With endearing villages, country landscapes, delicious food, and history and culture on tap, the Southern Highlands is the perfect base for a weekend escape.
From the quaint antique-lined streetscapes and honey farms of Bowral to the cool-climate wineries of Berrima, the NSW Southern Highlands abounds in country delights. The best part? The region is located just 1.5 hours from Sydney by car and less than two from Canberra, making an easy weekend escape for friends, families and couples.
Even though I pass through often, I never seem to run out of reasons to stop and explore what’s new – or still charmingly old.
New and OG things to do
The new Burradoo Park Farm. (Credit: Destination NSW)
New on the scene is Burradoo Park Farm, a working regenerative farm founded by Annie Cannon-Brookes, where learning how our food is grown is just as important as eating it. Opened in 2026, the property combines farm tours, hands-on educational experiences and a choice of Three Blue Ducks venues: The Farmhouse cafe and store, The Bakehouse and elevated paddock-to-plate restaurant Three Blue Ducks, in a restored 200-year-old farmhouse. Save room for the unexpectedly delicious gelati and sorbets championing vegetables as key ingredients.
Retford Park is a step back in time, another grand country estate adjoining Milton Park and built by Hordern’s father, Samuel; its Victorian Italianate homestead dates back to 1887. Newspaper heir James Fairfax bought the property in 1964 and transformed it into a gentleman’s estate, painting the exterior its signature ‘Portuguese Pink’, adding a striking Modernist pool pavilion and filling it with extraordinary art and antiques. In 2016, he gifted the estate to the National Trust. He’s still there, his ashes buried alongside some of his beloved dogs.
Hamish Ta-mé reveals the secrets of honey at Bowral Honey Farm. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Get hands-on with a lesson in honey. (Credit: Destination NSW)
And learn all about honey harvesting. (Credit: Destination NSW)
At Retford Park I meet Hamish Ta-mé, founder of Bowral Honey Farm and a beekeeper for more than 45 years, to learn about his industrious pollinators. Kitted out in protective white suits that suggest pandemic thriller (except for the open-mesh face masks), our group gets hands-on with the hives before tasting six different honeys, pressing each against our palates to discover how much the landscape influences what ends up on our toast.
Meals are made with organic produce at Hearth by Moonacres. (Credit: Moonacres)
Ngununggula, the Southern Highlands Regional Art Gallery, is here, too – it opened in 2021, but was 30 years in the making. Located in the estate’s former dairy with a modern pavilion added, the metal train tracks embedded in the floor give a glimpse of the building’s bovine history. New interior walls are set apart from the original brickwork, leaving the heritage fabric visible and creating additional display space. The gallery curates five exhibitions each year, but check your timing as it closes for two weeks for changeovers. Afterwards, Hearth by Moonacres next door is the perfect place to debrief over baked goods or a hearty meal, made using organic produce from Moonacres Farm in Robertson.
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Where to wine and dine
Berrima is home to cool-climate wineries such as Bendooley Estate. (Credit: Destination NSW)
At Bendooley Estate in Berrima, one of the many cool-climate wineries in the area, we stop for lunch beside the vines, trying the moreish blue swimmer crab linguine and beef brisket croquettes, all washed down with the estate’s own nebbiolo. After, I browse the shelves of the iconic Berkelouw Book Barn under its cathedral ceilings, discovering everything from contemporary titles and modern classics to antiquarian treasures and rare editions.
Experience a slice of France at Lucette. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Tucked down an arcade off Bowral’s main drag lives a little touch of France: Lucette. Opened in late 2025, this bustling, light-filled cafe-meets-bistro has the locals on board, dishing up sophisticated European dishes with sleek service. It’s the latest venture from the team behind Franquette Creperie over the road and one of the best restaurants in Bowral. If you can’t fit in dessert, try a Paris-style hot chocolate or the Cafe Gourmand, comprising a trio of small French sweet treats and coffee to finish.
The best places to shop
Get a hit of retail therapy at Dirty Janes. (Credit: Destination NSW)
For retro finds and antiques, Dirty Janes emporium and The Bronte Train are stacked with eclectic finds, and Lydie Du Bray’s new location at Welby brims with European antiques. Timeless Fashion & Furniture, a fundraising initiative of the Southern Highlands Community Hospice, is a world of chic vintage.
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Stay at the new Ardour Milton Park
Ardour Milton Park’s revamp includes the stylish Polo Bar. (Credit: Paul Bamford)
Ardour Milton Park Bowral offers a range of spa services at Èliva. (Credit: Paul Bamford)
Find refined dining
at Horderns Restaurant in Ardour Milton Park Bowral. (Credit: Destination NSW)
I could spend days getting lost in the Edwardian gardens of Milton Park, a sprawling 10-hectare country estate on the outskirts of Bowral on Gundungurra Country. Massive elms and Australia’s oldest weeping beeches shade lawns while meandering paths lead through towering rhododendrons and manicured hedges to a sunken garden. But this isn’t just a garden; there’s a wellness sanctuary over yonder, just next to the tennis court, and a swimming pavilion not far away.
The elegant Federation-era home at its heart – which was built in the early 1900s as a country retreat for Anthony Hordern, of historic department-store fame – is now a refined hotel. Recently relaunched as Ardour Milton Park Bowral after an impressive $10 million refurbishment, it’s where I now get to indulge my highfalutin fantasies of being part of the landed gentry, even if only for a few days.
Hotel guests and day visitors can dine at Horderns Restaurant to savour local produce elevated by classic techniques, or book into Èliva Bowral for a spa treatment.
Linger over a meal at Horderns Restaurant. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Rates start from $539 for a night in a Garden Terrace Room, including breakfast for two and access to lounges, the gym, swimming pool, tennis courts and gardens.
There’s too much to squeeze into one weekend, but no matter. I need an excuse to play lady of the manor again soon.
How to get to the Southern Highlands
The Southern Highlands are a 1.5-hour drive from Sydney and less than two hours from Canberra. Driving is the fastest way to get there and makes it easier to get around, though good public transport options are available, too. NSW TrainLink operates regional coaches departing from Sydney’s Central Station to Bowral Station and take between two and three hours. You can also take a direct train from Central Station to Bowral Station or Moss Vale on the Southern Highlands Line (roughly 1.5 hours).
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Christine Aldred is a travel writer and avid wanderer. She loves delving under the surface of places she visits to uncover their histories, tales and culinary highlights, and sharing the finds. She’s somewhat obsessive about taking photos, is a chronic over-packer and spends way too much time online.
This winter, these secret Sydney harbour suites are the staycation we’ve been looking for.
Whether it’s the crisscrossing ferries or the white sails of the Opera House rising out of blue depths, Australia’s biggest city lives for its harbour. But while locals might glance at that watery expanse on their daily commute across the Bridge, it can still be hard to truly connect with Sydney’s maritime soul. The secret: seeing the harbour eye-to-eye, right at water level. And what better place to submerge yourself in that energy than sleeping there? That’s where Pier One Sydney Harbour comes in (and with new all-inclusive bed and breakfast benefits, there’s even more to love).
All-inclusive VIP benefits
Book in for the all-inclusive VIP treatment.
The hard truth is that it will be very difficult to tear yourself away from your ultra-luxurious harbour home-away-from-home to explore the city. If you want to make leaving even harder, opt for Pier One’s all-inclusive VIP treatment.
The Bed and Breakfast with Suite Benefits package turns up the volume on what is already the ultimate staycation, with complimentary valet parking, daily breakfast for two and turndown service. The biggest perk? Enjoy a bottle of French champagne every day during your whole stay
Pier One Sydney Harbour
Step into a piece of history with all the modern comforts. (Credit: Dave Wheeler)
The five-star Pier One Sydney Harbour is quite literally old Sydney through and through. Built on what was once a working cargo wharf and the passenger terminal for those heading to the North Shore before the bridge was constructed, the heritage building sits right between the tangle of cobblestones, pubs and alleyways of The Rocks and the historic docking zone of Walsh Bay – at the centre of the city’s old sea trade.
If knowing the hotel’s history isn’t enough to get your sea-longing going, the interior design certainly will. As soon as you step up to the concierge desk in the lobby of the restored building – which underwent a $15 million redevelopment in 2019 – you’re immersed in Sydney’s seafaring tale. Weathered wood panelling and white marble floors surround you, while loop lighting installations hover above the bar island just beyond, ringed with stools ready for intimate, martini-tinted conversations. Steel rivets and timber beams speak to its past, and glass-walled views anchor you firmly in the present-day life on the harbour.
Pier One Suites
Enjoy incredible views from your suite.
Across the 189 rooms and suites built on and over the water, the maritime theme continues. Sculptural aged brass fittings, exposed girders, colour schemes that evoke shifting currents, and mirrors that reflect ripples that – depending on your booking – sit just metres from your pillow.
United on theme yet unique in set-up, each room or suite is different. On the ground floor, dog-friendly rooms with direct access to the pier are all prepped for pampered pups, while others have views and even balconies overlooking Walsh Bay, the Bridge and the Harbour.
But the 19 suites step things up even more. Gaze out through floor-to-ceiling windows, or get even closer. Your private balcony is made for sipping a Nespresso coffee on as the sun comes up – or soaking in the bathtub of the Admiral Suite on the deck, a drink from the locally stocked mini bar in hand. This mini bar was recently completely transformed, so you have more Aussie favourites to choose from, including alcohol and snacks.
Dining at Pier One
Settle in for an afternoon of good drinks and views.
Once you’re checked in, start your afternoon with a spritz at PIER BAR – or arrive by boat via the private pontoon if the occasion calls for it – and settle into one of the cabanas. Weekdays bring Happy Hour (or ‘sunset hour’ at Pier One); weekends bring the DJs. After an even sweeter experience? The Everyday Creamery and Matcha Kiosk is slinging mango and vanilla soft serve – classic and those spiked with Midori and gin alike.
PIER Dining is an ode to contemporary Australian flavours across the terrace, pier and dining room. On its seafood-leaning menu are Sydney rock oysters from Merimbula, potato scallops with salmon roe and crème fraîche, chicken with melting sundried tomato butter, vodka rigatoni with Shark Bay prawns. And the ‘Pierlova’ – that’s pavlova with chocolate, dulce de leche and banana is worth saving room for. Make sure to ask for the wine list – it’s 100 per cent Australian drops.
Around town
Explore the neighbourhood during your stay. (Credit: Destination NSW)
If you’re strong enough to polish off just one last pastry from the breakfast buffet and walk out the door, we applaud you. Luna Park across the harbour beckons with its wide grin, while a glance upward might spur you to climb the Bridge’s famous iron arches. The Opera House – just across Circular Quay from the Museum of Contemporary Art – sings out for a concert.
You’ll want to book ahead for those hot-ticket performances at Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Dance Company, just a few minutes’ walk south of the hotel. Ten minutes further brings you to the waterfront bars, restaurants and clubs of Barangaroo, or the karaoke, gardens and dim sum of Chinatown further afield.
Keep the mellow of your weekend getaway going with a stop at Barangaroo Reserve, watching the yachts go by – all before returning for that Sydney sundowner at Pier One.
