Highlights & Hidden Gems of Melbourne in Melbourne - e94c3e9b2a1b5cc292b6bac89c4accc0
4.9

Highlights & Hidden Gems of Melbourne

  • 3 hours
  • City Highlight Tours
  • Melbourne
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Choose one of 2 locals available

Experience hosted by Ben & Julie

  • Private Tour
  • Carbon Neutral

Want to see the best of Melbourne? We got you covered. But as you can expect from a Withlocals experience, the real excitement is its hidden gems. Join your favorite local and get a feeling of the city's real vibe on a tour that has it all, so you can say: I experienced the real Melbourne!

Destination
Melbourne, Australia
Category
City Highlight Tours
Duration
3 hours
Transport mode
Walking tour
Available languages
Italiano, English, Français
Included
  • Private Guide
  • 1 Local Drink or Snack
  • All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral
Excluded
  • Entrance to attractions

6 reasons to book this tour

  • Explore the best of the city in only 3 hours
  • Spot classics like Chinatown & Block Arcade
  • Discover hidden gems away from the tourist paths
  • Experience the city from a local’s perspective
  • Can be 100% personalized to your wishes
  • Privately guided by a local expert

What you can expect

Highlights & Hidden Gems of Melbourne in Melbourne - e94c3e9b2a1b5cc292b6bac89c4accc0

Melbourne, is a magical place! And with the local host of your choice, you are going to experience it all. So get ready; culture, history, and local lifestyle await!

Dive into the origin of Melbourne as you see the city’s main landmarks like Chinatown, Block Arcade and the National Gallery of Victoria. And how about the hidden gems? Oh, you’re in for a surprise! Every host has its own story to tell, so pick your favorite, and you’ll discover the city through their eyes. Experience their Melbourne to the max based on their passions and expertise. They’ll make sure you have fun enjoying a unique and local perspective of Melbourne.

Want to take a break? Leave it up to your host! This is the perfect opportunity to visit that special eatery where only the locals come and your chance to enjoy a local treat hand-picked by your host. Feel free to ask your host more about their life in their city or get recommendations about the top things to do in Melbourne. Remember, the locals know best.

The best part of any city tour is definitely the unique stories. Everybody has a story to tell, especially your host. Each one of the local hosts has a different background ranging from arts to history. They can’t wait to share their knowledge with you and exchange ideas and perspectives! Feel like changing the route a bit? No problem, the hosts will be happy to personalize the tour to your wishes and make their Melbourne, your Melbourne!

Choose your local

Get to know these 2 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

  1. Meeting point

    Meet at In front of Merrywell Bar and Dining - Melbourne to start your journey

  2. Itinerary

    This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

  3. City Highlights

    See from Chinatown, Block Arcade, the National Gallery of Victoria, and other landmarks and must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots in town so you can get the perfect overview of what makes Melbourne so uniqu
  4. Hidden Gems

    Along the way, your local host will show you treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about. Get to know the city through a different perspective, the local way, and discover places and stories that not many tourists experience
  5. Magical Storytelling

    Behind every landmark and every stop, there’s a story, and your local host is ready to tell it all. Get ready to listen to incredible stories, one-of-a-kind insights, and fun facts only a knowledgeable local would know!
  6. Special Treat

    Follow your host to one of their favorite eateries for a snack or a drink beloved by the locals. Take a break and catch up with your new local friend and get the answers to all your travel questions
  7. Make it yours

    Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

    Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

    Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

  • Feel confident booking

    Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

  • Change of plans?

    Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

  • Loved by travelers worldwide

    Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

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Ruth🇬🇧 United Kingdom
(About local )
10 February 2025
Ben is extremely knowledgeable about the history and culture of Melbourne and Victoria. We also really appreciated hearing how he came to Australia from Iran and sharing views with him on world politics. He's a great guide and a great guy. My one recommendation is to book your tour with him as early as possible in your visit to Melbourne. We left it a couple of days which meant we didn't have time to go back for a more detailed look at all the places Ben showed us. So glad we booked our tour with Ben
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Inger🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
21 January 2025
Ben was our guide in Melbourne. He was very knowledgeable, super friendly and showed us all sorts of fun laneways (alleys), special arcades (shopping centers), architectural meaningful buildings and more. He shared interesting facts. Really helped us get a great sense of the city and all it's charm. Highly recommend this tour with Ben.Fun and friendly and flexible
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Julia
(About local )
21 January 2025
We enjoyed our tour with Ben very much. He showed us some great hidden places and introduced us to many of Melbourne’s highlights. Great introduction to Melbourne
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Lisa🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
29 November 2024
We had a great time, touring Melbourne with Ben seeing the secret arcades and alleys that we never would have found without him. He was very knowledgeable and had cute stories. He was a very professional and considerate guide. He worked with us to accommodate times and customized the tour to a pre-determined’must-see’ list. We even got to taste several yummy chocolates and had an incredible hot chocolate. At the end, then made sure that we saw everything we wanted to and offered us suggestions for what else we needed to see in restaurants Thank you so much ben for showing us your beautiful city Lisa Great tour with Ben
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Julie🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
7 May 2024
We booked a private tour with Ben and had a great experience. He showed us all over and shared stories of history and culture. It was great for our first full day in Melbourne! Highly recommend!Great tour with Ben!
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KAROLINE🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
6 March 2024
Julie was a great guide. She showed us the highlights of the center city in Melbourne. She knew the history of the city and ensured we got to see the highlights in our time with her. Thanks for a great tour!! Informed in Melbourne
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Paul🇦🇺 Australia
(About local )
15 November 2023
Julie was amazing with my family from Italy - developed rapport immediately and tailored the tour to our needs ( 3 people in their 60s and one 23 year old ) saw so many interesting things and Julie provided detailed information on so mdny sights that I had no idea of ( and I’m a melbournian ) great morning and well worth the $ Amazing 3 hours with Julie
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Sue🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
17 January 2023
We met Jie at a lunch cal eatery. She took us to many local places. We had a wonderful time learning about the culture in Australia. She took us to some interesting pubs. One of which we had dinner at. Young & Jackson. The food was amazing. Highly recommend this place for dinner. We loved Bellinis as well. Visiring Melboyrne
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Ron🇬🇧 United Kingdom
(About local )
20 November 2022
We had a very pleasurable walking tour, packing in a fair number of interesting sites/historical background and unexpected details. The ACMI was particularly interesting and we were happy to have the tour without rain. The price was fair but as it was just two of us, the advertised per person price was effectively doubled, which made it slightly pricey. Relaxed and informative walking tour
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Cosmo🇭🇰 Hong Kong
(About local )
8 March 2020
Thank you very much for showing us insides life of Melbourne and taking care of my family. Sophie is a very nice guide! I highly recommend anyone to join her tour! :) Nice local tour and Magical!
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Ben
(About local )
20 February 2020
Andrew is very knowledgeable about architecture and has a classy style to talk about Melbourne culture and architecture, I really enjoyed his guiding and definitely recommend him to othersGreat tour
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Carol
(About local )
10 February 2025
We had a fun and interesting tour with Ben. We enjoyed his stories, learned a lot of Melbourne history, and saw many of the city highlights.Fun & interesting tour
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MaryAnn🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
29 October 2024
Julie knows so much about Melbourne and was a wonderful guide. She took us to great spots. The Victoria Market was amazing. She was super helpful working around my gluten allergy and still providing excellent food options. Julie is a fabulous guide
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Megan🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
28 October 2024
Ben was wonderful and very accommodating. He worked with us to make sure that we got to do everything we wanted and knew about everything we saw and provided insight that would have been impossible to get otherwise. We had an absolutely wonderful time and cannot recommend Ben highly enough for anyone looking to tour around Melbourne and the surrounding area. A Great Guide!
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Debra🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
21 October 2024
Ben proved to be an excellent guide and storyteller with a most unique perspective. He was attentive and engaging for both of our tours. He was able to immerse us in Melbourne lore and showed us areas we would never have found on our own. Best ‘unlocal’ experience with Ben!
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Josemaria
(About local )
20 September 2024
Ben really did and awesome job on helping us have a wonderful experience with this tour. He was kind, generous and a wonderful companion on this special day for my family! Totally recommend people when visiting Melbourne to have a tie with him!Amazing experience
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Mary🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
11 September 2024
We took the Great Ocean Road 12 hour private tour with Ben, what a great experience. We saw everything we could have hoped to see! Ben was a wonderful guide, very accommodating and informative!Great Ocean Road, great experience!
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Louis🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
31 March 2024
Excellent encounter with Julie and very agreeable. We were happily surprised to get some explanations in french as Julie is trilingual. She gave us enough to see places for three days and gave us excellent referrals for food. We did a lot in an hour and a halfGreat tips, and a good foodie guide
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Maurice🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
14 January 2024
What a fantastic experience! While there should not have been an issue with finding the starting point, Ben came to where we were to start the tour. It was a tour later in the day (5:30) which means some ( just a few) places to see were closed. However, Ben provided as much information as possible about everything around, with great insight and a bit of humor. He even got us to engage with the city in an interesting way. We saw a lot, learned a lot, and highly recommend the experience at the start of your time in Melbourne as it can inform what you do and where you go while there. Thanks Ben!Magical Melbourne Tour w/Ben
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Mark🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
4 July 2023
We had a great time with Ben learning about the darker history of Melbourne. It kickstarted our visit to the city. Highly recommend. Awesome evening with Ben
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Catherine 🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
27 January 2023
Julie is amazing! First we were able to book last minute and she is a great communicator. Then she met us on time and we walked around Melbourne enjoying all kinds of food. When we passed a beautiful old tea shop she changed our tour to be able to have tea and scones. What a great conversation we had with Julie, sharing travel stories. Great time!!!Fantastic experience!
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Patryk🇨🇭 Switzerland
(About local )
13 January 2023
Melbourne Introduction Tour
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Mary Ann🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
9 January 2023
Our food tour with Julie was awesome! Her food choices were absolutely delicious and varied. She had a wealth of information about Melbourne to share. She was easy to relate to and shared so much more than food with us. We felt comfortable asking her questions about Aussie life in addition to culture and history. We felt like we had a true taste of Melbourne. Would highly recommend this tour with Julie!Amazing Experience
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Christopher
(About local )
9 March 2020
Nick was an amazing host for us . Picking us up from the airport , he first suprised us by taking us to see wild kangaroos. This was quite unexpected, but totally worth it. Nick is great with conversation and very easy to talk to . Every thing he did for us was was exciting and entertaining. Thank you for being an amazing host! We enjoyed meeting you and the personal tours of the city made our time in Melbourne perfect :) Amazing tour with Kangaroos
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Luke🇬🇧 United Kingdom
(About local )
8 March 2020
We had a very entertaining and very interesting tour with Julie. In 3 hours, we learnt loads about the history and characters of Melbourne. Julie is a very friendly and engaging guide with heaps of knowledge who draws you in with a raft of stories and anecdotes. She even gave us tips for things to to the next day! Highly recommended.Great walking tour of Melbourne / Fitzroy
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George
(About local )
6 March 2020
I will start with a WOW! Nick was an awesome tour guide. He picked us up from the airport and took us on a wild kanagaroo tour . We weren’t in Australia for 2 hours and thanks to Nick our holiday started of AMAZING! I have travelled a lot but never quite had a more memorable experience arriving in a country for the first time. Thanks Nick Awesome tour!!
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Ziggy🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
5 March 2020
We booked the tour to experience Melbourne like a local would do and that‘s what we got. We had a fun and entertaining time with Andrew, who made us laugh all the time. Even after just two hours, we felt like we‘ve known him for a long time. His tour made us definitely want to come back to Melbourne and not just get a glimpse like we did due to our short stopover. We‘d definitely recommend Andrew if you want to have a local and passionate view of Melbourne‘s neighbourhoods and are not interested that much in the city’s history. Special City-Tour with a special guy!
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Andrew
(About local )
4 March 2020
Ben was a fantastic host. Kind friendly and knows a lot about Melbourne especially the urban scene. If you want a fun and knowledgeable day Ben is perfect. Fun tour with Ben
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Oscar
(About local )
2 March 2020
Wow Nick’s kangaroo tour was completed unplanned for yet has possibly given me my holiday highlight WHILST ON A LAYOVER. I meet Nick in Melbourne while spending a few hours in Melbourne, on route from London heading to New Zealand for a 2 week holiday. This layover was my first time in Australia. Thanks to Nick I know that now I wait to come back and see more of your wonderful countries wildlife . Thanks Nick, a memory I will take to my grave. Kangaroo tour with Nick, fantastic!
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Keith 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
(About local )
27 February 2020
Julie was great . Very knowledgeable on all aspects of Melbourne- history , culture, food , fun places , and very good company too . I’d highly recommend choosing her for a great tour !Melbourne private tour
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Sophie
(About local )
24 February 2020
Andrew was a fantastic host if you're looking for a tour guide that's one of a kind, he kept us laughing and entertained during our trip to Melbourne, thanks again for making our trip an unforgettable one!Unforgettable Tour!!
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Melissa
(About local )
22 February 2020
Andrew was absolutely amazing. He’s so funny and really knows random things about Marvelous Melbourne . He definitely knows his architecture and way around. He wasn t just a tour guide. He’s a new friend for life. If you don’t pick Andrew your missing out!Amazing tour!!
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Wendy
(About local )
14 February 2020
Sophie was an enthusiastic host, showing us around the city of Melbourne during my time as an international student. She was patient, funny and the best host I could've had! Thanks again for the good time! The best host I could have had!
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Peter
(About local )
12 February 2020
Today Ben really delivered with the Urban Jungle tour, taking us to places of ill repute in Melbourne's history and funky Fitzroy back lanes and cafes. We saw were iconic Bush ranger Ned Kelly died and where iconic gangster Squizzy Taylor was born and died. It was a pleasure to travel with Ben who was incredibly well-informed on the history and Bohemian culture of old and new Melbourne Town. Great Tour!
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Karen
(About local )
12 February 2020
What a great way to see Melbourne, I feel like I can find my own way around now after touring with Mary. She had a true passion for the city and was proud to show the highlights and other things only someone living here would know. Highly recommended.Get to Know Downtown Melbourne
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Panos
(About local )
12 February 2020
We Love Melbourne! Our thanks to Mary, our guide on the tour of highlights and gems of Melbourne. Her dedication and enthusiasm was infectious. We can’t wait to return again!A really nice tour
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Naomi
(About local )
12 February 2020
We were delighted with our guide, Josh. He tailored our tour to include all of the things we had requested: art, architecture, history, Jewish points of interest, gardens, theaters and more. He is very knowledgeableand was able to answer our many questions. Josh is personable He provided water, a terrific lunch recommendation, and paced is well. Before we parted, we asked him to be our guide and book another trip for us. Perfect tourguide
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JP
(About local )
11 February 2020
I’m glad we made this trip. The ride was long (12 hours) but it was very entertaining and educational. We saw koalas and kangaroos in the wild, beautiful sceneries of 12 Apostles, as well as other gorgeous ocean views Australia had to offer. Ben, the tour guide, was knowledgeable and cheerful. Ben is a great tour guide!
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Heather
(About local )
8 February 2020
Great Orientation of Melbourne With only one day and very few hours in Melbourne, Mary gave us a great orientation of the city. We felt like locals, having explored the hidden gems and major points of interest, as well she gave us a lot of inspiration to return. Don’t miss being shown around by Mary!We had a lovely time!
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Nancy
(About local )
8 February 2020
It you want to travel the Great Ocean Road you need two days to enjoy it. Josh was a wonderful guide! His Subaru will take you places that others cannot go. He is very relaxed and willing to make extra stops if something catches your eye. He even went back to one spot so I could take extra photographs. He was determined that we would see a koala and spent extra time looking--we were rewarded with wonderful photos of one sitting by the road. Highly recommend the tour! Josh is a wonderfull guide!
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Harley
(About local )
8 February 2020
I had a really good time with Julie on her Highlights and Hidden Gems tour around Melbourne. It was a blast discovering all those tucked away spots and the commentaries were fabulous and full of interesting facts about the city. Really great tour!
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Peter
(About local )
8 February 2020
Julie's tours are packed with great information and are lots of fun. The Urban Jungle experience was really fascinating and I'm looking forward to more tours with her in the future. Facinating tour!
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Matt
(About local )
8 February 2020
A wonderful time with our host Sophie! She picked us up on time and kept the tour interesting with fun facts and stories! After the tour, Sophie kept in touch with us and helped us with many questions during our stay in Australia. Sophie is a great guide!
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Nancy
(About local )
7 February 2020
Josh was a wonderful guide! His Subaru will take you places that others cannot go. He is very relaxed and willing to make extra stops if something catches your eye. He even went back to one spot so I could take extra photographs. He was determined that we would see a koala and spent extra time looking--we were rewarded with wonderful photos of one sitting by the road. Highly recommend the tour! We saw a Koala!
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Julia
(About local )
7 February 2020
3 well traveled ladies took a full day tour with Josh. He rates a 5 of 5. Josh was extremely knowledgable about the city and the countryside. Car was immaculate and comfortable. He is a real foodie. We had a delicious and very inexpensive lunch in Chinatown. He did everything exactly the way we wanted it all day. What a pleasure! We would recommend him highly in every way. It was the best tour we took all month in Australia. Josh is a real foodie
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Laurie
(About local )
5 February 2020
Ben was our driver and he was very informative and enjoyable! WE saw a koala cross the road and climb a tree, it was a great photo op in the wild! Other than the cold, rain and wind that he couldn’t turn off, it was a memorable and magical trip! It was magical
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Anne
(About local )
5 February 2020
I went on the 10 Tastings Tour with Julie around Melbourne and I really enjoyed the experience of sampling some of Australia's multicultural cuisine. She was a fantastic tour host with a real gift for entertaining her guests. Super experience

Withlocals experiences
are always

Private & personalizedNo strangers, just you. Fully customize your trip to your needs.
With a local expertFrom historical facts to the most up-to-date health regulations.
Without the crowdsExperiences designed to take you away from the crowds towards authentic local spots.

Other City highlight tours in Melbourne

€51.86per person