City Circle Tram
City Circle Tram
4.5
About
The City Circle Tram is a free and convenient way to see the sights of central Melbourne and the Docklands while experiencing a ride on one of the city's much loved heritage trams.An audio commentary provides details of city landmarks and major attractions such as the City Museum, Parliament House, Docklands, Federation Square, Melbourne Aquarium and the Princess Theatre.The City Circle Tram also links with other tram, train and bus routes around Melbourne.To catch the City Circle Tram, simply wait at any tram stop along the City Circle Tram route. These tram stops are specially marked with a City Circle sign.Trams operate in both directions every 12 minutes between 10am and 6pm from Sunday to Wednesday and between 10am and 9pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.City Circle Trams do not run on Christmas Day and Good Friday.
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The area
Neighbourhood: Central Business District
Full of discovery and delight, Melbourne’s laneways tease the imagination long after you’ve put your weary feet up to rest. They weave through the heart of the city: cafes, bars, restaurants and boutiques, throbbing with conversation and espresso coffee. You never quite know what you’ll find around the next corner: cobblestone alleys, old beer barrel hoists and even vats of simmering organic soup. There is the air of Berlin in the street art, a touch of Paris in the umbrella-shaded cafes and, reminiscent of Rome, eateries tucked away in the most unlikely of places. Perhaps you might want a break and cross the Yarra River to Southbank - walk along the promenade, bask in the sun at a waterside bar and decide whether to go to the nearby casino or book a ticket at the Melbourne theatre company.
Reach out directly
See what travellers are saying
  • Ray L
    Melbourne, Australia446 contributions
    City Circle
    The City Circle tram itself runs every 30 mins or so. In fact you can catch any tram within the City Circle boundaries for free. Plenty of signage on routes etc at all tram stops. Easy travelling.
    Visited November 2022
    Written 30 November 2022
  • Michael C
    Fredericksburg, Texas130 contributions
    Great Idea…if One Shows Up
    Great idea that falls a bit short. Basically, this free tram service encircles the Central Business District and the Docklands area. So, how can anyone complain about a freebie? I guess you could call it a case of broken promises. The signs clearly state that the #35 (City Circle) trams run approximately every 15 minutes, yet twice we waited for over half an hour before giving up.I will note that the 2 times that we did manage to catch it were very enjoyable. These are very old, restored cars that give a nice sense of early 20th century.
    Visited December 2022
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 2 December 2022
  • Spiderweb2719
    Brisbane, Australia49 contributions
    Free ride.
    Great idea but only seems to go anticlockwise on the sunday we rode. A bit annoying that website info isn't updated for the tourist, found 3 different timetables on my search..Very crowded but certainly provides some useful commentary if you can hear it above the chatter.
    Visited December 2022
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 December 2022
  • Jan B
    13 contributions
    Great way to see the city of Melbourne
    What a fun and FREE way to travel the city, and go all around to see the sights. Then you can easily learn which lines will get you to the fun downtown areas for shoppig. Such a great convenience for residents and tourists alike.
    Visited December 2022
    Written 12 December 2022
  • Alison S
    North Yorkshire, United Kingdom88 contributions
    Excellent
    Great for getting around Melbourne. Don’t forget to buy a Myki card to use on trams. If you’re travelling in the free zone you don’t need them. Each trip for up to 2 hours or in a 2 hour period is $4.60 ish. Great value and very frequent. Lots of trams through the city and area.
    Visited December 2022
    Written 12 December 2022
  • Rod Armitage
    Winchester, United Kingdom125 contributions
    Excellent infrastructure to take you around the city - and free!!❤️❤️
    Staying out at Richmond it was easy to get into the city centre and link up with the comprehensive tram network including the free central system. Requires the purchase of a myki card (for Apple) or Mobile myki if you are on Android. Not as flexible as the tap&go system we used in Sydney, which no doubt will be upgraded soon!!
    Visited December 2022
    Travelled on business
    Written 19 December 2022
  • RobWWWW
    Fort Pierce, Florida21 contributions
    Meh
    Great idea, but runs infrequently and sometimes not at all - and the schedule on the displays is simply a fabrication that has nothing to do with the actual arrival. The seats are very uncomfortable. But decent if you just touched down in Melbourne and want a quick intro. They should beef this up a bit with better cushioning, more reliability, and perhaps a tour book with coupons would help pay for the thing.
    Visited November 2022
    Written 19 December 2022
  • David R
    Perth, Australia8 contributions
    Easy Access
    We used the City Circle Tram on our recent visit to Melbourne. Great tram system to use visiting Melbourne's city sites. Only negative is that each tram stop isn't announced earlier than it should.
    Visited December 2022
    Written 27 January 2023
  • Tim G
    Newburyport, Massachusetts10 contributions
    Very good food and a nice evening. Could be cramped
    When we booked this trip we expected a nice ride round and an ok meal. The ride was fun - a short loop done a few times, but the food and service exceeded our expectations. Do be warned - the seating is a bit of a tight squeeze and would be a challenge for some.
    Visited January 2023
    Written 29 January 2023
  • SolihullTraveller
    Solihull, United Kingdom733 contributions
    Brilliant
    So convenient, the only way to travel round Melbourne. You have to buy a Myki card and top up, though it would have been nice to be able to use your credit card like London Oyster but it was alright, Seven Eleven sell them. The free zone means any tram you're on in that zone is free to use and we used Tram 35 to do the full loop as it's an historic old machine with commentary, that is difficult to hear sadly, but gives you a good lay of the land. Great experience and Melbourne citizens are very lucky to have it!
    Visited February 2023
    Written 11 February 2023
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Tim H
Harpenden, UK3 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Couples
Seems to be cancelled for full days because of a shortage of tram drivers and drivers being reallocated to other routes, but finding this out is not easy. It was not running 14th & 15th November 2023. However as a whole the tram system workd reasonably well. Can't yet travel outside the free zone with anything other than the Myki payment (unlike Sydney) but we found it possible to download an online version topped up with 10 AUS.
Written 18 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chaindognz
2 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Family
Brilliant free ...tram round the inner city..took a few wrong turns ...no worries jump on another tram. A great way to see parts of the city
Written 15 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ingers
5 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Family
Sunday. Spent 3/4 hr waiting , with ever-changing expected times on display! Would change from 5 minutes, to 50 minutes to Mon @10.20am???? . Another couple had been waiting 1 1/2 hrs!!! Two very unsatisfactory calls to the transit office. About 10 other tourists came and went. No tram ever arrived! We caught other trams to get around and did see 2 CITY CIRCLE No. 35 TRANS, later in the day! Both with NO SERVICE signs up, and completely empty!!! Wouldn’t stop for us???
Monday. Ever-changing expected times on display again, but No. 35 did turn up after 40 minutes!!! Alleluia!! Could hardly hear the commentary, dirty windows… but satisfied we could complete our City Circle.
Written 13 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Skeney57
Sydney, Australia21,976 contributions
Oct. 2023 • Friends
Can't beat the free City Circle Tram service! Only discovered it a few years back as they don't like to tell New South Welshmen I think? Can't beat the frequency and it covers most of the area you would wander the the city centre. Also comes in very handy after a few beers at the Young & Jackson to get you back to your hotel and saves on shoe leather! A really good service and did I mention it's Free?
Written 10 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary
5 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Couples
Both visits that we have made to melbourne, last year in September and this year in November, the city circle tram wasnt working. This trip we tried twice on 2 separate days and we didnt know it wasnt working till we got to the tram line where you can board it. After i googled it and it said it was running on both these days?? It is a service that visitors to melbourne want to experience. There were several other people at the same locations as us wanting to use the service particularly families with children.
Written 6 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

anditjia
Jakarta, Indonesia55 contributions
Jul. 2023 • Family
The city tram circle was very convenient to get to anywhere in the city. The network is so expansive that there is almost no uncovered location. It was our main mode of transport during our two weeks stay, going as far as St Kilda.
One thing we could not really figure out is how the free tram zone really works, should we still tap every time we hop on within the zone, or only when we are about to leave the zone? 😁
Written 26 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tracey F
2 contributions
Sep. 2023 • Couples
Did this on our first day in Melbourne. Great way to get your bearings in the city, see places to go back to and it’s free! Lovely clean, good time info on tram stops and a one of a kind experience.
Written 13 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

reeceyb
Chichester, UK1,584 contributions
Sep. 2023 • Couples
This is a really easy way to get about Melbourne and in the CBD its actually free so even better it’s easy to navigate and use
Written 12 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andrea R
Windsor, Australia163 contributions
Oct. 2023 • Solo
I was scared to travel via tram at first, but ask the locals they are great to help. Clean and regular timetable.
Written 7 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jeffry b
Essendon, Australia13,784 contributions
Oct. 2023 • Friends
Melbourne's free city circle trams are hop on and hop off; they are completely free. There are stops around the Central Business District (CBD). There are around half an hour between stops. The veteran trams are a "shake, rattle and roll" operation, but they are reliable, and fun.
Written 2 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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City Circle Tram: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about City Circle Tram