There's always a thrill to be had when entering Melbourne's hive of bustling, creative laneways with their covert boutiques, famed restaurants, hole-in-the-wall cafes and astonishing bars.
Make a break from the mainstream, down alleys covered in stencil work, lightboxes and sculptures that seem to exist only to provide the address for quirky bars. Check out street art in Presgrave Place, Section 8 in Tattersalls Lane, street art in Croft Alley and ACDC Lane. Other unassuming street fronts reveal themselves to be velvety jazz clubs and flashy wine bars, or bare-bone student hangouts and dimly-lit hideaways.
Flinders Lane, Centre Place, Degraves Street and Crossley Street are Melbourne's hottest laneway addresses, but even the tiniest laneways are worth ducking down, if only to spy colourful street art as part of the annual Laneway Commissions. See anything from neon animals in Cocker Alley to video installations in Manchester Lane and paste-ups in Westwood Place.
More secret art can be uncovered in the galleries that line Guildford Lane. Duck into the old red-brick furniture warehouses and printing suppliers and find lofts showcasing temporary exhibitions of independent art, video art, and exceptional opening parties.
Somerset Place and neighbouring Rankins Lane seem to have cornered the market in menswear and invented the trend of combining multiple business ideas under one roof, whether it's haircuts, bespoke suits and three-course dinners, or coffee and cycle maintenance.
Any tram along Swanston or Elizabeth streets will deliver you to an intriguing laneway, or any of the 13 stops along the free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle route.
