15 culture-steeped things to do in Ballarat

From enthralling portals into a bygone era to cutting-edge creativity, the best things to do in Ballarat are pure gold.

History is never far from your fingertips in Ballarat thanks to grand architecture instantly transporting you back to the heady days of the gold rush. But there’s a new energy pulsing through the wrought-iron-trimmed streets today as Victoria’s third-largest city undergoes a cultural renaissance. Experience its thriving dining scene, join a maker’s workshop, or lose yourself in surprising odes to the past — the most gratifying things to do in Ballarat are listed below.

1. Take a heritage walking tour

heritage buildings along Sturt, Ballarat — Discover heritage buildings along Sturt St. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Built on gold wealth, Ballarat was the wealthiest city in the world at one point during the 1850s and its wonderfully preserved heritage streetscape reflects this. Get to know the history of this gold-rush town by signing up for a walking tour with Hidden Lanes or take a Heritage self-guided one via Ballarat Revealed .

Learn about the beginnings of Ballarat from the corner of Sturt and Grenville streets and take in buildings ranging from the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, which has been edifying and entertaining locals for more than 150 years, to sites including Ballarat’s very own Turkish Bath House – now a skate ramp.

2. Catch a performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat

the exterior of Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat — World-class acts are sure to enchant viewers at Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat. (Image: Michael Pham)

Whether you’re stirred by the theatre, awed by world-famous mentalists or craving a night out to the sound of live music, Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat is the place to let your hair down. Sitting ever-so-pretty as Australia’s oldest continuously operational live theatre (it opened in 1875), these spectacular bones play host to a revolving door of world-class acts. In 2025, Sarah Blasko will be enchanting audiences, as will the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s James Ehnes and a production of Kinky Boots. But no matter when you visit, the calibre of what’s on always impresses. Check the website regularly to tee your visit up with a dream show.

3. Indulge in me-time at Ballarat’s Sanctuary Day Spa

Venture into the gardens of the Mercure Hotel to unearth Ballarat’s Sanctuary Day Spa , a self-care destination you’ll struggle to part with. Enveloped in lush greenery, the facilities span six treatment rooms, a floating pedicure lounge, a relaxation lounge with an open fireplace (hello, romantic winter treat), a heated hydrotherapy pool and a sauna. It’s enough to get you there without a booked treatment but don’t miss the chance to pamper yourself with the spa’s impressive list of massages, body therapy and wraps, facials and beauty services.

4. Visit the Art Gallery of Ballarat

a look inside the Art Gallery of Ballarat — The Art Gallery of Ballarat is Australia’s oldest regional gallery. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Another of Ballarat’s truly grand heritage buildings, the Art Gallery of Ballarat is, in fact, Australia’s oldest regional gallery. Opened in 1884, it boasts an impressive collection of Australian art history from the early colonial period to the present day. While the beloved attraction will be closed from March 3, 2025, for at least 18 months as it undergoes extensive renovations, the gallery’s permanent collection will be presented alongside touring and temporary exhibitions. Showcased throughout elegant 19th-century rooms and contemporary architectural additions (plus all-new plans, yet to be revealed), this is a Ballarat bucket list item. And, of course, the gift shop is great, too, selling art books and one-of-a-kind products by local artisans.

5. Take a trip back in time at Sovereign Hill

locals during 1850s Ballarat at Sovereign Hill — Travel back in time to the gold rush era. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Since 1970, Sovereign Hill has been telling the tale of life as it was in 1850s Ballarat, during the greatest shallow alluvial gold rush the world has ever seen. A living outdoor museum built on a former gold-mining site, today it’s a Ballarat icon: costumed characters and horse and carts populate a goldfields town full of shops, hotels, schools, factories, a gold diggings and underground mines.

Its immersive theatre experience, Aura, is a standout. The light and sound show unfolds through hundreds of projections that follow the story of gold from its very beginnings, incorporating the Wadawurrung creation story, right up until the current day. Stay on site at the Sovereign Hill Hotel for the whole package.

6. Take a history lesson at the Eureka Centre Ballarat

two young boys with their father exploring the artefacts at the Eureka Centre Ballarat — Learn about the gold rush town through cultural artefacts. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Visit the Eureka Centre Ballarat to experience another important part of Australian history: the site of the 1854 Eureka Stockade Rebellion and the home of the Eureka Flag – one of the nation’s most important cultural artefacts. Through art installations and digital technology, you’ll hear the stories of men and women who fought for miners’ rights and helped inform the development of modern democratic Australia, as well as learn about the cultural impact of the gold rush.

7. Lose yourself in a Ballarat festival

a performer wearing a costume at the Ballarat Begonia Festival — Join the vibrant and colourful Ballarat Begonia Festival. (Image: Supplied)

Ballarat hosts a roster of arts and cultural festivals, so time your visit accordingly. The Ballarat Begonia Festival , staged annually across the March long weekend, is exactly what it sounds like. You’ll gasp at the sheer volume of those delicate blooms — we’re talking thousands on display spanning more than 500 varieties — inside the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, and find joy in the interactive workshops, roving entertainment and food trucks. Meanwhile, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale is another noteworthy consideration, presenting a showcase of photographic exhibitions, talks, workshops and events every two years in spring.

8. Take a foodie masterclass

a hand holding a glass of crafted gin at Kilderkin Distillery, Ballarat — Concoct your own gin with expert distillers at Kilderkin Distillery. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Tap into Ballarat’s rich food culture by signing up for a hands-on workshop or masterclass. Kilderkin Distillery offers DIY gin classes with expert distillers and, at Aunty Jacks , you can learn how to brew your own craft beer. When your tummy starts to rumble, head on over to Italian ristorante Carboni’s for a fresh pasta masterclass or try one of Flying Chillies ‘ Indonesian and Malaysian cooking experiences.

9. Marvel in the Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades

women joining the SAORI Weaving Workshop with Prue Simmons — Sign up for the SAORI Weaving Workshop with Prue Simmons. (Image: Supplied)

Speaking of getting your hands dirty with the experts, carve out significant time to dabble in whatever’s going on at the Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades during your visit. An inspiring hub of imagination and cultural appreciation, the beloved attraction runs masterclasses, events and workshops to immerse visitors in the creative spirit of the region. 2025 will see 150 individual workshops led by 60 admired artists, so whether it’s silversmithing, dry stone walling, water colouring, wood turning or something else that lures you in, there’s fresh learning for everyone.

10. Sample Ballarat’s wine region

a man holding a wine bottle at Eastern Peake, Ballarat — Eastern Peake is a leader in boutique wines. (Image: Visit Victoria)

In addition to a flourishing dining scene, Ballarat is home to its own boutique wine region, which specialises in cold-climate wines like pinot noir, chardonnay and delicate sparklings, as well as riesling and shiraz.

Don’t miss a tasting at Latta Vino , 20 minutes north of town at Coghills Creek, where winemaker Owen Latta makes waves with his mostly natural creations. His old stomping ground, the nearby Eastern Peake , is also worthy of significant swilling as Owen perfected his craft on the winery still owned by his dad.

There’s also Wayward Winery , located about 30 minutes’ drive from the thick of town, which nails pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay and shiraz grapes: covering all good bases, really.

11. Discover unforgettable Ballarat dining experiences

Underbar is a 16-seat fine-dining restaurant — Head chef Derek Boath previously worked at New York’s three-Michelin-starred “Per Se".

So many standouts, so little time. Foodies will struggle to craft an itinerary that covers all the best restaurants in Ballarat — but it’s plenty fun trying. Underbar , located in an unassuming space with no sign at the door, is a superb 20-seat fine-dining restaurant serving a seasonal tasting menu shaped by the surrounds courtesy of chef Derek Boath. Reservations open on the first day of each month and get snapped up quickly.

Then there’s the talk of town in early 2025, Babae , fixed firmly on shining a light on the most exceptional regional produce and ingredients. You’ll find it lighting up the already stunning Hotel Vera on Sturt St, one of Ballarat’s best accommodation picks.

12. Spend an afternoon at Lake Wendouree

boats lined up at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat — Admire the quaint and historic Lake Wendouree boat sheds. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Take a walk around Ballarat’s picturesque Lake Wendouree, originally a swamp and now one of the nicest ways to spend a sunny afternoon. After a botanic garden was laid out on its western shore in the 1850s, the lake itself saw a transformation and by the 1870s, it had two rowing clubs and pleasure craft to recommend it as the recreational hub it remains to this day.

Have a casual bite at The Yacht Club , admire the quaint and historic Lake Wendouree boat sheds and then take to the water for a trip back in time onboard the replica Golden City Paddle Steamer . This 45-minute cruise takes in scenic views and the history of the lake during the warmer months.

13. Explore Ballarat Botanical Gardens

a couple walking along Ballarat Botanical Gardens — Stroll along colourful flowerbeds at Ballarat Botanical Gardens. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Wander through the beautiful Ballarat Botanical Gardens on the western side of Lake Wendouree. Regional Victoria’s oldest inland botanic gardens is a medley of mature trees and marble statues set within colourful flowerbeds. Covering 40 hectares, it’s also home to the Robert Clark Conservatory, a striking modern build harbouring an oasis of seasonal displays that’s a hub for that Ballarat Begonia Festival we discussed earlier.

The gardens are also home to the Ballarat Tramway Museum , one of the best Ballarat things to experience with kids, which invites you to ride in one of the 100-year-old trams that provided Ballarat’s public transport until 1971. A 20-minute ride, it journeys through the gardens and alongside Lake Wendouree.

14. Sample farm-to fork specialities at Tuki Restaurant

dining at Tuki Restaurant, Ballarat — Taste the paddock-to-plate offerings at Tuki Restaurant.

Whether you’re an avid fisher or not, a trip to Tuki offers a unique experience, just 40 minutes from Ballarat and set at the end of an unsealed road on top of a hill with verdant valley views.

The ponds here are stocked with rainbow trouts and visitors are guaranteed a catch, but there’s also a fine-dining restaurant to prioritise. Dishes include such pond- and paddock-to-plate offerings, including its famed trout done with the likes of fennel, orange and native ingredients, and we highly recommend letting the experts steer your journey by diving into a five-course tasting menu.

15. Meet true locals at Ballarat Wildlife Park

a meerkat at Ballarat Wildlife Park — Have a close encounter with a meerkat. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Family-run Ballarat Wildlife Park is home to a large variety of native Australian animals and other far-flung creatures, including free-roaming kangaroos, wombats and a colony of little penguins. Meet Kai and his little sister Akasha, the park’s resident Sumatran tigers, and choose from several animal encounters with meerkats, koalas and even a giant tortoise who’s over 80 years old.

Discover the best things to do in Ballarat

Video credit: Visit Victoria/Tourism Australia

The Grampians just might be the ultimate antidote for the metropolis, writes one returning Aussie ready to disconnect from the modern world and reconnect to the Great outdoors.

There are no kangaroos back in Chicago: they’re all here in the Grampians/Gariwerd . In the heart of the Grampians National Park’s main gateway town, Halls Gap, pods of eastern greys are eating grass beside my parked rental car beneath the stars. Next morning, when I see the backyard of my rented villa on the edge of town for the first time, there are kangaroos feeding beside a slow-moving creek, lined with river red gums.

Five hundred metres up the road, 50 or so of them are eating by the side of the road in a paddock. I pull over to watch and spot three emus. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly overhead towards the tall green mountains just beyond town.

‘Kee-ow, keee-oww’… their calls fuse with the maniacal cackle of a kookaburra (or 10). Gawd, how I’ve missed the sound of them. Far above, a wedge-tailed eagle watches, and there you go: the ‘great birds of Australia’ trifecta, all half a kay from the town limits.

Exchanging city chaos for country calm

kangaroos near Halls Gap, Grampians National Park — The park is renowned for its significant diversity of native fauna species. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

I’ve come to the Grampians to disconnect, but the bush offers a connection of its own. This isn’t just any bush, mind you. The Grampians National Park is iconic for many reasons, mostly for its striking sandstone mountains – five ridges run north to south, with abrupt, orange slopes which tumble right into Halls Gap – and for the fact there’s 20,000 years of traditional rock art. Across these mountains there are more than 200 recorded sites to see, created by the Djab Wurrung, Jardwadjali and Gunditjmara peoples. It’s just like our outback… but three hours from Melbourne.

I’ve come here for a chance at renewal after the chaos of my life in America’s third-largest city, Chicago, where I live for now, at the whim of a relative’s cancer journey. Flying into Melbourne’s airport, it only takes an hour’s drive to feel far away from any concept of suburbia. When I arrive in Halls Gap two hours later, the restaurant I’m eating at clears out entirely by 7:45pm; Chicago already feels a lifetime ago.

The trails and treasures of the Grampians

sunrise at Grampians National Park /Gariwerd — Grampians National Park /Gariwerd covers almost 2000 square kilometres. (Image: Ben Savage)

Though the national park covers almost 2000 square kilometres, its best-known landmarks are remarkably easy to access. From my carpark here, among the cockatoos and kangaroos on the fringe of Halls Gap, it only takes 60 seconds’ driving time before I’m winding my way up a steep road through rainforest, deep into the mountains.

Then it’s five minutes more to a carpark that serves as a trailhead for a hike to one of the park’s best vantage points, The Pinnacles . I walk for an hour or so, reacquainting myself with the smells and the sounds of the Aussie bush, before I reach it: a sheer cliff’s edge lookout 500 metres up above Halls Gap.

walking through a cave, Hollow Mountain — Overlooking the vast Grampians landscape from Hollow Mountain. (Image: Robert Blackburn)

There are hikes and there are lookouts and waterfalls all across this part of the park near town. Some are a short stroll from a carpark; others involve long, arduous hikes through forest. The longest is the Grampians Peaks Trail , Victoria’s newest and longest iconic walk, which runs 160 kilometres – the entire length of Grampians National Park.

Local activities operator Absolute Outdoors shows me glimpses of the trail. The company’s owner, Adrian Manikas, says it’s the best walk he’s done in Australia. He says he’s worked in national parks across the world, but this was the one he wanted to bring his children up in.

“There’s something about the Grampians,” he says, as he leads me up a path to where there’s wooden platforms for tents, beside a hut looking straight out across western Victoria from a kilometre up in the sky (these are part of the guided hiking options for the trail). “There are things out here that you won’t see anywhere else in Australia.” Last summer, 80 per cent of the park was damaged by bushfire, but Manikas shows me its regrowth, and tells me of the manic effort put in by volunteers from town – with firefighters from all over Australia – to help save Halls Gap.

wildflowers in Grampians National Park — Spot wildflowers. (Image: Visit Victoria)

We drive back down to Halls Gap at dusk to abseil down a mountain under the stars, a few minutes’ walk off the main road into town. We have headlamps, but a full moon is enough to light my way down. It takes blind faith to walk backwards down a mountain into a black void, though the upside is I can’t see the extent of my descent.

Grampians National Park at sunset. (Image: Wine Australian)

The stargazing is ruined by the moon, of course, but you should see how its glow lights up the orange of the sandstone, like in a theme park. When I’m done, I stand on a rocky plateau drinking hot chocolate and listening to the Aussie animals who prefer nighttime. I can see the streets of Halls Gap off in the distance on this Friday night. The restaurants may stay open until 8pm tonight.

What else is on offer in The Grampians?

a boat travelling along the Wimmera River inDimboola — Travelling along the Wimmera River in Dimboola. (Image: Chris McConville)

You’ll find all sorts of adventures out here – from rock climbing to canoeing to hiking – but there’s more to the Grampians than a couple of thousand square kilometres of trees and mountains. Halls Gap may be known to most people, but what of Pomonal, and Dimboola, and Horsham? Here in the shadow of those big sandstone mountains there are towns and communities most of us don’t know to visit.

And who knew that the Grampians is home to Victoria’s most underrated wine region ? My disconnection this morning comes not in a forest, but in the tasting rooms and winery restaurants of the district. Like Pomonal Estate, barely 10 minutes’ drive east of Halls Gap, where UK-born chef Dean Sibthorp prepares a locally caught barramundi with lentil, pumpkin and finger lime in a restaurant beside the vines at the base of the Grampians. Husband-and-wife team Pep and Adam Atchison tell me stories as they pour their prize wines (shiraz is the hero in these parts).

dining at Pomonal Estate — Dine in a restaurant beside vines at Pomonal Estate. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Three minutes’ drive back down the road, long-time mates Hadyn Black and Darcy Naunton run an eclectic cellar door out of a corrugated iron shed, near downtown Pomonal. The Christmas before last, half the houses in Pomonal burnt down in a bushfire, but these locals are a resilient lot.

The fires also didn’t stop the construction of the first art centre in Australia dedicated to environmental art in a nature-based precinct a little further down the road (that’s Wama – the National Centre for Environmental Arts), which opened in July. And some of the world’s oldest and rarest grape vines have survived 160 years at Best’s Wines, outside the heritage town of Great Western. There’s plantings here from the year 1868, and there’s wines stored in century-old barrels within 150-year-old tunnels beneath the tasting room. On the other side of town, Seppelt Wines’ roots go back to 1865. They’re both only a 30-minute drive from Halls Gap.

Salingers of Great Western — Great Western is a charming heritage town. (Image: Griffin Simm)

There’s more to explore yet; I drive through tiny historic towns that barely make the map. Still part of the Grampians, they’re as pretty as the mountains behind them: full of late 19th-century/early 20th-century post offices, government offices and bank buildings, converted now to all manner of bric-a-brac stores and cafes.

The Imaginarium is one, in quirky Dimboola, where I sleep in the manager’s residence of an old National Australia Bank after a gourmet dinner at the local golf club, run by noted chef and teacher, Cat Clarke – a pioneer of modern Indigenous Australian cooking. Just south, I spend an entire afternoon at a winery, Norton Estate Wines, set on rolling calico-coloured hills that make me think of Tuscany, chit-chatting with owners Chris and Sam Spence.

Being here takes me back two decades, when I lived here for a time. It had all seemed as foreign as if I’d driven to another planet back then (from Sydney/Warrane), but there seemed something inherently and immediately good about this place, like I’d lived here before.

And it’s the Australian small-town familiarity of the Grampians that offers me connection back to my own country. Even in the better-known Halls Gap, Liz from Kerrie’s Creations knows I like my lattes with soy milk and one sugar. And while I never do get the name of the lady at the local Ampol station, I sure know a lot about her life.

Kookaburras on a tree — Kookaburras are one of some 230 bird species. (Image: Darren Donlen)

You can be a local here in a day; how good is that? In Chicago, I don’t even know who my neighbour is. Though each day at dusk – when the kangaroos gather outside my villa, and the kookaburras and the black cockatoos shout out loud before settling in to sleep – I prefer the quieter connection I get out there in the bush, beneath these orange mountains.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Sleep beside the wildlife on the edge of Halls Gap at Serenity .

Playing there

abseiling down Hollow Mountain — Hollow Mountain is a popular abseiling site.

Go abseiling under the stars or join a guided hike with Absolute Outdoors . Visit Wama , Australia’s first environmental art centre. Check out Dimboola’s eccentric Imaginarium .

Eating there

steak, naan bread and beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap — Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap serves a great steak on naan bread.

Eat world-class cuisine at Pomonal Estate . Dine and stay at much-revered icon Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. The ‘steak on naan’ at Halls Gap brewhouse Paper Scissors Rock , can’t be beat.

Dunkeld Arboretum in Grampians National Park — The serene Dunkeld Arboretum.

For Halls Gap’s best breakfasts head to Livefast Cafe . Sip local wines at Great Western’s historic wineries, Best’s Wines , Seppelt Wines and Norton Estate Wines .

two glasses of beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap — Sink a cold one at Paper Scissors Rock.