Long relegated to the status of insignificant little alleyways, today the lanes are inherent to Melbourne's reputation. In these former back streets behind restaurants, residents meet to eat, dance or drink cocktails in privacy. Of course the CBD is no one-trick pony: you can also take in the splendour of the shops of Royal Arcade and the elegance of the tea rooms of Block Arcade, a covered passageway built on the model of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.