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Royal Exhibition Building Tours

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The magnificent interior of the Royal Exhibition Building.
Source: Museum Victoria

Discover the history and beauty of this magnificently restored building.

Tours are held most days at 2pm, subject to availability. Tours may not run when the building is in use for certain events and exhibitions. Please call 13 11 02 to confirm.

Built in 1879 for Melbourne’s first International Exhibition, it was chosen as the venue for the opening of the first Commonwealth Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901, and recently became Australia’s first World Heritage Listed building.

Experience the life, stories and affections of millions of people that have contributed to this national icon, Museum Victoria’s largest collection object.

Tour starts in the foyer at Melbourne Museum. Cost $5 adult and $3.50 concession.

What's On at the Royal Exhibition Building

Events

Great Australasian Beer Spectapular
24 May - 26 May 2013

Foodservice Australia 2013
2 Jun - 4 Jun 2013

University of Melbourne Exams
7 Jun - 29 Jun 2013

Edutest Exam
Saturday 15 Jun 2013

Oz Comic-Con 2013
6 Jul - 7 Jul 2013

Gasolene Muscle Car Expo
12 Jul - 14 Jul 2013

Life in Style
1 Aug - 4 Aug 2013

Australian Wedding & Honeymoon Expo 2013
17 Aug - 18 Aug 2013

The Australian Art Show, Melbourne
23 Aug - 25 Aug 2013

Landscape Australia Expo
5 Sep - 6 Sep 2013

The Finders Keepers Design Market
4 Oct - 5 Oct 2013

Ausbike Expo
12 Oct - 13 Oct 2013

Motorclassica
25 Oct - 27 Oct 2013

University of Melbourne Exams
1 Nov - 23 Nov 2013

The Big Design Market
6 Dec - 8 Dec 2013

Comments (23)

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Is a guided tour available Sunday 31st March 2013. If yes is it possible to book in advance? Thanks

Hi Phil,

At this point stage we do plan to proceed with a tour on Sunday 31st of March, however, due to unforeseen circumstances, sometimes it can't go ahead, so it is advisable to call our bookings team on 13 11 02 on the morning of Sunday 31st to check to see if the tour is going ahead and if so, make a booking.

Hi Laurence, Thank you for your feedback regarding the published time of the tour through the Royal Exhibition Building. On most days the tour departs Melbourne Museum at 2pm. The tour time and access can vary depending on the season and events, hence the reason why we do not publish the time on the website. To confirm tour times please call 131102 on the day of your visit.

Still NO opening hours information on the Exhibition Centre Website! Really a glaring omission people. :(

My question is, Can you explore on your own or do you have to take a tour?

I am thinking of visiting the Melbourne Museum on a Friday 13 July. Assuming that a tour of the Exhibition Building will be on that day, how long does it usually last? I also want to be able to see the spider feeding at 3pm.

Hi, I would like to know too, how long is the duration of the tour.

Hi, will there be a guided tour on 28 June?

Hi Brooke, There is indeed a great deal of information about the Royal Exhibition Building in the Discovery Centre on the lower ground level of the Melbourne Museum, and much of that information is available on the Museum Victoria website. These resources include:

Internet Resources:

Publications:

The Discovery Centre is open every day from 10am to 4:30pm.

My self and a group of friends went to see the Melbourne Museum and also the Royal Exhibition Building. We were not able to see the Royal Exhibition Building as it was setting up for the art show and when we went to the Melbourne Museum to find information about the Royal Exhibition Building there was only 1 panflet on the building. I thought that was very disapointing as the Royal Exhibition Building has a lot of history and as a student i could not find enough inforamtion about it. I think that there should be more information about both the Royal Exhibition Building and also the Melbourne Museum.

Are tours available whilst there is an event ie, Australian Antiques and Art Dealers on?

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We love receiving comments, but can’t always respond.

I am surprised that under 'Visiting' there aren't any opening hours listed. I would expect to find that there and cannot see this info elsewhere on this website.

Hi Teresa, yes photography is allowed on the tour.

Is it ok to take photos during a tour?

I have friends coming from Adelaide for Easter - Thursday 5th April until Tuesday morning 10th April. Is there a time when they can see this beautfiful building which I, a Melbourne resident, first saw today at the Flower and Garden show? They are not free on the Saturday.

Hi Judith, as indicated above, entry to the REB is via tour only or when there is an exhibition on. Our response to Adam suggests that you should ring the day before to check that the tour is running.

I called the no. 13 11 02 being making a trip to the Exhibition Building and the staff member told me that tours would be run every day. When I arrived I learned from the information desk at Melbourne Museum that the Exhhibition Centre is closed until Jan-8. This piece of information is nowhere to be found on this website. Disappointing.

Hi Lucita, apologies for the misinformation you received about the tour. We are following that up with staff to ensure they all have up to date information and we’ll check and update our website appropriately. We appreciate your feedback and apologise for your inconvenience.

Hi Adam, the Museum attempts to provide daily tours at 2pm, however this is subject to availability. I therefore recommend that on the day you wish to visit the Royal Exhibition Building you phone our Bookings & Enquiries Office to confirm that the tour will be running on 13 11 02.

Hi Darren, Here is a link to the Royal Exhibition Building What's On page and Melbourne Museum's Upcoming Exhibitions page. Upcoming events and exhibitions are generally advertised 4-6 weeks prior.

hi just like to know whats on @ the museum next year thank you.

I will be in Melbourne from the 31 oct to 2nd Nov, I just wondering if the guilded tours of the Royal Exhibition Building will be operating then?

I want to go there