What it’s like visiting the set of Neighbours

I think we Brits actually like Neighbours more than the Aussies do.

I also think that visiting Melbourne and not going to the set would probably be seen as a crime. I mean you’re there already, why wouldn’t you?

Neighbours here is basically an institution and i’m pretty sure that everyone knows who Karl Kennedy is. I actually know a few people who say he DJ’d at their student union, but unfortunately not all of us can be that lucky.

For the 80s generation there was Scott and Charlene, for my 90s generation we had Carl and Susan and the multiple children that somehow ended up living in their house. A house that you can actually see during a trip to Melbourne!

I took a tour with the official Neighbours tour group although I heard that you can drive up to ‘Ramsay Street’ yourself and take a pic.

I opted for the VIP tour which gave you behind the scenes access to other locations such as Harold’s Cafe and the Lassiters Complex. I thought if I was just going to go there the once, I may as well go the whole hog.

Getting to visit Ramsay Street

Outside Karl and Susan’s house

I learnt so many things during my tour bus ride to Ramsay Street. Firstly, it’s not called Ramsay Street – it goes by another name.

Also you probably wouldn’t want to live on Ramsay Street if it was a real place. According to our guide, 14 people in the show have had amnesia. That’s a big problem that the Erinsborough Gazette should probably tackle.

Read more: Alternative Australia: How to spend two weeks in South Australia

And people actually live on fake Ramsay Street!

They get 24 hour protection with a security team on site looking after their houses. They are also paid for their houses to be in the show. And it’s a popular place to live, with only one family moving out so far.

Visiting the rest of the set

I don’t know what I was expecting but i’m not going to lie, part of me felt a little bit ruined by seeing the rest of the set. It kind of spoiled the magic for me a bit.

Everything just looked so grotty and SO so small.

I couldn’t believe that they actually managed to film in such a tight space and make the area look so big. To me the complex always looked huge but it was a few steps from Harold’s to Lassiters and to the police station.

It was great for posing though.

Our tour guide let us half half an hour and also knew how to take the best shots for us to come home with.

Also part of me really wanted to steal the ‘Welcome to Erinsborough’ sign.

And then before we knew it, it was over. Time to leave Erinsborough behind and head back to Melbourne and into the real world.

Would I recommend the tour for all of you Neighbours fans?

Yes I would recommend it but just remember it’s a bit of fun and you’re mainly going for the photo taking experience.

But if you’re a massive fan, you’ll absolutely love it. Just don’t feel too down heartened that the set looks nothing like how you imagined!

I took the tour with the Neighbours official tour who offer two different experiences. One involves taking the tour bus to Ramsay Street and posing for a picture while the other is going to Ramsay Street and then through the set. They say that sometimes the cast are there but on the day we went we weren’t so lucky. But it was still good anyway!