Block Arcade

The Block Arcade is Melbourne's most beautiful Victorian shopping arcade, a glass-roofed, mosaic-floored passage from the 1890s, modelled on the grand arcades of Europe, that survives as an elegant slice of the city's gold-rush prosperity. Ornate ironwork, etched glass, and a patterned tiled floor lead past boutiques, jewellers, and tearooms, most famously the Hopetoun Tea Rooms, a Melbourne institution since 1892 where the window display of cakes and the queue out the door are part of the ritual.

It's a short but lovely walk, and a key stop on Melbourne's network of historic arcades and hidden laneways. Combine it with the adjoining Royal Arcade and the city's famous graffiti lanes for a sense of how Melbourne layers Victorian grandeur with contemporary street culture.

Don't miss

• The 1890s glass roof, ironwork, and mosaic floor
• The historic Hopetoun Tea Rooms (since 1892)
• Boutiques, jewellers, and chocolate shops
• Its link to Melbourne's arcade-and-laneway network
• Victorian gold-rush-era grandeur

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Block Arcade

Cheapest way inMarvellous Melbourne: A Self-Guided Audio Tour4.4★ · 27 travelers~1 hourFree cancellationFrom$9 per personSee dates →Most bookedUltimate Melbourne Walking Tour: History, Laneways & Culture4.9★ · 1,560 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$91 per personSee dates →Private & flexiblePrivate Melbourne Tour with a Local: Custom Highlights & Gems4.8★ · 51 travelers2–8 hoursFree cancellationFrom$64 per personSee dates →

Good for

How travelers rate it

Know before you go

• It's a short, beautiful walk-through, combine it with the Royal Arcade and the laneways nearby.
• The Hopetoun Tea Rooms are famous; expect a queue at peak times for the cakes and high tea.
• It's in Melbourne's free tram zone, easy to reach.
• Look up and down, the glass roof and the mosaic floor are the highlights.

A bit of history

Built between 1891 and 1893 during the boom following Victoria's gold rush, the Block Arcade was designed in the ornate style of Europe's great shopping galleries. Its name comes from 'doing the Block', the fashionable Victorian habit of promenading this stretch of the city.