great ocean road victoria australia

The Best Places to Visit in Victoria, Australia

Victoria is one of the most jam-packed states in Australia, for charming towns, lovely beaches, wine regions & national parks. Most travellers come to Victoria to visit Melbourne, the state capital and one of Australia’s most beautiful cities. While Melbourne is a must-visit destination on any trip to Australia there is so much to explore beyond the city limits.

The Best Places to Visit in Victoria 

Victoria is bursting at the seams with vibrant cities, charming historic country towns, more than 2000 miles of coastline, 12 mountain ranges, hot springs and elegant spa towns, 45 national parks and 2800 other protected areas and 21 wine regions (more than any other state in the country). Whether you’re interested in eating & drinking, wineries, hiking, sport, shopping or wildlife, Victoria has somewhere beautiful to explore.

I acknowledge the the First Nations owners of the lands now recognised as the Victoria. I pay respect to their Elders, lores, customs and creation spirits. I recognise that these lands have always been places of great natural beauty, culture and community. 

PS. Planning a trip to Australia? Check out my itinerary for one month in Australia.

port campbell national park great ocean road victoria australia
The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road

Melbourne

Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city, but it is the nation’s the undisputed capital of food, culture and sport (just don’t ask a Sydneysider to agree). I lived in Melbourne for four years, until I moved to New York in early 2019, and it’s a very hard city to leave. There are world-class sporting & cultural events year round, more bars, cafes & restaurants per capita than any other city in the world, great shopping, lively markets all over town and plenty of parks, gardens and beaches perfect for picnic-ing.

Read my Melbourne Travel Guide

Perfect Day: One day is not enough, but finding breakfast from a vendor at the Prahran Market or South Melbourne Market, followed by a morning spent at the NGV. Spend the afternoon checking out Melbourne’s famous street art in the Fitzroy and check out a bar or two before heading into the city for dinner and more laneway wandering.

Great Ocean Road

Drive one of the most magnificent coastal routes in the world along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. The scenic drive starts in Torquay, a beach town famous for the surf beach Bell’s Beach and the annual RipCurl Pro surfing competition. When we went, we drove from Melbourne, stopped for a coffee in Torquay and admired Bell’s Beach before driving on to Lorne, where we based ourselves for the trip. Lorne is one of my favourite beach towns in Australia, even though I find the water too cold for swimming most of the time.

Major sights along the Great Ocean Road include the famous 12 Apostles rock formations, Loch Ard Gorge, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell. You can book a day trip from Melbourne with a tour bus along the Great Ocean Road, but I don’t recommend it. Take 3 or 4 days if you can, so you have time to enjoy the stops along the way.

Perfect Day: Wake up in Lorne and have breakfast at the smoothie shack by the water. Hop in the car and drive to the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, leaving plenty of time for any other stops that catch your eye along the way. Have lunch in Port Campbell before slowly making your way back to Lorne in the afternoon.

port campbell national park great ocean road victoria australia
The Twelve Apostles in Port Campbell National Park on the Great Ocean Road

Yarra Valley

Victoria is blessed with dozens of wine regions, but the Yarra Valley is regarded as the cream of the crop. The Yarra Valley is very beautiful, so half the fun is cruising around the rolling hills between the wineries.

Most of the wineries are clustered around Coldstream, Healesville, Seville and Yarra Glen. It’s an easy day trip from Melbourne, and there are plenty of bus tours from Melbourne that take you to 3-4 wineries and include lunch. When we lived in Melbourne, we’d go at a slower pace and self-drive, usually going to one wine tasting, then having a glass of wine with lunch at one of the day’s wineries, and then ending with another tasting in the afternoon. Just tell the staff at the tasting that you’re driving and let them know how much you want to have.

My favourite wineries in the Yarra Valley are Dominique Portet, Tarrawarra Estate, DeBortoli, Coombe Estate and Domaine Chandon. If you’re self-driving, also stop in at Yarra Valley Dairy for a cheese tasting or Four Pillars Gin distillery.

Tip: In Australia, a wine tasting room is called a cellar door. Most major wineries are open to the public throughout the week and all weekend, but check for hours or if you need to make an appointment in advance. None of the wineries listed above require appointments.

Read my guide to the Best Wineries in the Yarra Valley

Perfect Day: Take a distillery tour at Four Pillars Gin before diving deeper into the wineries of the Yarra Valley. Go for a wine tasting & lunch at Tarrawarra or Domaine Chandon. Take a break from the booze with a cheese tasting at Yarra Valley Dairy before heading for one last tasting at Dominique Portet. If you don’t have to drive, enjoy a glass of their renowned rose on the pebbly patio in the sunshine before heading back to Melbourne.

domaine chandon yarra valley
Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley

Mornington Peninsula

Melbourne’s favourite beach getaway is the Mornington Peninsula. Fringed with white sandy beaches and filled with wineries and hiking trails, the Mornington Peninsula has won the geographical lottery. The Mornington Peninsula is one of Victoria’s top wine regions and is known for cool climate wines, particularly pinot noir. My favourite wineries on the Mornington Peninsula include Main Ridge Estate, Port Phillip Estate and Ten Minutes by Tractor, but check out the full post for more reccs.

Safety Beach in Dromana is one of the prettiest swimming beaches in Victoria, with sparkling turquoise water, bright white sand and colourful beach huts wedged along the sand. For breakfast, try Cafe Sticks ‘n Bones in Sorrento and for lunch look no farther than woodfired pizzas at DOC in Mornington. Cape Schanck offers some of the most dramatic scenery in the region and the hike to reach it is steep but relatively short.

If you’re staying overnight, look for accommodation in Sorrento or Portsea

Read my guide to the best wineries on the Mornington Peninsula

Perfect Day: Breakfast at Sticks n Bones in Sorrento followed by the hike to Cape Schanck. Go for a cool down swim at Safety Beach in Dromana followed by lunch and wine tastings in Red Hill at Montalto and Ten Minutes by Tractor.

Safety Beach at Dromana, Mornington Peninsula

The Grampians

If you ask most Melburnians what they’re favourite part of Victoria is, most of them will say The Grampians (if not, Wilson’s Prom). It’s a four-hour drive from Melbourne, so visiting The Grampians for a weekend is the best way to explore the region.

Highlights that you can access with short hikes include the Boroka Lookout, which overlooks Wonderland Range and Lake Bellfield, Mackenzie Falls and The Balconies, although there are several overnight hikes you can do to explore deeper into the park.

On your way out from The Grampians, stop by the cellar door at Mt Langhi Ghiran Estate to try their award-winning shiraz or get a takeaway coffee from cute cafe Sede in Ararat and take it up to the top of One Tree Hill for coffee with a view.

Read about a weekend in the Grampians

Perfect Day: Tackle the trail to Mackenzie Falls in the morning and take in the views from the Boroka Lookout in the afternoon. Have dinner in Stawell in the evening, and on your way back to Melbourne the next day stop at Mt Langhi Ghiran Estate for a wine tasting.

View from boroka lookout in the grampians victoria australia
Boroka Lookout in Grampians National Park

Wilsons Promontory

Wilson’s Prom is a national park a few hour’s drive east of Melbourne in Gippsland, and is the largest coastal wilderness area in the state. It feels like one of the most pristine and rugged areas of Victoria, making a weekend in Wilsons Prom perfect for getting back to nature.

There are a seemingly endless number of hikes and natural sights to see. Don’t miss the hike to the summit of Mt Oberon for other-worldly views over the coast and the famous bright white Squeaky Beach. Make time for the picturesque Picnic Bay and Whiskey Bay, which are connected by a short trail. Keep your eyes peeled for native Australian wildlife such as emus, kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and koalas. On our trip, we spotted them all except koalas, but we weren’t looking for them so that’s probably why.

You can camp inside the national park, but we stayed at a cute and cosy AirBnB just outside the entrance to the park in a small village called Yanakie. You’ll need your own wheels to get here, but it’s so well worth it.

On your way home, stop by one of the region’s beautiful wineries, like Waratah Hills Vineyard where you can enjoy a cheese platter after your wine tasting.

Read about exploring Wilsons Prom

Perfect Day: Hike to the summit of Mt Oberon in the morning – start early to beat the crowds. Spend the afternoon hiking to Squeaky Beach, Picnic Bay and Whisky Bay (and bring a picnic!).

Mt Oberon Hike View Wilsons Prom-1
View from Mt Oberon in Wilsons Prom

The Goldfields

The Victorian Gold Rush in the late 19th century made Melbourne the richest city in the world (for a time). Around the goldfields, towns like Bendigo and Ballarat sprang up as wealth poured out of the ground. Today, the Goldfields region is peppered with charming, historic country towns which make for a great weekend away.

Check out the well-regarded Bendigo Art Gallery’s latest exhibition after lunch at Masons Of Bendigo, one of my favourite restaurants in Victoria. Step back in time to the Victorian gold rush era at Sovereign Hill, an open-air museum just outside Ballarat, and unwind with a local wine and woodfired pizza afterwards, at Mitchell Harris Wines. If you’re staying overnight, stay at Balgownie Estate & Spa, a winery with cottage accommodation just outside of Bendigo.

There are plenty of charming small towns to stop by in too. Some of my favourites are Kyneton, Castlemaine and Heathcote. Every June, during the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend, winemakers and winos flock to Heathcote for Heathcote On Show – one of the best wine weekends in the state. Wineries open their doors all weekend, and those that don’t have a great set up for wine tasting at their vineyards open pop up tasting rooms in Heathcote’s main street. I went to Heathcote on Show with my friend Liv nearly ever year that I lived in Melbourne, and I was very sad to miss it in 2019!

Perfect Day: Have breakfast at Little Swallow in Kyneton and spend the morning visiting the Bendigo Art Gallery’s latest exhibition. Enjoy a beautiful lunch at Masons of Bendigo before heading to Balgownie Estate for a wine tasting in the afternoon. If you’re interested in Gold Rush history,  instead visit Sovereign Hill in Ballarat followed by lunch at Mitchell Harris Wines.

Bendigo

King Valley & High Country Victoria

I absolutely love the King Valley & High Country. The region, which is  3 hour drive from Melbourne in Victoria’s northeast, includes the Alpine region ski fields and the King Valley wine region. I spent a weekend in the King Valley in late 2018 and was blown away by the beautiful natural scenery, the charming historic country towns (especially Beechworth) and the vibrant food scene that has grown around the many remarkable wineries in the area. The King Valley wine region was established by Italian immigrants, and it is still known for spectacular Italian varietals to this day.

My favourite places to eat in the area are Yea Peppercorn Hotel, which makes a great dinner stop on the drive from Melbourne to High Country, and Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel in Beechworth. I have two favourite wineries in the King Valley: newcomer Red Feet, which has beautiful wines and a gorgeous outlook from which to enjoy your wine in the sunshine, and Dal Zotto, which is one of the best-known and most popular wineries in the region.

Read about exploring High Country Victoria & The King Valley

Perfect Day: Ogle the giant Ned Kelly statue in Glenrowan before zipping to Beechworth for lunch at Tanswell’s Commercial hotel, regarded as one of the best country pubs in Australia. While you’re in Beechworth, stop in for honey tasting at Beechworth Honey and try a craft beer paddle at Bridge Road Brewers, which is highly regarded as one of Australia’s favourite craft breweries. Spend the afternoon wine tasting in the King Valley at Red Feet and Dal Zotto.

king valley in high country victoria

Geelong & The Bellarine Peninsula

Melbourne’s second city Geelong is often overlooked by visitors coming to Melbourne, but I think the Bellarine Peninsula’s small beach towns and wineries might be one of Victoria’s best kept secrets. My favourite wineries with cellar doors (tasting rooms) are Bellarine EstateTerindah EstateJack Rabbit & Bennetts on the Bellarine.

Perfect Day: Start by driving to Queenscliff or Portarlington for a dip in the ocean and a coffee in town. Next up, explore the Bellarine wine region with a tasting at Bellarine Estate or Jack Rabbit (which has beautiful ocean views) before stopping for lunch at Bennett’s, another winery. On the way home, stop for a walk along the Geelong waterfront and get some calamari or fish & chips by the water before driving back to Melbourne.

Geelong

Daylesford & The Macedon Ranges

Daylesford & Hepburn Springs are the centre of Victoria’s spa country. Head to Daylesford for a pampered getaway at the hot springs, for a hike in the beautiful Macedon Ranges or for wine tasting at one of the many wineries in the region. My favourites are Hanging Rock & Passing Clouds for wine, and Daylesford Cider Co for cider & snacks at their beautiful cellar door.

Read about exploring Daylesford & The Macedon Ranges

Perfect Day: Start with a short hike up to Camel’s Hump Lookout in the Macedon Ranges for views over the region and out to Hanging Rock. Go for a wine tasting at Hanging Rock, which has beautiful views of the rock itself or to Daylesford Cider Co. Spend the afternoon soaking in the hot springs in Daylesford or pick up some picnic supplies in town and head to Lake Daylesford for a picnic.

The Dandenongs

The Dandenongs are the mountain ranges behind the Yarra Valley, and is a popular day trip for hikers and weekenders from Melbourne. The main attractions are hiking trails and the mountain villages of Sassafrass, Olinda and Kallista. You’ll need your own wheels to explore The Dandenongs, and make sure not to confuse the region with the town of Dandenong itself which is not particularly exciting.

The 1000 Steps is a popular hiking trail in the Dandenongs, with lots of steps, no particular view at the top so while it’s  anice, challenging leafy hike, don’t go into this one expecting a panoramic reward at the top. For something more scenic, take a stroll around the beautiful Sir Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens, which is particularly beautiful in spring and Autumn.

Perfect Day: Tackle the 1000 Steps trail and reward yourself with a hearty brunch at Burnham Beeches afterwards.  Spend the afternoon wandering the Sir Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens and exploring the mountain villages of Sassafrass, Olinda and Kallista. If you’re staying overnight, consider this beautiful loft-style AirBnB with a private hot tub offering city & forest views.

Airbnb The Loft the Dandenongs

Have you visited Victoria? Would you like to? What’s your favourite spot?

the most beautiful places in victoria to visit

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