Unusual Things to Do in Melbourne
A Guide to Some of Melbourne’s Least Known Travel Experiences
Jun 14, 2009
There's more than meets the eye in every city, but often it's only the locals who have a chance to delve below the surface. Look below for some local knowledge that can help visitors not only have a different Melbourne experience, but also meet people, learn new skills and, most of all, have fun.
Get Dancing at Melbourne’s Swing Classes
This year one of Melbourne’s best bars and music venues, The Toff in Town, added swing classes to its already stellar entertainment repertoire. Every Monday night there are three classes that cater to both beginners and the more advanced: the uncoordinated should come to the ‘total beginners’ class at 6.30pm, the slightly more confident to the 7.30pm ‘beginners’ class and the experienced to the 8.30pm class. Cost is $14 at the door.
There are also a couple of classes in St Kilda (8 Martin St) every Friday night that are great for people who can pick up dance moves easily. These are fun social classes where everyone rotates partners throughout so people are more than welcome to show up on their own. People who know basic moves and want to improve their skills should come to the Gold class at 6.45pm while those without much prior experience should attend the 8.00pm Bronze class. It’s recommended to arrive 15 minutes early to get ready and spark up a conversation. Cost is $15 for one person and $25 for two.
Have Cheap Fun at Melbourne’s Bike Polo Club
Like the idea of polo but are scared of horses? Well why not go to one of the sessions of the Melbourne Bike Polo club, where attendees can cruise around on their bikes hitting balls and making new friends in the process. Currently the games are held at the Flagstaff Gardens multi-purpose court every Sunday from 3pm-10pm but this can change so check their website for the latest details. There are also tournaments regularly where anyone can enter their own team and compete for prizes and polo glory. All games are BYO bike and cost $5 per player.
Learn Something New at CAE Melbourne
Melbourne’s Centre for Adult Education (CAE) has hundreds of short courses that cover a huge range of skills and topics, including design, language, history, travel, cooking, ceramics, crafts, writing, music, philosophy, fashion, photography and much more. The cooking classes only last for a few hours so these are great for travelers – learn how to make a tasty cool-season lunch or perhaps indulge in the comfort food of Spain and Italy. Pop into CAE at 253 Flinders Lane to get a course guide.
Go on One of Melbourne’s Unique Walking Tours
In addition to its short courses CAE also has some fantastic walking and cultural tours that offer an insiders look at Melbourne’s art, history, food and architecture. Try the tour of the city’s artist-run spaces to learn about Melbourne’s underground creative community or the Fitzroy Gallery Tour to see the work of some of the country’s most interesting contemporary artists. Mystery buffs can learn about some of Melbourne’s greatest unsolved crimes on the Solving Melbourne’s Cold Cases tour, while gastronomes can taste the city’s best offerings on the Foodies Tour of Melbourne. Gallery, history and architecture tours cost around $40 while the food ones cost around $100, including lunch.
For the past 15 years Chocoholic Tours has been taking locals and visitors alike to Melbourne’s boutique chocolate shops and patisseries, many of which are located in the city’s beautiful 19th century arcades. Tours cost $35 (including chocolate tastings and morning or afternoon tea) and run on Fridays and Saturdays – there are a few to choose from but they only differ slightly.
The Hidden Secrets tour company is more expensive, but its tours are very comprehensive and are a great way to get under the city’s skin. The Lanes and Arcades tour ($115) is the most popular but for something different try the Sommelier's City Walk ($135), which includes lots of wine samples and menu tastings at some of the city’s top restaurants, or the Literary Melbourne Walk ($60), which explores the city’s literary history, bookstores and publishers, and gives an insight into why Melbourne was named a UNESCO City of Literature.
Get Serious at Melbourne’s Beer Hotspots
Melbourne is a great beer city, and has lots to offer those who are ready to take their beer appreciation to the next level. For the ultimate experience try the beer course at the Belgian Beer Cafe Eureka in Southbank, where participants learn about beer history and styles, glassware and presentation, food matching, pouring, brewing and, of course, the finer points of tasting. Costs $85 and includes beer tastings and finger food.
Transport in Federation Square has perhaps the best selection of beer in the city and is a great place to go to try something new. There are free beer tastings from 6.30pm every Tuesday that feature local and guest experts, and also three different ‘beer missions’, where patrons can get half a dozen unique beers (complete with ice bucket and bottle opener) for a discounted price.
There are also several microbreweries around town with beer halls, so visitors can sample the latest brews on-site and have a meal. Mountain Goat brewery in Richmond is open on Wednesday and Friday, with free tours on Wednesdays at 6.30pm and pizza both nights, while the 2 Brothers Brewery in Moorabbin (25 minutes south of the city) is open on Thursdays and Fridays and offers up classic beer food.
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