Badass Women of Melbourne Walking Tour

About this tour

This two-hour walking tour threads through Melbourne's CBD to uncover the lives of women who built the city's institutions, sparked movements, and shaped its cultural landscape. Starting from Parliament House and weaving through Chinatown and Little Lon, you'll encounter the stories of artists, activists, and entrepreneurs whose contributions have often gone unrecognised. A local guide leads the way, revealing how these women—from hospital founders to cultural innovators—left their mark on the streets you walk today.

Highlights

• Parliament House to Little Lon: women's legacies mapped across laneways
• Hospital founders, artists, and agitators who reshaped Melbourne
• Stories erased from mainstream history, reclaimed and told
• Discover how everyday rebellion transformed the city's character
• Local guide shares insider knowledge of overlooked contributions
• See familiar streets through a new historical lens

What to expect

Expect a two-hour journey that treats Melbourne's architecture and laneways as backdrops for human stories rather than mere landmarks. Your guide will stop at significant sites—Parliament House, theatres, market precincts—but the focus stays on the individuals who fought, created, and agitated within and around these spaces. You'll hear about resistance movements, cultural breakthroughs, and institutional building efforts. The pace is steady and reflective, designed to let stories sink in rather than rush between points. This isn't a tick-the-box tour; it's an invitation to reconsider what you thought you knew about the city.

Good to know