Victoria’s hidden gems: Little-known hot spots in Melbourne’s CBD

WE’VE searched high and low to find the best hidden hot spots right across our great state so you don’t have to. From rooftop pop-ups to bars hidden behind fridge doors, we start with a list of inner-city gems.

Pop up patch in Melbourne’s CBD.

WE’VE searched high and low to find the best hidden gems across each region of our great state.

Here’s the list of inner-city hotspots you might not know about but have to visit to get you started.

Check back tomorrow for more best kept secrets from a different region of Victoria.

RELATED: MELBOURNE BAR AMONG WORLD’S BEST

MORE: WHY EVERYONE WANTS A GOON SUIT

BURGER BEST: WHERE TO FIND MELBOURNE’S BEST VEGGIE BURGER

Model Marijana Radmanovich at Madame Virtue in Melbourne’s CBD.

MADAM VIRTUE

5 Crossley St.madamvirtue.com.au

This store feels less like a retailer and more like a fabulous dress-up box filled with hand-me-downs from a fashionable French grandmother. There is no need to go to Paris to find a vintage Dior or YSL frock or an original Chanel or Hermes handbag, darling. There are also pieces from Balenciaga, McQueen and brooches, pearls and rings. The store is curated by J.C. and Dean Hewitt, and you may even meet security dog and style icon Maude.

PRINCESS DIANA’S TOILET

100 St Kilda Rd. artscentremelbourne.com.au

It’s a little known fact that inside the Truscott Lounge at Hamer Hall is a throne fit for a princess. The exclusive bathroom was created for Princess Diana’s visit to the opening of the concert hall in 1983. The room, named after Australian costume designer John Truscott, who also designed the interiors of the Arts Centre, showcases the Oscar he was awarded for his work on 1963 film Camelot.

THE NICHOLAS BUILDING’S VERTICAL LANEWAY

31-41 Swanston St. thatsmelbourne.com.au

Think Melbourne’s secret laneways are just side streets and alleys? Think again. The city’s heritage buildings also offer in-the-know shoppers vertical laneways: floors upon floors of little-known specialty stores, and the standout is the Nicholson building. Here you will discover a curious subculture of arts and crafts. From L’uccello’s bountiful haberdashery store to rare buttons at Buttonmania, handcrafted jewellery at Suzi Zuticand, to Australia’s largest vintage clothing cornucopia at Retro Star, as well as Chantilly Space, which offers creative professionals a collaborative and communal studio space or hot desks for only $19 a day.

WEDNESDAYS AT HORSE BAZAAR

397 Little Lonsdale St. horsebazaar.com.au

This part bar, part music venue, part visual art gallery, part recital centre is where horseplay meets the bizarre. The avant-garde saloon serves signature cocktails and slings Japanese street food every day, but visit on Wednesday to see the venue pump up the volume with “Can I kick it?” hip-hop open mic nights and a special of $1 Japanese fried chicken.

TAILORED TRIVIA AT THE METROPOLITAN HOTEL

263 William St.

Nothing makes you feel more ignorant than being sans smartphone for a night of trivia. But if your brain is good at storing useless information, then the tailored trivia at The Metropolitan Hotel is for you. The Met offers the option to DIY or BYO trivia in their function space, perfect for corporates and charities, or for a budget-friendly game, their pop-up trivia means if you can guarantee 25 mates will turn up, the Met will supply the host and questions for free and open it to the rest of the pub to play.

PIZZA PIZZA

16 Meyers Pl.

We can’t give you their number or their website because they don’t exist. In fact, we can’t even tell you what this place is called because it doesn’t have a name, but if you go to the pizza place in Myers Place and ask the guy behind the counter for the special, you will be taken through a fridge door and into a dark drinking den of Mad Men proportions.

TREATS FROM HOME

Collins two3four, 234 Collins St. treatsfromhome.com.au

Looking for sherbet lemons or Coleman’s mustard? Treats from Home sells a select range of British products for the homesick and nostalgic.

Stocked with mouth-watering delicacies from the motherland, Pommy expats will find this shop stocked with the best-loved British sweets, crisps, biscuits, cereals, drinks, gourmet foods and many other pantry items including PG Tips, Hellman’s mayonnaise, Irn Bru, Tizer, Vimto, Lilt, Caramac, sherbet lemons, pineapple cubes, Walkers crisps, and even tins of mushy peas for the northerners.

THE LITTLE LIBRARY AT MELBOURNE CENTRAL

Level 2, Melbourne Central, 211 La Trobe St.melbournecentral.com.au

Here you will find a library unlike any other. You don’t need a library card to borrow a book, you don’t have to pay, and you don’t have to return it either. All you have to do is leave another one in its place. The mission of the Little Library is to promote literacy and the love of reading by offering a way to share books with this free book exchange.

POP UP PATCH

Russel Ct. littleveggiepatchco.com

Escape the hustle and bustle of the city on the rooftop of Federation Square, where a community vegie patch grows. This urban oasis is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and you can enjoy a coffee, or take part in workshops. Pop Up Patch will relocate to a new CBD space in December.