Food Tours · Tour

How Immigration Built Melbourne, Told at the Market

Melbourne is what it is because of who moved here, and this tour makes that the subject rather than the background. Two and a half hours through the city's oldest markets, the ones locals still shop at, with the stories of the waves of immigration that built the place: who arrived, what they brought with them, and what happened to it once it got here. Australian food changed enormously in a couple of generations, and the reason is on these stalls. You taste as you go, through antipasto, Melbourne coffee, gelato and a range of things from the eateries around the market, and you talk to the vendors, several of whom are the second or third generation on the same pitch. Queen Victoria Market is the centrepiece, and you arrive before the crowds do. Twelve people at most, in English, with the guide and the tastings, and a list of where to eat and shop afterwards. An easy one-kilometre walk, suitable for any fitness level, and it runs in any weather. Children under six come free. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free can be accommodated with notice. The tour is carbon neutral and the operator is a certified B Corp, which is a third-party audit rather than a slogan.