Reset in Geelong, Grampians, the Goldfields and and beyond with these unforgettable weekend getaways in Victoria.
From snowy alpine ranges and rugged coastlines to electrifying cities and heritage gold rush towns, Victoria’s locales are as diverse as they are delightful. Discover why these spots make the cut among the top weekend escapes in Victoria.
A slow few days exploring the Murrindindi Shire
Villa Minto is a luxury stay on a working flower farm. (Credit: Saskia K Photography)
What? An hour north-east of Melbourne, Murrindindi Shire (or Dindi, as the locals call it) is an underrated escape of boutique stays, passionate producers and nature-filled adventures.
Tell me more: Spend the weekend hopping between local cellar doors, artisan stores and hidden natural wonders across Dindi. Check into the luxurious Villa Minto on a working flower farm, browse sustainable homewares at Dindi Naturals, savour woodfired pizzas at Bonfire Station and spot platypus along the Yea Wetlands.
A lazy long weekend in the Bellarine
Don’t miss a seaside stroll along Geelong’s waterfront.
Born & Bread is a favourite local spot for fresh loaves and pastries.
What? Just over an hour’s drive or ferry trip south-west of Melbourne, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula are all about long lunches and seaside strolls.
Tell me more: Ease into the weekend with a walk or cycle along Geelong’s foreshore before settling in for a pint at Pavilion Geelong. Then explore the colourful collections at Geelong Gallery or hunt for vintage treasures at The Amazing Mill Markets – making sure to squeeze in a stop at Ket Baker or Born & Bread Bakehouse for fluffy leavened goods. From there, head to the tranquil river beaches of Barwon Heads on the Bellarine, where a relaxed lunch by the water is all but mandatory.
A nature reset in a Grampians tiny house
Savour your way through a Gariwerd/Grampians escape at Nook On The Hill. (Credit: Mark Watson)
What? A reboot in nature for those who appreciate good design with a lashing of the great outdoors.
Tell me more:Nook On The Hill is a handcrafted sustainable tiny house located in the foothills of Grampians National Park, just a 10-minute drive from Halls Gap and three hours west of Melbourne. This lovingly designed space offers the ultimate slow escape in nature.
Wilderness close to home in Wilsons Promontory
Admire the views from Mt Oberon Summit in Wilsons Promontory. (Credit: Emily Godfrey)
What? The southernmost tip of mainland Australia, Wilsons Promontory is a grand sweep of coastal bushland and granite-framed beaches you’ll fall madly in love with.
Tell me more: While just 2.5 hours from Melbourne by car, Wilsons Promontory in South Gippsland makes for one of the top weekend getaways in Victoria; it feels worlds away from civilisation with its vast beaches, plentiful wildlife and wildflowers in spring. Bring your tent or caravan and explore its natural wonders, from Whisky Bay and Tidal River to the Mt Oberon Summit.
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A Melbourne staycation at Hannah St Hotel
The interiors at Hannah St Hotel are bold and bright.
What? Melbourne’s hottest new address, Hannah St Hotel distils the best of the city into one quintessential stay.
Tell me more: With a bold personality and richly layered design by Flack Studio, Hannah St Hotel is a microcosm of Melbourne. Get your caffeine fix at its streetside coffee window before venturing out to explore – part of Southbank, the hotel is positioned at the crossroads of the CBD, the Yarra River, South Melbourne and the Arts Precinct – then dine inhouse at Coupette Corner Bistro & Bar.
A food-driven getaway in Trentham
Tuck into an intimate, French farmhouse-style dinner at Du Fermier.
What? A charming country town where acclaimed restaurants, artisan bakeries and cosy pubs have created one of regional Victoria’s leading foodie destinations.
Tell me more: Eat your way through town with stops at RedBeard Bakery, Trentham General and the much-loved du Fermier restaurant. Break up the indulgence by browsing art galleries and homewares stores or strolling to nearby Trentham Falls, then finish with a local pinot noir or craft beer at the beautifully restored Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Three unique nights along the Great Ocean Road
Basalt Retreat is located on a vineyard. (Credit: Ample Co/Brook James)
The Monty is a refurbed motel.
What? A Great Ocean Road trip built for slowing down together, that runs the ‘wrong way’ from Port Fairy and back towards Torquay.
Tell me more: Break up the iconic drive with three very different stays. Near Port Fairy, Basalt Retreat offers adults-only cabins amid a 24-year-old vineyard. Then at Cape Otway, Sky Pods’ architecturally designed units sit on the edge of an 80-hectare private wildlife refuge with sweeping Southern Ocean views and perfect stargazing conditions – kangaroos included. Finish your journey at The Monty in Anglesea, a delightfully restored retro motel with Palm Springs polish, for a final night to toast the trip.
A heritage dash to Ballarat
Find creativity in Ballarat’s back streets.
What? This old gold-mining town turned thriving regional hub abounds in historic streetscapes and cultural experiences.
Tell me more: Check into the boutique Hotel Vera, where rooms pop with colour, then head out for a lap of the swan-studded Lake Wendouree. The Art Gallery of Ballarat’s Backspace Gallery is a must for aesthetes, while Sovereign Hill is an open-air history museum depicting the years following the discovery of gold in Ballarat.
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Soak, sleep and repeat at The Sanctuary at Alba
Check into The Sanctuary for a soul-warming stay
on the Mornington Peninsula.
Savour tasty meals
at Thyme restaurant.
What? Five luxury villas and two studios tucked away by the sea on the Mornington Peninsula offer guests a bathhouse-adjacent stay unlike any other.
Tell me more: Combine daily access to Alba Thermal Springs & Spa with an indulgent stay in the bathhouse’s luxury accommodation at The Sanctuary. Features include an oversized stone bathtub (in select villas), indoor log fireplace set by the concierge come evening and an extensive all-inclusive minibar (minus champagne, cocktails and spirits) that champions local businesses. Top it all off with dinner and breakfast onsite in your bathrobes at Thyme restaurant, and you’ll see why a stay is one of the most relaxing weekend getaways in Victoria.
A literary love affair in Clunes
Wander the charming streets of Clunes.
What? Australia’s first International Booktown just beyond Ballarat is home to a diverse collection of independent bookshops, cosy cafes and quiet outdoor spaces – ideal for bookworms with a touch of wanderlust.
Tell me more: Spend a peaceful weekend browsing shelves stacked with everything from vintage Australiana and rare collectables to new releases and second-hand editions, which can be read over coffee in one of the town’s charming cafes. Time your visit with the annual Clunes Booktown Festival (20–21 March 2027), when the streets fill with authors, readers and more than 100 booksellers.
A snow-to-surf tour
The Great Australian Snow to Surf Adventure offers the best of both worlds.
What? Wild Adventures Melbourne offers a best-of-both-worlds itinerary bound to shake you out of the everyday.
Tell me more:The Great Australian Snow to Surf Adventure is a five-day, four-night tour that takes you from the snow-capped peaks of Mount Hotham in the Australian Alps to the waves of the Gippsland coast, delivering adventure lovers a small-but-mighty action-packed itinerary.
A heritage escape to Maldon
Maldon retains its 19th-century gold mining streetscape aesthetic.
What? This well-preserved gold-rush town offers a glimpse into Victoria’s past through its heritage streetscapes, historic landmarks and vintage-style experiences.
Tell me more: Wander past ornate Victorian shopfronts before visiting the Beehive Mine Chimney and climbing Mount Tarrengower for panoramic views across the surrounding countryside. Refuel with a pie or vanilla slice from the historic Maldon Bakery, browse antique stores and galleries and explore the walking trails of nearby Maldon Historic Reserve. Don’t miss a nostalgic steam train ride to Castlemaine abord the Victorian Goldfields Railway.
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Tuck your napkin firmly in place and get ready to dive into Bendigo’s history.
It’s an internationally recognised fact that Bendigo food experiences prove this region knows how to wine and dine. After all, its shiraz-laden landscape was named Australia’s first UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy. But what visitors lured in by this shiny label might not know is how deeply its culinary scene sits within the gold-rush town’s colourful past.
Whether you’re eating in a grand colonial bank or nibbling through a gold miner’s garden, grab a big plate. In Bendigo, every meal is served with a huge helping of heritage.
Take a food tour
Join a Foodie Walking Tour to local highlights like Ms Batterhams.
Start in the capable hands of Bendigo Guided Tours. Named as the 2025 Victorian Best New Tourism Business, they run two 12-person options. A Taste of Bendigo – Foodie Walking Tour will see you tasting seasonal dishes and sipping wine, craft beer and cocktails made with regional spirits over two-and-a-half hours, with stops at Ms Batterhams, Wine Bank on View, The Dispensary and Bendigo Brewing.
You can up the ante a notch or two with the Four Hats of Bendigo – a night of fine-dine hopping with the experts across Terrae, Le Foyer, Alium Dining and The Woodhouse.
Book a table
Dine at Terrae.
Alternatively, see Bendigo’s stars under your own steam. There’s Terrae, where produce from the owners’ own farm kitchen garden and orchard is plated up inside what was once a bank, while cocktails are poured in the underground bar below. For something special, book a private table in old bank vault. Rather less wholesome? The bullet hole in the window – a throwback to Victoria’s wild gold rush era.
Another former bank-turned-eatery, Alium Dining, goes full art nouveau inside a 1908 building overlooking the Alexandra Fountain in the heart of Bendigo. Here, Alium’s Asian-meets-European flavours run all the way from duck leg croquettes with mandarin marmalade to raw trevally with coconut and nước chấm, to pork milanese with anchovy and stout mustard.
Beneath an old school hall at Mackenzie Quarters, Ms Batterhams serves southern European-inspired dishes inside a 19th-century basement bar and restaurant. Beyond its sourdough crumpets (smeared with taramasalata, paprika and parsley oil, if you must know) is the origin of the restaurant’s name: Winifred Batterham, the owners’ mother’s former kindergarten teacher. Honour her properly with a ‘Winifred’ cocktail.
Alium Dining offers a unique setting inside a 1908 building.
Carnivores, get ready to bang your sharpest knives on the table. Bendigo’s only dedicated steakhouse, The Woodhouse, specialises in Wagyu sourced from surrounding farms. They’ve got beef every which way – from tartare topped with Giaveri Oscietra caviar and wagyu toast to porterhouse dry-aged and grilled over redgum.
Your next bank stop on the food circuit is Bunja Thai. Housed inside the former Colonial Bank, it’s all Victorian-era Australian grandeur, from the enormous arched ceilings to the detailing overhead. Thai Singha and local craft beer jostle for attention – but both are perfect quenchers when you’re sharing barramundi baked in banana leaf beneath all that old-world opulence.
If your trip through Australia isn’t complete without a country pub stop, make it The Bridgewater Hotel on the Loddon River. Renovated since its 1942 beginnings, but the establishment still retains its Art Deco charm. It’s the kind of place where steak burgers come stacked with bacon, egg, cheese and dripping beetroot relish, and are best handled in the riverside beer garden.
Pour a glass
Find over 180 local wines at Heathcote Wine Hub.
Your plate’s been stacked. Now it’s the glass’s turn – ideally with the famously bold shiraz and cab sav grown here. Early settlers in Bendigo and Heathcote were onto something when they first planted vines in the area’s mineral-rich soil, and their legacy still pours strong across more than 60 cellar doors today. Start big at the Heathcote Wine Hub, where more than 180 wines from nearby vineyards sit beneath the rafters of a restored former wooden church, with 16 available to taste by the glass.
Heathcote Winery might have become one of the area’s first commercial wineries in the seventies, but its story started way before its courtyard tastings. Back in 1854, it operated as a miners’ produce store during the gold-rush years. Other cellar doors aren’t immune to reinvention under the wine wave either. At Munari Wines in Heathcote, charcuterie boards are presented in their newly renovated cellar, originally the stables of the former sheep station.
Discover local events
Time your trip for the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk
Time your trip right and watch the parks, gardens and buildings fill with food and drink. Fans of the malt: mark 29 August 2026 for Bendigo On The Hop, when craft breweries take over venues throughout the CBD. Brews make way for history at the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk (17 October 2026), where bottles are opened inside some of the city’s most interesting buildings – including rarely opened spaces. In November, the Regional Gin Gala raises spirits in Mackenzie Quarters with a boozy celebration of its homegrown distilleries, including Noble Bootleggers, Envy Distilling and In Good Spirits. Explore wine, food and live music at Heathcote on Show (6 – 8 June 2026).
Take it all in
Tram meets tasty at Bendigo Tram Cafe.
Takeaway means something different in Bendigo. At Australia’s oldest operating Tram Depot, the Tram Cafe sits aboard an out-of-service 1916 N-Class Tram that serves tea and scones. Once you’ve polished off the last crumb, you can even pop into the driver’s cab and try the controls yourself.
Peppergreen Farm continues Bendigo’s long connection to Chinese market gardens, first established here by immigrants in the 1850s. Today, the not-for-profit farm invites visitors to pick up organic produce, alongside jars of honey harvested from its own hives.
Indulge in retail therapy
Elevate your at-home dining experience after a trip to Bendigo Pottery.
If there’s still room in your bag among the clanking jars and bottles, stop by Uniquely Bendigo inside the Old Post Office. Sharing space with the Bendigo Visitor Centre, it’s a one-stop shop for favourites like Bendigo Brittle, Bridgeward Grove and Tea Associates.
If you’d rather leave your fingerprints on your Bendigo souvenir, there’s a place for that too. At Bendigo Pottery, visitors can try their hand at shaping clay while taking part in another tradition of evolving old spaces – creating works of art within Australia’s oldest working pottery.
