Rod Laver Arena

Board your fully enclosed boat at Southbank Promenade to start your dinner cruise along the Yarra River. While aboard the floating restaurant, take in views of the lit-up city skyline, and pass by waterfront sights such as Federation Square, Flinders Station, Rod Laver Arena, Riverside Park, and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Relax with a beer, liquor, or red, white or sparkling wine, and enjoy the romantic atmosphere on the boat. Your dinner is prepared by talented chefs and served by attentive staff. It will also be paired with premium Australian wines. After a tasting platter, main course, dessert platter, and cheese platter, your luxurious meal culminates with a coffee or tea and a glass of port or liqueur. You’ll be full and relaxed by the time you return to the Southbank Promenade to end your cruise.  Sample menu (subject to change): Entrée Tasting Platter - comes with ALL 3 ITEMS listed • Lamb Kofta served with minted yoghurt (GF) • Peking Duck on a bed of garden salad (GF) • Seafood cocktail dressed in a creamy seafood sauce (GF) Main Course (1 choice per guest) •  Chargrilled chicken breast with a porcini mushroom cream sauce, served with potato and seasonal vegetables (GF) •  Baked barramundi fillet, cooked with ginger and lime, dressed in a curried coconut veloute  •  Chargrilled beef eye fillet cooked “medium” with a port wine jus, served with potato and seasonal vegetables (GF) •  Portuguese lamb shank served on mashed potatoes with a confit of vegetables (GF) Vegetarian Option — Entrée • Ratatouille filo parcel, served with goat cheese and salad (V) Vegetarian Option — Main Course • Whole baby pumpkin filled with a stir fry of seasonal vegetables and quinoa, topped with melted cheese (V) (GF) OR Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagna with a bechamel sauce served with potato gratin & seasoned vegetables (V) Dessert Platter • Selection of mini desserts Cheese Tasting Platter • Australian cheeses, dried fruit, and nuts served with crackers Tea, Coffee & Chocolate • Port or liqueur (available upon request during tea & coffee service) Beverages • Premium selection of red, white & sparkling wines • Selection of beers & a range of spirits • Soft drinks & orange juice We operate under strict RSA laws when serving alcohol. NOTE: Main course menu selections are to be provided at the time of booking.

Setting off from the centre of Melbourne at Federation Square, we walk down the Yarra River and Birrarung Mar learning about Aboriginal sports and games, Melbourne's incredible major events and venues before we arrive at the Melbourne Park Tennis Centre. After touring the grounds of the home of the Australian Open with unique insights from a passionate local, you will get to enjoy a hit of tennis on one of the famous blue courts. (Your guide can also stand in as a hitting partner.) We will continue the experience by walking through the Olympic Precinct passing the headquarters of six of Melbourne's top football teams, covering the Rugby codes, Soccer and Australian Rules, while learning about our truly indigenous football game. Finally we will end the tour by visiting the awe-inspiring, 100,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground. *Please note that court access during December will be subject to availability as the Australian Open begins its construction phase and courts may be reserved for players training for the tournament. All bookings will be notified ahead of their scheduled experience and as information becomes available.

Discover why the city has been voted the Sporting Capital of the World. Designed to showcase Melbourne’s passion for sports, this tour is led by locals and industry experts and provides a fun day out for sports lovers of all ages. Walk in the footsteps of famous sports stars as you explore the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena, the Olympic precinct and the headquarters of major football, soccer and rugby teams. Meet your friendly guide in Federation Square, then set out on your sightseeing adventure to some of the city’s most beloved sporting venues. The first stop of the day is the iconic Rod Laver Arena, which hosts the Australian Open each year. Walk in the footsteps of sports superstars such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Ash Barty and Serena Williams. Don’t forget to snap photos of your unforgettable visit. As you explore, learn about Melbourne's range of world class events such as the Melbourne Cup, F1 Grand Prix, MotoGP, Boxing Day Test and the Bells Beach Rip Curl Surf Pro. The tour continues with a stroll around the surrounding Olympic Park precinct, which no trip to Melbourne would be complete without Finish the tour with a visit to the impressive 100,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground. Enjoy a guided tour of the grounds and learn about the many famous faces who have played here over the years.

I am a private tour guide who specializes in taking walking tours of Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding neighbourhoods. I use the free public transport during my tours. I’m happy to take individuals, couples or groups. I have a deep interest in all things Australian, most notably history and politics, sport, music, literature and travel. I was a freelance journalist for many years — mainly as a sports writer, but also as a sub-editor on desks throughout the newsroom. When newspapers declined, I became a tour guide. Melbourne is my city, and I love showing people around here. Visitors from interstate and around the world always find something to love, whether it's the food and wine culture, high-level sport or the renowned arts festivals. Curious locals from within Melbourne get to see their own city in a new light. The starting point of the tour depends on our meeting place – your hotel, the Flinders Street Station or the State Library of Victoria. The tour can be tailored to your needs. Possible attractions include: Degraves Street and Centre Place (bustling yet intimate); Block Arcade and Royal Arcade (ornate 19th century shopping arenas); Chinatown (the oldest continuously existing Chinatown in the Western world); Hosier Lane (champion of street art); Meyers Place (ground zero for the bar culture); The Ian Potter Gallery (houses the major Australian collection); Curtin House (seven floors of style and fun); The Shrine of Remembrance (superb war memorial); Nicholas Building (commissioned by the two brothers who made their fortunes selling headache tablets); The Sports Precinct (including the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Rod Laver Arena). Melbourne is the capital city of the state of Victoria. It's different to other the state capitals, like Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Our weather is different – we have a temperate climate. Our politics is different –although it's not always been the case, we're now clearly the most progressive city. While the rest for the country thinks of Melbourne as a dark city because we have a genuine winter, it actually looks and feels darker because many older buildings were made of bluestone. As it happens, the bluestone creates the perfect atmosphere for the arts and epicurean cultures to flourish, most significantly in what we call "the laneways". Originally, laneways were small thoroughfares used for the delivery of goods, but now they're the homes of street art, small business, galleries and boutiques. The laneways are the homes of what we call the Laneway Culture. When I was a boy, the city was empty at night. Now it now comes to life after dark as merry-makers file into restaurants and bars. Since Covid, the number of people who stroll around Melbourne's CBD at night has come to exceed the number or people who scurry about during the day. It's an amazing change. Melbourne has aspects to it that other cities just don’t have. Let me show you around.

Start your tour by meeting your guide at the Melbourne Day Tour Centre. Walk along the path built to accommodate guests to the 2006 Commonwealth Games all the way to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Once here, enjoy a guided tour of the iconic stadium, which has a capacity of just over 100,000 people.  Afterwards, continue on foot to discover more of Melbourne's favourite sporting arenas. Visit AAMI Park, home to rugby teams Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Rebels, as well as the soccer clubs of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City FC. Next make your way to the Olympic Park Oval, built on the site of former Olympic Park Stadium, built for the 1956 Summer Olympics. This venue is now home to Collingwood FC, one of the most popular AFL teams in Australia. Visit Melbourne Arena, Rod Laver Arena, and Margaret Court Arena, the home of the Australian Open Tennis Championships. Take in the sights and sports along the Yarra River on your way back to the starting point at Federation Square.