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Melbourne City Arcades are the most beautiful in the world. You can see for yourself from the photos I took as I went around the city re-discovering the beauty it has to offer with new eyes.

I think we take for granted what we have until we really see what is there and what is there is truly stunning.

The Block Arcade

The most opulent is the Block Arcade. It was designed by David C. Askew and was built in two sections between 1891 and 1893.

The name The Block Arcade came from the term of the day "doing the block", which meant the fashionable people of Melbourne were showing off their new garments in the right places to be seen, here!

The polished mosaic floors were imported from Italy. The ceilings are made of glorious glass in an octagonal shape surrounded by impeccable iron-laced arches and all beautifully lit.

There are many types of shops along the arcade including a chocolate shop, shoe store, day spa, clothes stores and a glassware store.

Make sure you stop into the grand old Hopetoun Tea Rooms for a cup of tea and a delicious dessert which has been made from recipes handed down through generations.

There are tours of the Arcade. To book on a Tuesday call +61 3 9650 2777 or if you prefer Thursday call +61 3 9654 5244. They start at at 1:00pm.

Royal Arcade Melbourne

The oldest of all the arcades is The Royal Arcade which was built in 1869. It has the same arched glass ceiling and intricate lace work on the iron columns as the Block Arcade has.

The designer of this arcade is Charles Webb who actually won a competition they had running in 1868. He was chosen from many participants. They started building on the 4th of June 1869.

You will find some wonderful cafes here, many specialty stores and suga. This is a wonderful candy store where you can watch them make candy the old fashioned way through the front window.

Gog and Magog

Look out for Gog and Magog in The Royal Arcade Melbourne.

They are two fictional ogres from an old British tale. They stand either side of the large clock pictured above where they hit the bells every hour.

These characters were placed in the southern part of this arcade in 1892.

Block Court Melbourne

This is a tiny court with gorgeous Art Deco features which is just too beautiful to ignore. On the left is a luxury bag and luggage store and on the right is a jewellery store. Photo by alandot.

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