Hi all!
My sister’s best friend Harry came to visit us here in Melbourne from the 2nd – 16th December. He had never been to Australia before so we made it our mission to show him all the best spots. On Sunday the 10th, we were all taken on an unofficial nerdy tour throughout the CBD. Thank you to James for being such a great guide! It was so much fun, I decided to blog the experience. If you are a fellow geek like myself, you will hopefully enjoy this post and add some of these locations to your bucket list. Without further ado, here are all the places we explored!
#1: ALL STAR COMICS – 53 QUEEN STREET
How have I lived in this city my whole life and never known about this store? It was so cool! There are two floors filled with comics, figurines, manga, pop-culture merchandise and amazing artwork from the people of Melbourne. I found so many nostalgic toys/gadgets from my childhood that are worth so much money now. It made me wish I had kept them! If you love vintage comics, I would highly recommend visiting this store. I could’ve spent hours there.
#2: MINOTAUR – 121 ELIZABETH STREET
I’m highly confident that the majority of Melbournians know what and where Minotaur is. It is, in my personal opinion, the best and biggest pop-culture store in the CBD. You can buy merchandise from any popular TV-show/movie/anime you can think of here. I am not ashamed to admit I have spent a lot of money here in the past. I love their blind boxes, plushies and figurines. It is yet another place I could spend countless hours in.
QUICK STOP!
Harry couldn’t resist taking up this lovely girl on her offer!
#3: COMICS ‘R’ US – 220 BOURKE STREET
This store is similar to the first one we visited however I found it to be a lot better organised. There are hundreds upon hundreds of comics. I was very excited to discover that Back to the Future (my favourite movies of all time) had its own series. You can find incredibly vintage toys here that are worth $1k and over. The owners are very passionate about their merchandise and happy to make recommendations based on your interests.
#4: COMICS ‘R’ US – SHOP 7, ROYAL ARCADE
For those board game lovers out there, this is your kind of store. You can find all sorts of new and old board games as well as jigsaw puzzles and LEGO sets. It was so nice to see lots of customers milling about in there. In a world full of technology, it’s good to know people are still enjoying an activity that brings the whole family together.
QUICK STOP!
Doughnut Time on 5 Degraves Street had just started selling their Christmas range. We all couldn’t resist picking up a tasty, festive doughnut as a treat. I ordered the ‘Mistledough’ which is 100% vegan and delicious!
#5: ZING POP CULTURE – 67 SWANSTON STREET
To get into Zing, you have to enter EB Games first and follow the signage downstairs. Here you will discover a treasure trove of Funko Pops, plushies, blind boxes, fashion, accessories and loads more. This is a great place to buy gifts. There is plenty of Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, Pokemon, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and Sailor Moon merchandise to purchase here (to name just a few). It is the only place in Melbourne that I have been able to find my beloved Tsum Tsum’s.
#6: BARTRONICA – 335 FLINDERS LANE
For our very final stop, we went to Bartronica. I had never been before but I’m so glad I did because it was awesome. This place is essentially a bar filled with classic arcade games and private booths for friends that want to challenge each other. It was quite dark inside so I couldn’t get the best images. We played Mario Kart, pinball and a car-racing game. I loved the 80’s music that was playing and the overall fun atmosphere. This is a great place to come for a birthday party or even a first date!
So that was my nerdy tour of Melbourne. I truly hope you enjoyed it. Please comment below some geeky locations in your home town.
Peace & Love xoxo
This sounded like quite the nerdy outing in the city! I recognise these places and have been to them except Bartronica! So many games to play. The comic book shops both look very neat to me, look at all those neat rows! I used to read and collect comics as a kid, the Marvel Comics and also Archie & Friends. When I had to move I had to let them go…wish I hadn’t let go of them but I supposed it wasn’t meant to be :’D Hope you are well my friend. Cannot wait to see you again x
Thank you my friend! I used to love the Asterix and Obelix comics!! I was also a big fan of Garfield. Cannot wait to see you too! xx