chose our Cafe Culture Walk. It’s a city full of hype on coffee, and we fell in love with to stories beyond or perhaps more those of before the hype. We are passionate about the small businesses, the people who did abd do occupy the laneways, so yes this tour is much more than the yummy tastes and coffee if that’s your drink (we have other cafe drinks to taste) We really hope you are able to keep exploring and finding more of the fabulous cafes and foodie spots of Melbourne city centre . Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts. Fiona, Dee and all the team at HST.
I really enjoyed the tour; there were only two of us on the tour plus the guide so I guess that made it all the more interesting and friendly. I really enjoyed the chat and the titbits we had along the way were beautiful, especially the Koko Black chocolate. We visited several of Melbourne's coffee haunts and had lunch at a quirky place that served us a very nice light lunch (I had chicken with avocado and asparagus salad) and fresh lemonade. Surprisingly though, our guide left before we started eating - I assumed she would stay longer.
Dear SimonG How lucky that you got the guide to yourselves, we operate with a minimum of 2, so if no one else books, your plans dont have to be changed. All of our tours (unless private) have an unaccompanied lunch, as over the years we found some clients wanted to eat quickly and run, or others lingered for hours, and it became uncomfortable fo our guides to leave. We stay for ordering of food and any queries about what esle to do in the city, before ensuring your food arrives, and then leave you to eat at your own pace. We have tried with an accompanied lunch, but it does add to the price of the tour, so we want to be as careful about pricing as we can. I am so pleased you enjoyed the chats along the way, it is an important part of how we do our tours, stopping in small corners of the city for a tasting or quirky tale. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your review, we find it such a joy to read everyones thoughts on our city. Kind regards Fiona and the team. Hidden Secrets Tours Melbourne
This was so enjoyable as a local melbournian as we got to learn about the coffee history and culture but also about architecture and many hidden secrets! Jess and Harriet were amazing guides with fantastic knowledge and personalities. We felt by the end we had made some new friends! Highly recommend this tour and can't wait to take some of the others on offer
Hi 281maryannh. How lucky were you, two guides! We had Harriet in training, so pleased you enjoyed our style of tour. We hope to see you back in Melbourne soon. Thanks for your email too. Your note here is really appreciated Kindest regards Fiona and all the team HiddenSecretsTours
Excellent introduction to the city history, culture, and cafes. Jess was awesome. Very informative, and excited to share her knowledge. We visited several local cafes to try different kinds of coffees and ended up having an awesome lunch at a trendy place. We are glad we started our day with this tour.
There were 4 of us on a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed being taken across Melbourne's sights, history, laneways and of course coffee hot spots. Our guide was relaxed and engaging with her knowledge and personal insights. Lunch was also included, so it was good value. Recommend.
My husband and I had a great time on the Cafe and Coffee tour! Shaun was a fantastic tour guide and we learned a lot about Melbourne's history, with some treats along the way. Would definitely recommend this as an activity - for locals and visitors alike!
HI Sara T, Thanks for joining Sean on tour. We love to hear that you had a great time. Sean is passionate about his Melbourne history, so he was happy to hear you enjoyed that element of the tour. It really does give a greater understanding to Melbourne's coffee obsession. Thanks for taking the time to review.
<p>Out of all the tours we took throughout Australia, this was our favorite! Our guide was really knowledgable, and catered the tour to all of us. We saw and drank our way through! some amazing coffee shops, restaurants and small boutiques. The most amazing was having coffee at the ground floor of the Ambassador from Monaco's residence. Too coo!</p>
<p>We both loved this tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and informative. Learning about the coffee history of Melbourne while checking our the hidden away Cafes we a great way to spend a few hours</p>
