Hidden Bars & Laneway Legends Tour
Maybe the best hidden bars and tall tales tour in Melbourne.
The untold story of Melbourne, told through a beer glass.
A story of Melbourne unlike any you’ve ever heard.
A drunk founder, the world’s greatest beer and barmaids as feminist heroines.
After months of research, we combined Melbourne’s best laneway bars with her most interesting (and alcohol-related) stories.
Hear about the winery that tried to pay Olympic athletes in booze and the woman named the “worst and wickedest in the world”.
Join us for a must do experience of tall tales and delicious tipples.
More than 2,700 people have done this tour since 2017!
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Incredible Tour Host
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Learn Melbourne's Boozy Past
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3 Bar Visits
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Pub Quiz
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3 Hours
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Small Groups (12ppl)
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Tour Inclusions
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Your Expert Host
Let one of our expert hidden bar and history guides show you a different side to Melbourne.
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3 Hidden Bars Visits
Visit three hidden bars you never would have found yourself, plus a surprise pub quiz!
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Melbourne's Drinking History
Learn about Melbourne’s famous barmaids, the queen of sleaze and the booziest happy hour of all time!
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Ticket Options
Drinks Upgrade: Receive a beer, wine or cocktail at each bar ( i.e. 3 drinks per person, per tour).
Standard: Simply order your drinks at the bar and pay your own way.
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Bonus Tour Inclusions
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Tour Photos
Our guide will take some happy snaps which will be shared with you after the tour!
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Get Expert Tips
After you book, contact Ben the Boss for any food, entertainment or other Melbourne recommendations.
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DHT APP Access
Get access to our App for unique content, bar maps and more.
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Our Partners
More than $140 worth of value included from Naked Wines, The Whisky Club, Grip6 and Clementine’s.
What happens after I book?
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INSTANT
Email confirmation of your booking with key details including meeting point.
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TWO DAYS PRIOR
We’ll send you several pre-tour reminders with any important updates.
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Tour Date
You’ll receive a same day text with Google Map directions to the starting point, and your guide’s name and phone number.
Our Reviews
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Would certainly recommend it to visitors and locals Great tour. Our guide Bridget was so informative about the history. Great bars, some jaw dropping great evening . Of course some great drinksread moreread less
Mary O23/03/24 - Highly recommend this tour! Thank you Bridgette! Our tour guide was Bridgette. She was very knowledgeable and passionate (and very qualified for the job). We loved each of the bars we went to and the history on the way to each was fantastic. Bridgette also gave us heaps of recommendations for other bars, food and places to go during our stay in Melbourne. We would highly recommend this tour! Thanks for having us!read moreread less
583izzyc21/03/24 - Informative with a dash of humour, and a pint of beer. This tour was fantastic. Lenny had so many stories, delivered in an informative and interesting way, with a dash of humour. It really opened Melbourne up for me. The pub stops really brought the group together.I would definitely recommend.read moreread less
cathjb202419/03/24 - Helps form a rolodex of convo starters and sweet meeting spots. Love getting the quirks and features of things and now I know some of Melbourne's! Great hearing things from someone at PhD level interest in history.read moreread less
sentient r18/03/24 - Great even for locals We loved this. I've lived in Melbourne all of my life but didn't know 95% of what we covered. Lenny was a great guide, very easy to talk to.read moreread less
Travel4874607349317/03/24 - Great fun! The bars we went to were great and the drinks we sampled were excellent. Lenny was a fantastic guide: personable, knowledgeable and fun. We did the tour on an extremely hot day, but that did not impact the fun that we had.read moreread less
JulianMelbourne31213/03/24 - Exploring Melbourne's Creepy History with Brigette Absolutely thrilled to explore Melbourne's enchanting streets and laneways with Brigette! ️ the Venetian voyager. Her tales, a captivating blend of interesting, weird, and downright macabre, added a unique flavor to the city's rich history. The hidden bars were a surprise, making the afternoon a perfect mix of history and hidden gems. Big thanks to Brigette for turning a stroll into a memorable adventure! #MelbourneCreepyTales#HiddenBars #WalkingTourWonderread moreread less
215jenm11/03/24 - Good fun, something different What a great experience, Michael out guide was very knowledgeable. Being a first timer to melbourne was great to learn about its history. Would highly recommendread moreread less Susan D10/03/24
- Fantastic afternoon I had a lot of fun on this tour and our guide Brigette was great. Funny weird occasionally creepy stories and a great take on the history of Melbourne. The bars we visited were very cool. I would not have found them on my own.read moreread less
Joan S18/02/24 - Top class bar crawl! Michael was a cool guide and a lot of fun plenty of stories and historical anecdotes. We enjoyed three top bars, and a couple of them would never have been found! Recommendread moreread less
Holly L11/12/23
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Our Guarantee
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ONLY GOOD BARS
We only take you to bars we really like (no kickbacks or commissions).
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MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
If you don’t have one, we’ll give you your money back.
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FLEXIBILITY
If you need to cancel 24 hours before your tour, you’ll get a refund or a gift voucher.
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Final Details...
Frequently Asked Questions
Which bars will I get to visit?
From laneway bars to rooftops and hidden speakeasies, every tour is slightly different. We work with more than 20 different bars, and we like to rotate through the bars we visit so no one tour is the same!
Are drinks included?
Depends on the ticket price – we have options for both.
Do you do private versions of this tour?
For sure! You’ll find all the information you need to book a private tour on our private tours page. Our tours are great for birthday parties, corporate events, or just getting together with friends for a fun night out.
Are tours wheelchair accessible?
Yes, with a but. We’ll need you to contact us before you book so we can make sure the bars we select for your tour date are wheelchair friendly
How much walking is involved?
This tour is a gentle 1.2-1.5km of walking. The pace is not designed for elite athletes – a basic level of fitness will do!
How long does a tour last?
This tours last 2.5-3 hours, all up, although they can go for up to 3.5 hours if we have delays or if everyone is just having a really great time!
That includes about 1.5 hours of walking (no more than 10mins without stopping) and 1.5 hours of socialising/bar visits.
During that time you’ll visit three of the city’s best bars, with 30-40 minutes at each bar to try some delicious drinks and soak up the atmosphere.
Of course, we finish our tour at the final bar, so you’re welcome to stick around there for as long as you want!
Does the tour include food?
How long do we stay at each bar?
We stay at bars 1 and 2 for about 30mins – enough for one drink. We appreciate that feels like a small amount of time, but if we stayed any long the tour would be too long, and we wouldn’t get to see everything! We finish the tour at our final bar, so you are free to stay on after the tour has finished.
