This tiny town just beat every capital city for the best skyline

Rachael Thompson Rachael Thompson
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The most popular skylines in Australia have just been revealed with some surprising results.

Whether it’s a sunset over a beach or a cityscape at dawn, Australians love to watch the changing skies. A new study by Frameshop combined Instagram hashtag counts, Google search trends and a weighted popularity index to determine the country’s most loved, photographed and searched skyline views. Queensland took the crown as the Australian state with the most coveted skylines, with seven out of the top 10 positions.

A sunset view in Port Douglas.
Port Douglas boasts the country’s most popular skyline. (Image: Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree)

Leading the list? Port Douglas, with 577,000 Instagram posts and 480 monthly searches. Rainforest meets reef at this North Tropical Queensland haven which offers brilliant sunset viewing opportunities. Rex Smeal Park showcases incredible views over Four Mile Beach and is one of the best sunset locations in the area. Or for the perfect sunrise, summit the FlagHill Trail and be rewarded with 180-degree views of the Coral Sea and surrounding islands.

A sunset view across Kangaroo Point in Brisbane.
Kangaroo Point was the second most popular spot. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/Richard Greenwood)

Next on the list is Kangaroo Point in Brisbane with 105,000 tagged Instagram posts and the highest monthly search volume at 760. Head to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park to get a picture-perfect view of the city skyline, Story Bridge and the surrounding river. Glass House Mountains took out the third spot with Mount Ngungun Summit Track and Jack Ferris Lookout offering fantastic views of the surrounding peaks and countryside.

A Sydney Harbour view from Milsons Point.
The spectacular Sydney Harbour view from Milsons Point. (Image: Steve Back/Destination NSW)

Here are the top 10 locations Aussies are admiring the most. 

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

Australia’s most loved skylines

  1. Port Douglas
  2. Kangaroo Point
  3. Glass House Mountains
  4. Tamborine Mountain
  5. Snapper Rocks
  6. Cottesloe Beach
  7. Warners Bay
  8. Lake Burley Griffin
  9. Fitzroy Island
  10. Wellington Point

In addition to ranking the top 10 skylines across Australia, the report also evaluated the leading spots in each city.

The most loved local skyline view in your city

Port Douglas, Cairns

Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra

Kangaroo Point, Brisbane

Kangaroo Island, Adelaide

Mindil Beach, Darwin

Warners Bay, Newcastle

Milsons Point, Sydney

St. Kilda Pier, Melbourne

Cradle Mountain, Launceston

Lake Wendouree, Ballarat 

Kingston Beach, Hobart

 

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Rachael Thompson
Rachael Thompson is a freelance travel journalist. With a background in design and travel media, Rachael is dedicated to curating content that is as much informational as it is beautiful. She began her career at Belle magazine, before taking up editorial roles at Homes to Love, Bed Threads and Australian Traveller/International Traveller. When she's not writing, editing or optimising content, Rachael enjoys exploring the city's newest restaurants, bars and hotels. Next on her Aussie travel wish list is Lord Howe Island.
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Victoria’s surprising new outdoor adventure hotspot

    Craig Tansley Craig Tansley
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    A town charmingly paused in time has become a hot mountain biking destination. 

    There’s a forest reserve full of eucalyptus and pines surrounding town – when you combine all the greenery with a main street of grand old buildings still standing from the Victorian Gold Rush, Creswick looks more period movie set than a 21st-century town.  

    old gold bank Victoria
    Grand buildings from the Victorian gold rush. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    This entire region of Victoria – the Central Goldfields – is as pretty-as-a-picture, but there’s something extra-special about Creswick. I used to live 30 minutes north; I’d drive in some evenings to cruise its main street at dusk, and pretend I was travelling back in time. 

    It was sleepy back then, but that’s changed. Where I used to walk through its forest, now I’m hurtling down the state’s best new mountain bike trails. There’s a 60-kilometre network of mountain bike trails – dubbed Djuwang Baring – which make Creswick the state’s hottest new mountain biking destination.  

    Meet Victoria’s new mountain biking capital 

    Creswick bike trail
    This historic town has become a mountain biking hotspot.

    Victoria has a habit of turning quiet country towns into mountain biking hotspots. I was there in the mid-2000s when the tiny Otways village of Forrest embarked on an ambitious plan to save itself (after the death of its timber cutting industry) courtesy of some of the world’s best mountain bike trails. A screaming success it proved to be, and soon mountain bike trails began popping up all over Victoria. 

    I’m no expert, so I like that a lot of Creswick’s trails are as scenic as they are challenging. I prefer intermediate trails, such as Down Martuk, with its flowing berms and a view round every corner. Everyone from outright beginners to experts can be happy here. There’s trails that take me down technical rock sections with plenty of bumps. But there’s enough on offer to appeal to day-trippers, as much as hard-core mountain-bikers. 

    I love that the trails empty onto that grand old main street. There’s bars still standing from the Gold Rush of the 1850s I can refuel at. Like the award-winning Farmers Arms, not to be confused with the pub sharing its name in Daylesford. It’s stood since 1857. And The American Creswick built two years later, or Odessa Wine Bar, part of Leaver’s Hotel in an 1856-built former gold exchange bank.  

    The Woodlands
    The Woodlands is set on a large bushland property. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)

    Creswick is also full of great cafes and restaurants, many of them set in the same old buildings that have stood for 170 years. So whether you’re here for the rush of the trails or the calm of town life, Creswick provides. 

    A traveller’s checklist 

    Staying there 

    1970s log cabin
    Inside the Woodlands, a chic 1970s log cabin. (Image: Vanessa Smith Photography)

    RACV Goldfields Resort is a contemporary stay with a restaurant, swimming pool and golf course. The Woodlands in nearby Lal Lal comprises a chic log cabin set on a 16-hectare property abundant in native wildlife. 

    Eating there 

    Le Peche Gourmand
    Le Peche Gourmand makes for the perfect pitstop for carb and sugar-loading.

    The menu at Odessa at Leaver’s Hotel includes some Thai-inspired fare. Fuel up for your ride on baguettes and pastries from French patisserie Le Peche Gourmand. The Farmers Arms has been a much-loved local institution since 1857. 

    Playing there 

    Miss NorthcottsGarden
    Miss Northcotts Garden is a charming garden store with tea room. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Creswick State Forest has a variety of hiking trails, including a section of the 210-kilometre-long Goldfields Track. Miss Northcotts Garden is a quaint garden store with tea room.