IS THIS A WALKING TOUR?

Absolutely! But unlike other walking tours, we combine the best of the Melbourne’s hidden laneways bars with her rich, unique history. No other tour combines the best of walking tours with the best of Melbourne’s vibrant and world class bar scene like we do!

WHY SHOULD I DO A DRINKING HISTORY TOUR? 

Melbourne is famous for its bustling laneways, hidden bar scene and world-class cultural offerings. Our tours are the best way to experience all this firsthand!

As well as sharing our favourite bars, we unpack the cities fascinating past and share how it came to be the place we know and love today. Whether you’ve lived here your whole life or are just passing through, we’ll take you off the beaten path and help you make the most of your time in Melbourne!

HOW LONG DO YOUR TOURS LAST?

Our tours last for about three hours all up, although they can go a bit longer if service is busy, weather interferes or if everyone is just having a really swell time! That includes about 1.5 hours of sightseeing and story telling and 1.5 hours in the bars.

HOW MANY BARS DO WE VISIT ON YOUR TOURS?

All tours include visits to three of the City’s best bars. We also go past a bunch of other bars for you to sample at your leisure.

HOW LONG DO WE STAY AT EACH BAR?

At our first two bars we generally stay about 30-45mins. At our final bar you can stay as long as you want!

DO YOU OFFER LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH?

All our standard tours are run in English. However, our super talented guides can speak quite a few other languages and we often run private tours for non-English speakers.  Send us through your dates and language of choice and we’ll see what we can do. 

WHAT FOOD IS INCLUDED ON THE TOUR?

No food is included on the tours. We recommend you eat lunch or dinner before coming on the tour!

ARE THERE TOILET STOPS?

We all worry about toilets! Don’t worry, we stop at three bars along the way so you’ll have plenty of options.

IS THE TOUR SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The tour is not really designed for anyone under 18 years of age as we are attending bars. We suggest you leave the kids at home and have a great night out!

Under 18 year olds can visit Victorian bars, but by law they must be accompanied by their parent/s. If your booking includes people under 18 years of age, please let us know when you book.

ARE DRINKS INCLUDED ON THE TOUR?

Our basic tour package does not include drinks, but you can upgrade to an all-inclusive option if you’d like.

The exception to this is our Gin and Whiskey tour, where three tasting flights are included in your booking.

WHO WILL MY GUIDE BE?

We have an awesome crew of young Melbournians from all sorts of backgrounds who are keen to show you around the city. The kind of people who always know where to go in a city where that isn’t always obvious.

All our guides love sharing their knowledge of Melbourne’s history and how to get the best out of present day Victoria.

If you have a specific host you’d like to join, feel free to send us an email. 

IS THIS TOUR A PUB CRAWL?

We can’t stress this enough: our tours are not pub crawls, and never will be. Drinking History Tours was set up primarily as a fun, interesting walking tour, a way to take in the sights, smells and attractions of Marvellous Melbourne. We visit three bars along the way to give everyone a chance to experience Melbourne’s unique bars and get to know each other.

HOW MANY BARS DOES MELBOURNE HAVE?

For a long time there were only two places to buy alcohol – hotels and restaurants. The rules stated that restaurants had to serve a meal with alcohol, while hotels had to provide accommodation and have food available.

Liquor licences were so hard to get and rules so restrictive, that by 1986, Melbourne only had 571 licenced venues, down from 4900 in 1910.

But slowly things began to change. In 1986, the State Government made sweeping changes to liquor licences, allowing restaurants to serve beer without food and hotels to serve beer without the need to provide accommodation. And they allowed bars to stay open until midnight. 

But the big law change came in 1994, when then Premier Jeff Kennett changed a rule that said every bar or pub had to install a kitchen. This rule was actually designed to help Crown Casino, which was building a massive development in South Bank. But this simple change made opening smaller bars much cheaper. That, combined with cheap rents in the CBD, led to the rise of Melbourne’s famed laneway bar culture.

As a result of these changes, Melbourne has 14,423 liscenced bars as of 2018. On average, two new liquor licences were granted every day for 20 years from 1986.