Melbourne Street Art: A Graffiti Lover’s Must-See Guide

Widely hailed as Australia’s street art capital, Melbourne isn’t so much a city as it is an open-air gallery—raw, rebellious, and endlessly evolving. Laneways become theatres of spray-can drama, rooftops host larger-than-life faces, and even the occasional bin or bollard cops a creative hit. From the shadowy whispers of stencil art to technicolour murals that stop you mid-step, this is where the city’s creative id runs wild.

So lace up and take a wander — you never know what masterpiece is lurking around the corner.

Melbourne Street Art: Fitzroy

Fitzroy wears its artistic soul on its sleeve, sometimes in neon spray paint, sometimes in paper-thin layers of paste-up poetry. The suburb’s storied streets are a visual diary of Melbourne’s creative pulse: murals that stretch across brick warehouses, stencil art that sneaks up on you in laneway shadows. The best way to experience it? Don’t overthink it. Just wander. Follow the colour. Let Brunswick, Johnston and Gertrude Streets guide you — this isn’t a suburb to tick off, it’s one to feel.

Melbourne Street Art: Melbourne’s West

While Melbourne’s inner north might steal the limelight, the western suburbs are where the street art gets gritty, poetic and properly under the radar. Footscray’s laneways and industrial nooks are a goldmine of expression, none more striking than Heesco’s towering mural, Ms Citizen of the World, splashed across Victoria University’s Nicholson campus.

These aren’t murals made for Instagram. They’re layered, lived-in, and woven into the neighbourhoods’ fabric. Wander through Footscray, Seddon and Yarraville, and you’ll find walls that speak — some whisper, others shout — all telling stories far beyond the frame.

Melbourne Street Art: Frankston

Frankston might not have been the obvious choice for street art supremacy, but that’s precisely the point. What was once a sleepy coastal town now roars with chromatic ambition — over 100 large-scale murals, bold with colour and unapologetically opinionated. The annual Big Picture Fest turns its walls into megaphones, and artists like Arina Apostolova bring soul to brickwork — her native flora and fauna dreamscapes are pure poetry.

There’s nothing try-hard about Frankston’s ascent. It’s raw, resonant, and utterly worth the train ride.

Melbourne Street Art: Richmond & Cremorne

Richmond and Cremorne pulse with gritty charm and vibrant street art that tells Melbourne’s untold stories. The iconic Rosella Sauce mural in Cremorne towers 30 feet, blending Aussie nostalgia with a modern multicultural twist — a bold splash of history on an industrial canvas. Richmond’s laneways weave through murals like the historic Dimmeys wall and community-crafted gems, each piece echoing local spirit and tenacity. This is where heritage collides with contemporary edge, making every alleyway a vivid narrative waiting to be discovered. Wander here, and you’ll find the city’s soul painted loud and proud.

Melbourne Street Art: Smug’s Grandparents

Melbourne’s street art scene rarely trades in subtlety, but Smug’s four-storey tribute to his grandparents on Lonsdale Street is something else entirely. Towering, tender, and rendered in breathtaking photorealism, this mural captures the quiet gravity of enduring love and ageing with grace. The soft retro hues and painterly detail stop you dead in your tracks. It’s one of Melbourne’s most moving large-scale works, and rightly so.

Melbourne Street Art: Mornane Place

Set beside the glow of Grossi’s Arlechin, Mornane Place is a secret slice of Venice… no passport required. Micah Nagle’s sprawling mural turns a plain laneway wall into a dreamscape of gondolas and canal-side romance, his vivid palette dancing across brick like reflections on water. Throw in a tribute to Ziggy Stardust and sword-wielding kittens (yes, really), and this quiet pocket of Melbourne’s CBD becomes a street art fever dream.

Melbourne Street Art: AC/DC Lane

Honouring Australia’s homegrown rock legends in name and spirit, every inch of this CBD lane’s walls is covered in raucous, colourful Melbourne street art. Here, you’ll find tributes to the iconic guitar smashers, including a striking 3D sculpture of Bon Scott bursting through the wall.

AC/DC Lane, Melbourne 

Melbourne Street Art: Drewery Lane

Drewery Lane offers a refreshing change in a city where graffiti dominates the street art scene. Instead of spray paint, its walls are adorned with intricate mosaics — quirky ceramic tiles that create a captivating patchwork. The Drewery Lane Art Project, led by mosaic artist Sankar Nadeson, brings this charming laneway to life. Created in collaboration with local schools and art programs, the stunning mosaic artwork can be found just behind Legacy House in the CBD.

Drewery Lane, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Union Lane

For art lovers, Union Lane is an essential stop. This unassuming laneway between Bourke and Little Collins streets lets its bold artwork do all the talking. Bursting with a wild mix of tags, throw-ups, intricate pieces and 3D illustrations, it’s a true sensory rush. Part shortcut, part open-air gallery, Union Lane hums with energy — locals rushing by and curious visitors alike pause to soak in the kaleidoscope of colour and creativity that makes this hidden gem truly unforgettable.

Union Lane, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Tattersalls Lane

Cool, colourful, and layered with just the right kind of grit, Tattersalls Lane is Melbourne distilled. Pallets do duty as stools, every wall bursts with bold street art, and the laneway’s history seeps through the cracked concrete beneath your feet. Stretching from Chinatown’s Little Bourke to Lonsdale Street, it’s one of the city’s oldest lanes, worn but proud. Grab a cold one at Section 8 or soak up the vibes at Aster, where live music pulses through the air. Here, art isn’t just on the walls — it’s in the very soul of the place.

Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Presgrave Place

The artworks adorning Presgrave Place brim with whimsy and nostalgia, as miniature frames showcasing eclectic prints and 3D dioramas pop from the walls. While you’re here, you can duck into a hole-in-the-wall cafe for a perfect brew by day, or visit one of the city’s most esteemed bars for cocktails by night.

Presgrave Place, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Hosier Lane

Hosier Lane may draw the crowds, but its status as Melbourne’s street art mecca is well-earned. This ever-evolving alleyway pulses with colourful murals, sharp stencils, and cheeky posters that capture the city’s creative spirit. Here, bursts of colour meet tongue-in-cheek humour and timely pop culture nods, making every visit feel fresh. And if fortune smiles, you might catch an artist at work, turning concrete walls into living, breathing masterpieces right before your eyes.

Hosier Lane, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Upper West Side Street Art Precinct

Towering over a once-forgotten corner of the CBD, the walls of an old power station now burst with sweeping murals by acclaimed artists like Fintan Magee and Adnate. Commissioned to inject vibrancy into Melbourne’s urban fabric, these large-scale works mesmerise with intricate detail and rich palettes, transforming bleak concrete into a living canvas that pulses with energy and colour.

Corner of Spencer Street and Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Keith Haring Mural 

Undoubtedly one of Melbourne’s most iconic street art landmarks, Keith Haring’s legendary mural on Johnson Street has been a fixture of the Collingwood community since 1984. This instantly recognisable masterpiece, born from the New York artist’s bold, graphic style, has undergone several restorations to preserve its striking presence, standing as a testament to Melbourne’s enduring love affair with street art and cultural rebellion.

Johnston Street, Collingwood

Melbourne Street Art: Welcome to Fitzroy

This striking black-and-white mural is a cherished Fitzroy landmark. Boldly emblazoned on the side of iconic live music venue The Night Cat, the work by street art collective Everfresh has welcomed locals and wanderers alike with its cheeky “Welcome to Sunny Fitzroy” message for nearly 15 years — a timeless tribute to the suburb’s gritty charm and creative spirit.

Johnston Street, Fitzroy

Melbourne Street Art: Caledonian Lane

This tiny lane has a big claim to fame – it’s the birthplace of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, now a major national music and arts festival. Blink and you’ll miss the four-metre wide thoroughfare, which is chock-a-block with grungy, out-of-left-field works.

Caledonian Lane, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Duckboard Place

Before you hop in line for one of Flinders Lane’s many buzzing restaurants, duck around the corner and check out the stunning murals beaming from the walls of Duckboard Place. Eyes are immediately drawn to Brisbane artist Steen Jones’s sprawling tattoo-style roses – intended as a love letter to Melbourne – plus a pair of rare rat stencils by none other than Banksy.

Duckboard Place, Melbourne

Melbourne Street Art: Adnate Mural

Towering over Collingwood is renowned street artist Adnate’s 20-storey mural with a message. Covering the side of a public housing building on Wellington Street, it features the faces of four residents from a primary school student to an Ethiopian refugee. The tallest mural in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s a stunning reminder of Melbourne’s vibrant, diverse population.

Wellington Street, Collingwood

Melbourne Street Art: Haring and Basquiat Tribute Mural

Easey Street is home to one of Melbourne’s most thrilling works of public art. This eleven-metre-tall, thirty-metre-wide tribute to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat is a collaboration by eight local artists, combining realist portraits of the iconic pair with colourful graphic signs, symbols and line work.

Easey Street, Collingwood

Melbourne Street Art: Jungle Funk

Taking Melbourne’s laneways to a wild new level, Mike Makatron’s Jungle Funk mural on Meyers Place explodes with vibrant greenery and exotic creatures, turning concrete walls into a living, breathing urban jungle. Commissioned under the City’s Green Your Laneways program, this riot of colour and life is a lush, immersive escape right in the heart of the city — a bold celebration of nature’s resilience amid urban grit. It’s a visual roar that demands you stop, stare, and lose yourself.

Meyers Place, Melbourne

Loved our round-up of Melbourne’s best street art? Then you’ll probably be on the hunt for more low-budget thrills. Why not feast alfresco at these picturesque picnic spots followed by a leisurely stroll along these scenic walks? For more pre-payday ideas, check out our guide to cheap eats and even cheaper (read: free) things to do in Melbourne.