A UNESCO City of Literature, Melbourne is widely acclaimed for its charming Victorian architecture, vibrant street art, and world-class museums and galleries. The city is also known for its coffee culture, love for food and sprawling vineyards. 

Beyond coffee-hopping, fine dining and wine appreciation, Melbourne is also rich with immersive travel experiences—a place where you can engage in unique hand-made activities. Develop your very own shade of lipstick, make your own custom-flavoured chocolate or experience the art and science of wine-making. 

Love getting busy with your hands during your trip to Melbourne? Read what the team at Pan Pacific Melbourne recommends as suitable Do-It-Yourself holiday activities and fun things to do in Melbourne for young adults, along with nearby places you can visit in Melbourne city.

Kit Kat ‘Chocolatory’

Address: Melbourne Central, Level 1, Shot Tower Square, Corner La Trobe and Swanston, Melbourne VIC 3000

Telephone: +61 04 3601 3547

Operating hours: 10am to 7pm (Saturday to Wednesday), 10am to 9pm (Thursday and Friday)

Get creative with your chocolate at the first permanent Kit Kat ‘Chocolatory’ shop in the world. This Kit Kat wonderland features hand-crafted premium Kit Kat chocolate wafer bars—perfect for chocoholics with a creative bent. 

Head to the “Create Your Break” bar, where you can make your own version of Kit Kat. Choose from the selection of chocolate (creamy, smooth, intense) and take your pick of toppings. These range from the usual almonds and hazelnuts to the more adventurous peppermint cracknel and even strawberry crispearls. Finish your custom-made cocoa-infused creation with an exquisite packaging design and your own special name. 

After your Willy Wonka stint, take a short walk to the highly popular cafe Brother Baba Budan, which is famed for brewing Melbourne’s (and some say Australia’s) best tasting cups of coffee. Named after legendary merchant Baba Budan who smuggled seven coffee seeds out of Yemen, the coffee joint has a die-hard following among Melburnians and visitors alike. 

Get directions to The Kit Kat Chocolatory

Get directions to Brother Baba Budan from The Kit Kat Chocolatory

Foxey’s Hangout

Address: 795 White Hill Road, Red Hill, Vic, 3937, Australia

Tel: +61 03 5989 2022 

Operating hours: 11 am to 5pm (Friday to Monday and public holidays)

Calling all oenophiles! Get more than a tipple in the outskirts of Melbourne, which is known for its rolling hills of verdant vineyards. At Foxey’s Hangout in Mornington Peninsula, you can create your own fine sparkling wine. 

Join sparkling winemaker Michael Lee for a private session in the final stages of wine-making, known as disgorgement, dosage and corkage. Held in an intimate scale at Foxey’s Hangout cellar, visitors can observe the disgorgement process—the removal of aged lees and deposits at the neck of the bottle—and select their own dosage, i.e. the desired mixture of wind and sugar syrup. You can taste the house range of sparkling wines along with a variety of sparklings “dosed” at different sugar levels to decide how much sugar you wish to add to your bottles. The last stage is to pick the base wine (chardonnay or pinot noir) to finish your very own blend before you seal it with a cork. 

After a glass or three, do spend some time basking in the bucolic views of the sprawling vineyard to cap off your wine making adventure.  

Get directions to Foxey’s Hangout

Address:  601/25 Wills Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia

Always on the hunt for the right lipstick but never quite succeeded? Find your perfect shade of lips and create them from scratch at a DIY workshop. Hosted by lipstick maker Michelle Ma, in collaboration with Airbnb, you get the freedom to choose, mix and apply your own shades to create your very own lipstick using natural organic ingredients. 

During the workshop, Michelle will guide you every step of the way, from how to use the tools to melting the ingredients. You can choose from 20 over shades as well as the shape of your lipsticks—traditional, heart or even rose shape! You can even design your own lipstick tubes. It cannot get more customised than this. 

With your new lipstick, you are ready to conquer the world. Or the sea. Nearby is the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium at the banks of the Yarra River. Head over for an interactive ocean adventure and discover the fascinating marine creatures living in the Southern Ocean in the two-million-litre oceanarium. Just remember not to leave your (lipstick) mark on the glass!

Get directions to the DIY-Design and Make Your Own Lipsticks Workshop

Get directions to the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium from the DIY-Design and Make Your Own Lipsticks Workshop

Metascent

Address: Shop 9, 271 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia

Telephone: +61 03 9662 1747

Operating hours: 2pm to 4pm (Saturday)

“Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains.”—Diane Ackerman

Celebrate your individuality by creating a signature scent that exudes your personality like no other. You can do so at the two-hour perfume lovers workshop at perfumery Metascent. 

Start with exploring ideas and concepts of what you wish your fragrance to evoke. Next, be acquainted with the 50 over natural and synthetic ingredients available for your pick. Once you have selected your ingredients, you can develop your formula under the guidance of perfumers. The final step is bottling your very own “whiff-of-heaven” in a 50ml bottle complete with your personalised label. 

With a spritz of your signature scent, stride confidently along the streets and head to the nearby Melbourne Town Hall for a quick spell. Erected in 1867, the historic building is regularly used for concerts, theatrical plays and exhibitions. The main attraction here is the regal concert organ in the main auditorium, complete with 147 ranks and 9,568 pipes. 

Get directions to Metascent

Get directions to Melbourne Town Hall from Metascent

PS—When in Melbourne, do also check out the top five places to get dumplings. If you can spare some time after the Do-it-yourself activities, take some time out to experience Melbourne’s best in our list of things to do in the city or explore its cool suburbs.