101 Best Sights in Victoria, Australia

The Chinese community's important role in Bendigo life, past and present, is explored within this museum. Its centerpieces are the century-old Loong imperial processional dragon, the Sun Loong imperial processional dragon, and the new Dai Gum Loong processional dragon, which, at more than 131 yards in length, is said to be the world's longest. When carried in procession, the body alone requires 70 carriers and 70 relievers, and more to carry the head, neck, and tail; the head alone weighs 64 pounds. Also on display are other ceremonial objects, costumes, and historic artifacts. The lovely Yi Yuan Gardens, opposite, with ponds and bridges, are part of the museum.

Come face-to-face with wedge-tailed eagles, grumpy wombats, nimble sugar gliders, and shy platypuses at Healesville Sanctuary, a lovely, leafy, native wildlife sanctuary. Don't miss the twice-daily Spirits of the Sky show, during which raptors and parrots fly close overhead. You can get up close and personal with a koala, kangaroo, or echidna on a Close-Up Encounter (from A$31 extra), or for A$102, take a two-hour VIP tour with a ranger. Another highlight is the Land of Parrots aviary, where you can feed and interact with colorful birds. You can also view the animal hospital to see wildlife recovering from injury or illness. The Future Vets play space lets kids—and their parents—dress up as vets and role-play caring for animals, and kids can also join the Sanctuary Food Tour to see what it takes to feed over 1,400 animals. Take a break and refuel at the zoo's three cafés, including the largest, Sanctuary Harvest café, which serves full meals made with Yarra Valley's seasonal produce.

Regarded as one of Victoria's best little beaches, this south-facing beach provides excellent swimming and snorkeling, and a walking trail to view the remains of the wreck of the SS Speke at low tide. Sheltered by Watts Point and Kennon Head, the curved beach has low waves, with undertows only appearing when the waves whip up at high tide, which is the best time for surfing. There's not much shade and no kiosk, so bring water, food, and sunscreen with you. The beach is at the intersection with Watts Road. From Cowes, go either via Ventnor Road to Back Beach Road, or via Phillip Island Road and Back Beach Road, turning onto Kitty Miller Road. The beach is around 10 km (6 miles) from Cowes. The low-key nature of Phillip Island and the remote nature of the beach means that accommodation is usually B&B-style. Try the Kitty Miller Bay B&B on Watts Road ( kittymillerbaybedandbreakfast.com.au). Amenities: parking (free). Best for: snorkeling; surfing; swimming; walking.

At this excellent wildlife center you can stroll along treetop-high boardwalks and view koalas in their natural habitat. At the visitor center, learn some fascinating things about the cute furry creatures—such as how they sleep 21 hours a day. It is located just a short drive from the tourist information center at Newhaven; follow the signs along Phillip Island Tourist Road.

This stretch of the Victorian coast is sometimes called The Shipwreck Coast, with reputedly up to 700 ships at rest offshore. Lorne itself has a shipwreck plaque walk along the foreshore, giving the history of local disasters and near-misses dating from 1854. The Lorne Surf Life Saving Club patrols the southern end of popular Lorne Beach, which runs south from the Erskine River for 1.2 km (¾ mile). Care must be taken when the waves are high as the undertow and rips can be dangerous: swim in the patrolled areas between the flags. The beach has parking for 250 cars, a lookout, shade trees and shelters, barbecue and play areas, and a cycle track. The Lorne Beach Pavilion has a swimming pool, large playground, outdoor trampoline, and skate park as well. A camping ground and caravan park are also near the beach. Parking is available at the junction of Bay Street, Mountjoy Parade, and the Great Ocean Road, or along the Great Ocean Road itself. Other entrances to the beach are via Grove Street or William Street. The Mantra Lorne resort, with 12 acres of gardens and a range of rooms and apartments, is directly on the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (free); restrooms; showers. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

Known as Melbourne's Little Italy, Lygon Street is a perfect example of the city's multiculturalism: where once you'd have seen only Italian restaurants, there are now Thai, Egyptian, Caribbean, and Greek eateries. The city's famous café culture was also born here, with the arrival of one of Melbourne's first espresso machines at one of the street's Italian-owned cafés in the 1950s.

A spectacular, postmodern building (in Carlton Gardens) offers visitors insights into Victoria's histories, cultures and natural environments. Visit such globally recognized exhibitions such as Te Vainui O Pasifika, Bugs Alive!, 600 Million Years, The Mind, and Dinosaur Walk, along with brilliant temporary and touring exhibitions from near and far. In the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Center, First Peoples presents the Koorie experience and hosts three exhibitions a year of works by Koorie artists, while the Melbourne Story tells the history of this city.

Verdant gardens and open-environment animal enclosures are hallmarks of this world-renowned zoo, which is 4 km (2½ miles) north of the city center. A lion park, reptile house, and butterfly pavilion, where more than 1,000 butterflies flutter through the rain-forest setting, are on-site, as is a simulated African rain forest where a group of Western Lowland gorillas lives. The spectacular Trail of the Elephants, home of five Asiatic elephants, has a village, tropical gardens, and a swimming pool. The orangutan sanctuary and baboon outlook are other highlights. It's possible to stay overnight with the Roar 'n' Snore package (A$205 per adult) and enjoy dinner, supper, breakfast, close encounters with animals, and a behind-the-scenes look at the zoo's operations.

Above the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, a path winds past a series of mineral springs in this 74-acre reserve, created in 1865. Each spring has a slightly different chemical composition—and a significantly different taste. You can bring empty bottles and fill them for free with the mineral water of your choice. The reserve includes walking trails, playgrounds, and a café.

A perfect day trip from Bright, the park is full of fascinating granite formations, waterfalls, and animal and plant life. There are many more miles of walking tracks than you're likely to cover. The 2½-km (1½-mile) Gorge Walk is particularly scenic. Lake Cantani has swimming and a camping area in summer, while in winter, the snow-covered park becomes a playground for skiers and tobogganers.

This massive, moat-encircled, bluestone-and-concrete edifice houses works from renowned international painters including Picasso, Renoir, and Van Gogh. Its Winter Masterpieces series of international blockbuster exhibitions require tickets. In the Great Hall, it's considered perfectly reasonable to stretch out on the floor in order to properly appreciate the world's largest stained-glass ceiling, by Leonard French. A second campus of the NGV, in nearby Federation Square, exhibits Australian art only.

This bluestone building, the city's first jail, is now a museum that has three tiers of cells with catwalks around the upper levels and is rumored to be haunted. Its most famous inmate was the notorious bushranger Ned Kelly, who was hanged here in 1880. The Hangman's night tours (reservations essential) are a popular, if macabre, facet of Melbourne nightlife.

A spectacular 1,969-foot-long elevated treetop walk allows you to stroll a steel walkway above the rain-forest canopy. One section is springboard-cantilevered, and gently bounces as you pass over Young's Creek. For a faster thrill, take its 30-meter (99-foot) zipline. The entrance is about an hour's drive and 70 km (43 miles) from Lorne. To get there, follow the Great Ocean Road until it joins Skenes Creek Road, then take Forrest-Apollo Bay Road to Beech Forest Road, then Colac-Lavers Hill Road until you reach the signed turnoff to Phillips Track. From the Fly, you'll see the tops of giant myrtle beech, blackwood, and mountain ash trees, as well as spectacular views of the surrounding region.

Since its first vines were planted in 1895, this winery has made exceptional fortified wines such as Topaque and Muscat, and varietal wines, including Shiraz and Durif. It also has one of the few Australian plantings of Gamay, the classic French grape used to make Beaujolais, and produces a large range of vegan wines.  Cheese platters (A$30) are available anytime. Winemaker Jen Pfeiffer also makes a cheeky wine cocktail called Pfeiffer Seriously Pink, which makes a great aperitif.

The historical society's museum contains relics from the 19th-century whaling days, when Port Fairy was a whaling station with one of the largest ports in Victoria. It also highlights the stories of the many ships that have come to grief along this dangerous coast.

This gleaming narrow-gauge steam train, based 46 km (28 miles) from Healesville in the town of Belgrave, runs on a line originally built in the early 1900s to open up the Dandenong Ranges to 20th-century pioneers. It's a great way to see the foothill landscapes. Daily trips between Belgrave and Emerald Lake pass through picturesque forests and over spectacular wooden trestle bridges. The 13-km (8-mile) trip takes an hour; it's another hour if you continue to the historic town of Gembrook. There are also on-board lunch and train-and-picnic packs, plus special music and children's events, and the new, architecturally impressive visitor center includes a café and interactive activities sharing the little train's long history.

This winery, which has won numerous medals for its Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz, has an equally impressive view. Not only are there sweeping vistas over the 23-acre vineyard, but the magnificent waters of Western Port are spread out in the distance. On clear days you can see as far as Phillip Island as you wander around the gardens. The award-winning cuisine and fabulous floor-to-ceiling windows make Max's Restaurant the perfect place to while away at least half the day. Order from the à la carte menu (two-course à la carte lunch A$70, three-course à la carte lunch A$85), available Wednesday--Saturday. The fixed three-course Sunday roast lunch costs A$85. Dinner is served on Saturday night, including the five-course degustation menu, A$110 or A$155 with matching wines. Otherwise, go casual on the lawn with cheese plates, charcuterie boards, and small plates including Coffin Bay oysters and Yarra Valley caviar (A$4 each). Although it may be a little chilly, winter is a good time to visit, as several events are staged, including art shows and the region's Winter Wine Weekend in June.

Quieter than Cowes, Rhyll is a charming fishing village on the eastern side of Phillip Island. You can rent a boat from the dock or take a sightseeing cruise from the pier. The local wetlands are internationally significant for their resident and migratory birdlife, and a short mangrove boardwalk leads to Conservation Hill and the Koala Conservation Reserve.

Construction of Rippon Lea, a sprawling polychrome brick mansion built in the Romanesque style, began in the late 1860s. By the time it was completed in 1903, the original 15-room house had expanded into a 33-room mansion. Notable architectural features include a grotto, a tower that overlooks a lake, and humpback bridges. There is also a fernery and an orchard with more than 100 varieties of heritage apples and pears. Access to the house is for exhibitions or, between exhibitions, by guided tour only, but a self-guided tour of the grounds only is available. To get here, take a Sandringham line train from Flinders Street Station to Ripponlea Station; it's a 15-minute ride south of the city center.

This winery occupies a striking-looking property; its cellar door building crafted almost entirely of glass overlooks the vineyards and rolling green paddocks. The family-owned winery produces renowned Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and its huge amphitheater plays host to international and local performers during the annual A Day on the Green concert series (acts have included Alicia Keys and Elton John). Isabella's fine-dining restaurant serves French Mediterranean meals and light platters 11:30–4, seven days a week, and pizzeria Il Vigneto is open for lunch and dinner on weekends and lunch only on Monday. Rochford has also teamed up with a group of distillers to create a range of gins, which you can weave into cocktails at its on-site gin bar, and its cellar door is open seven days.

Backing onto the suburb of Rosebud, this popular beach has been rated one of the safest in Victoria. The white-sand flats extend a long way offshore and sand bars keep the area protected for swimming, while trees provide natural shade. The beach reserve includes a jetty (from which many locals fish), boat ramp, and camping ground. A picnic and barbecue area and adventure playground make the beach a hit with families, and the nearby Bay Trail walking and cycling track is popular. Accommodation around here tends to be motels and cottages for rent. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (free); restrooms; showers. Best for: swimming; walking.

Opened in 1870, this is the country's oldest shopping arcade, and despite alterations it retains an airy, graceful elegance that often transfixes passersby. Browse beautiful curios, diamonds, or magic spells in its ornate shops. At the heart of the arcade, the statues of mythical monsters Gog and Magog toll the hour on either side of Gaunt's Clock.

Within its 93 acres are 8,000 species of native and imported plants and trees, sweeping lawns, and ornamental lakes populated with ducks and swans that love to be fed. The Children's Garden is a fun and interactive place for kids to explore. Summer brings alfresco performances of classic plays, usually Shakespeare, and children's classics like Wind in the Willows, as well as the popular Moonlight Cinema series. There is also a garden shop and several cafés including The Terrace, which serves high tea. The present design and layout were the brainchild of W.R. Guilfoyle, curator, botanist, and director of the gardens from 1873 to 1910. Take an Aboriginal Heritage walk through the gardens, a significant site for the local Kulin Nation. Your Aboriginal guide will identify native plants and describe their use and the connection to Country (A$35).

Become part of the action as you stroll through a transparent tunnel surrounded by water and the denizens of the deep on the prowl. Or press your nose to the glass in the Antarctica exhibition and watch king and gentoo penguins waddling around on ice and darting through water. You can also don snow gear and sit among the penguins. If you're feeling brave, do a shark dive—they're held twice daily, include scuba equipment, and are led by an instructor. No diving experience is required. The aquamarine building illuminates a previously dismal section of Yarra River bank, opposite Crown Casino.

This old winery is also one of Australia's most famous, the name Great Western being associated with a long-lived sparkling wine and known for its the Salinger and Fleur de Lys ranges as well as a sparkling Shiraz and various table wines. Beneath the winery is a 3-km (2-mile) underground labyrinth of tunnels, known as the Drives, dating back to 1868 and originally built by gold miners. This is where the best sparkling wines are kept. You can take a day tour of these tunnels and the nearby shaft house and taste 20 Seppelt wines, or enjoy a barbecue and evening tour. Packages to tour and dine in the Drives, including cheese platters, two or three courses, and wine tastings, are also available from A$120 per person. The barbecue and dining options require a minimum of 15 people.

This lookout at the top of Mt. Dandenong has breathtaking views over Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula and Port Phillip Bay. You can picnic or barbecue on the grounds, eat at the bistro (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), or stroll along the pleasant English Garden Walk while the kids get lost in the hedge maze (additional entry fee). Other fun attractions include a Wishing Tree and the Giant's Chair. Bistro open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. On Sunday, book ahead for its popular roast lunch and afternoon teas: the lookout charges a gate fee upon entrance.

On the river's edge next to the Arts Centre, Southgate is a prime spot for lingering—designer shops, celebrity chefs' restaurants, bars, and casual eating places help locals and visitors while away the hours. The promenade links with the forecourt of Crown Casino and its hotels.

While there is no surf to speak of, this half-mile stretch of sand still remains one of the country's liveliest beaches as it's close to bars, restaurants, and hotels. While most people like to hang out on the sand, windsurfing, sailing, rollerblading, and beach volleyball are other popular activities. Two iconic landmarks—St. Kilda Baths and St. Kilda Pier—are close by and give visitors something to do on those blistering hot summer afternoons. The Sunday foreshore market is just minutes away as well. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); toilets. Best for: partiers; swimming; windsurfing.

Construction of the Gothic Revival building began in 1858 and took 82 years to finish. A statue of the Irish patriot Daniel O'Connell stands in the courtyard, testament to the fact that Ireland supplied Australia with many of its early immigrants, especially during the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century.

This 1892 headquarters of Melbourne's Anglican faith is one of the most important works of William Butterfield, a leader of the Gothic Revival style in England. Located opposite Flinders Street Station, the cathedral underwent a massive restoration in 2006. Outside is a statue of Matthew Flinders, the first seaman to circumnavigate Australia, between 1801 and 1803.