The hidden Melbourne gems that the locals love
Confessions of an Australian Tour Director Coops Old Shot Tower; Corner of Swanston and Latrobe streets, Melbourne Central In my 20 plus years of leading tours around Australia, I cannot remember a traveller who has not been impressed by this amazingly preserved piece of architecture from the late 1800s. My clients constantly comment - the thing they love about Melbourne is the blend between old and new. Nothing encapsulates this more than the iconic shot tower preserved underneath an inverted glass "ice cream cone". I like to walk my travellers up Swanston street, going past global giants McDonalds and Starbucks... just before Latrobe street we bank a left into Melbourne's largest shopping mall in the CBD - Melbourne Central. Shops all round - not unlike any other mall available globally. Surprise gathers once delivered to the atrium where, above soars a shot tower graciously framed and preserved within an inverted glass cone. The wave of commercialism that de