Melbourne Art Deco Architecture Tour: Explore Famous 1930s Buildings and Designs

Discover Melbourne’s famous Art Deco architecture on a 2-hour walking tour. Explore 1930s buildings and learn about the history and cultural influences behind their designs.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • MELTours - Meet your guide at the Manchester Unity Building at 10am. In 1934, Melbourne celebrated its centenary and this event provided a catalyst for a building boom that transformed the city. As a result, Melbourne has some of the finest Art Deco buildings in the world, with many of the best examples located in the city centre.
    Follow your Art…
What's Included
    • Local guide
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup
  • Food and drinks
Additional Information

Discover Melbourne’s fascinating Art Deco architecture on this small-group, 2-hour walking tour. Learn about the history and culture of Melbourne while admiring fine examples of the city’s most famous Art Deco buildings, including the Manchester Unity Building and Majorca Building. Learn fascinating details about the tiles, patterns, and designs that…

Location
Manchester Unity Building
Collins Street
Please meet your Art Deco Architecture Tour guide at the Manchester Unity building, corner of Collins St and Swanston St in front of the entrance to the foyer on the Swanston St side.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(19 Ratings)
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1 star
Nancysv9807mv
Jan 3, 2026
good - Knowledgeable and personable Was very helpful with questions. Recommend highly. He also recommended restaurants and took photographs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sanderadio
Sep 24, 2025
Very interesting tour of Melbourne and its Art Deco history - We really enjoyed the Melbourne Art Deco Architecture Tour with MELtours. Our guide, San, was very knowledgeable and shared so much about the city’s history and its Art Deco buildings. What made the experience extra special was being able to step inside some of the buildings to see the original decorations and furnishings up close—a real bonus. The tour gave us a deeper appreciation of Melbourne’s architecture and heritage and a two hour tour is just right for a Saturday morning stroll. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chrisjaustralia
Apr 26, 2025
Insight and experience! - Sam is very knowledgeable about Art Deco architecture and well prepared, plus his lived history with the city added a charming angle (we are Melbourne locals too). We both learned a lot as he knows where to look to find the real gems of architecture that people simply walk past every day. Excellent for visitors and locals alike.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pipb215
Nov 25, 2024
A great walk - John was very knowledgeable and entertaining when showing us the unique Art Deco buildings of Melbourne. It was 37 degrees for our tour but definitely worth it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Darrens2848
Sep 10, 2024
A definite must-do! - Excellent, insightful and educational. This tour exposes one to significant architectural parts of the cityscape often overlooked, and encourages an appreciation of the amazing buildings, their history and particular design intricacies scattered around the city, often hidden in plain sight. Fantastic!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S7214qnmarias
Jun 9, 2024
Art Deco Melbourne - just look up! - I have lived in Melbourne all my life but I had no idea the extent of Melbourne's Art Deco history. Sam was a walking encyclopaedia who was able to answer any question thrown at him. We were given enough time to appreciate the buildings inside and out. We cannot wait to book in our next Meltour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ambersi7616md
May 18, 2024
Look up for the beauty - Sam our tour guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about the art deco in his town. We appreciated he managed to fit us in after other tours throughout the day. That's a lot of talking! He even kindly took us through extra arcades as spotted on the walk. There was so much to see and it was the perfect way to cover a lot of ground after having just arrived in town. Melbourne has done a great job restoring a lot of historical architecture while introducing a vast amount of stunning modern buildings around it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charles_s
Nov 21, 2023
A must for a visit to Melbourne! - With our visit in Melbourne almost over, we were treated to a private tour with the very knowledgeable John who walked us through the CBD slowly while carefully describing the treasures of Art Deco architecture that populate the center city. I wish we had started with this tour because then our eyes would have been better trained to appreciate everything we saw. This tour is a great gift to anyone coming to this great city.
Review provided by Viator
182shaeh
Nov 19, 2023
Great Historical Art Deco Tour - We really enjoyed our tour with John. He was very knowledgeable of the art deco period, the history of Melbourne and was friendly and engaging.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Catherinec66
Sep 25, 2023
Art Deco wonders of the CBD - Thank you Sam for a fabulous overview of the Art Deco scene in Melbourne. It was wonderful to listen to all the stories you told and look at the city with new eyes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $63
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).