The Royal Arcade

[helen m]

one of the things i love about melbourne is the variety of shops and cafes that are there for you to explore. and one of the gems is the royal arcade, which is one place you must put on your list of things to see in melbourne. the royal arcade was opened on 2nd May 1870, with the elizabeth street annex being added in 1902. you can read about the history of the arcade by following this link: [url="http://www.royalarcade.com.au/arcade_history_right.htm"]http://www.royalarcade.com.au/arcade_history_right.htm[/url] (the url for the home page of the site is: [url="http://www.royalarcade.com.au"]http://www.royalarcade.com.au[/url] )



there is an amazing variety of retailers and services in the arcade. to name just a few, there are: gift shops; jewellers; women's clothing, hairdressers; perfume and cosmetics; russian dolls; shoes and more. and there's the sugar melbourne candy kitchen at the little collins street end - i like the watermelon one.... and.... the kiwi fruit one and.... and.... follow this link for a full listing of shops: [url="http://www.royalarcade.com.au/store_index.htm"]http://www.royalarcade.com.au/store_index.htm[/url]



the arcade is also home to melbourne's favourite giants - gog and magog - two carved figures about two metres high, who have stood on either side of the impressive clock at the little collins street entrance the arcade since the late 1800's. you can read about gog and magog by following this link: [url="http://www.royalarcade.com.au/giant_gaurdians_right.htm"]http://www.royalarcade.com.au/giant_gaurdians_right.htm[/url]

[glen]

hi helen, it has been quite a while since i have popped into the royal arcade! it is a great spot for the ladies! but i prefer to go to a ray's outdoors or super cheap auto hahaha <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[helen m]

[quote name='glen' post='3942' date='Feb 1 2008, 04:45 PM']hi helen, it has been quite a while since i have popped into the royal arcade! it is a great spot for the ladies! but i prefer to go to a ray's outdoors or super cheap auto hahaha <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]



hmmmm........ i always thought there was something for everyone in there - but looking at the list of shops i see what you mean.

[Guest]

maybe so but it is still a terrific little arcade.

[pdjones]

I just love the Royal Arcade and all the wonderful gold rush architecture of MArvellous Melbourne. I can only hope and pray that these buildings are loved by enough people to ensure there continued presence in our mindset. Anybody who doesn't appreciate them is not, I repeat NOT a true Melburnian[quote name='helen m' post='3956' date='Feb 5 2008, 04:27 PM']hmmmm........ i always thought there was something for everyone in there - but looking at the list of shops i see what you mean.[/quote]