Jan takes Beth on a very local tour of her favourite places in the two blocks around her house. La Paloma café is one, and so is Vittorio’s Barber Shop next door. Vittorio has gone on holiday to Hawaii, but ensconced in jackets and scarves the two women peek through the windows to see the football memorabilia and newspaper cuttings... >> more

Alex made her way to Afghan Kebab on the promise of Brunswick’s best cardamom-flavoured coffee. But even the best-laid plans fall through, and when the coffee machine broke it looked like her tour was over before it had begun. Alex’s feisty tour-guide Ellie was momentarily stumped, but quickly devised an alternate plan. And so the two intrepid travellers bid goodbye to the... >> more

Tolga, who owns the Blue Elephant carwash on Stewart St, takes his neighbour Eric to some of the places nearby where he spends his time when business is slow. At Sahara Café, past the pizza ovens and the cabinets filled with cakes, is a little courtyard with yellow brick walls and old men playing backgammon and drinking coffee. Further up the road the unassuming Beans ‘n’... >> more

Jessica, an American exchange student and Brunswick resident of a mere eighteen months, treks to the north end of the suburb for a late-night snack. At Afghan Kebab she tries super sweet jelebi, sugary orange coils on sparkly silver foil, washed down with green tea which the owner brings her for free. Then it’s on to the legendary Bahla’s Pastry. The baklava is piled... >> more

A circus performer leads an environmental philosopher through a hole in a fence, to a world where abandoned buildings are transformed into art galleries, the views from train bridges are paid the attention they deserve, and discarded flowers in supermarket dumpsters are rescued with gentlemanly aplomb. No entry fees, big-name locations, or show-bags filled with samples from discount shopping... >> more

When Heather took Sheri on a historical tour of Brunswick, their first stop was The Spot. Heather, who has called Brunswick home for more than two decades and remembers the days when Sydney Rd had two cinemas, told Sheri of the times when The Spot was known as the Candy Tavern. The Tavern’s lesbian nights were amongst the first in Melbourne, and Heather spoke fondly of the hours she... >> more

 Liz gets lost en route to her tour and has to ride her bicycle up a very steep hill. Waiting for her at the top is her tour-guide, Mem, a Kurdish musician and film-maker. Leaving bicycles behind they venture out together on a tram, for a lazy afternoon filled with apple-flavoured tobacco smoked on leather couches, cheap whisky drunk at tables with plastic... >> more

 John, a librarian who likes getting lost in the back streets and alleyways of Brunswick, takes Aviva, a clarinet player in a Balkan gypsy band, on a tour to the west side of the train tracks. They set off from Anstey station at 10.30 on a sunny Sunday morning, to discover a suburban wonderland filled with secret cobble-stoned hideaways, giant cacti, abandoned houses... >> more