There's always something new to discover in Melbourne's hive of bustling, creative laneways, with their hidden boutiques, famed restaurants and hole-in-the-wall cafes and bars.
Bar finds
Give 'Mainstreet' a miss and head down alleyways instead to find walls covered with stencil work, lightboxes, and sculptures that point you towards the door of quirky bars. Check out Section 8 in Tattersalls Lane, Whisky and Alement on Russell Place and Her Rooftop on Drewery Lane. Find addresses that reveal themselves to be piano bars and wine bars, cocktail dens, or student hangouts and dimly lit hideaways.
Old favourites
Tried and true laneway Meyers Place still hosts the old-school, no-fuss Italian Waiters Restaurant, while Pellegrini's on the corner of Crossley Street is an institution. Hardware Lane, Degraves Street and Centre Place continue to bustle with casual dining.
And modern flavours
Melbourne's evolving restaurant scene comes to life in laneway spaces. Set out for award-winning contemporary Indian from Tonka, flavoursome Mexican at Tres a Cinco, rooftop Thai at BKK and opulent South-East Asian fare at Gingerboy.
Visual arts
For many, laneways signify an ever-changing outdoor gallery of street art. Check out murals, paste-ups and stencils in lanes both gritty and gentrified around the city. Melbourne's Mike Makatron's huge wall of greenery adorns Meyers Place. Rock 'n' roll tributes on ACDC Lane draw keen eyes, and Hosier Lane is ever-popular with its creative display by local and international street art talent
