Ballarat
Historic · Lively · Good for families and groups
The gold-rush city that kept its streets - wide boulevards, a living museum at Sovereign Hill, and a lake with a rowing club and a restaurant on it. Winter brings a festival that lights the whole town. A full day is easy; a weekend fits if the museum is on the list.
A weekend here might look like
- Morning: Ballarat Botanical Gardens - Formal gardens on the edge of Lake Wendouree, with the Prime Ministers Avenue of bronze busts running beneath a row of horse chestnuts. The Robert Clark Conservatory is at its best from mid-March to mid-April when the tuberous begonias are out.
- Lunch: The Forge Pizzeria - Woodfired pizza in the heart of Ballarat, from a family whose blacksmith grandfather gave the place its name. Set in a heritage building with exposed brick and an open kitchen, The Forge turns out blistered, generously topped pizzas alongside pasta and share plates, with craft beer, cocktails and local wine to match. Warm, lively and relaxed, it suits a family dinner or a catch-up with mates just as well.
- Afternoon: Ballarat Tramway Museum - Climb aboard a vintage tram and rattle along original track through the Botanical Gardens on the shore of Lake Wendouree. Run by volunteers, the museum keeps Ballarat's street trams alive, with heritage tramcars on display, including a horse tram from 1887.
More to explore
- Sovereign Hill - Step back into the 1850s goldfields. Sovereign Hill is a living, breathing gold rush town on a real former mining site, where blacksmiths and confectioners work the old trades and you can swirl a pan in the creek hoping for a speck of colour. Wander the shops and diggings, watch the molten gold pour, and let the kids loose on the lollies. History you can walk straight into.
- Lake Wendouree - A shallow city lake ringed by the six-kilometre Steve Moneghetti track, flat the whole way and busy with walkers, runners and rowing crews. The 2,000 metre course here held the rowing for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and the gardens sit along the western shore.
- Ballarat Wildlife Park - A park in Ballarat East where the kangaroos roam free and can be hand fed, alongside koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils, tigers and a very large saltwater crocodile.
- Pancho - Colour, noise and Latin music on Armstrong Street. Pancho serves South American share plates built for the middle of the table: tacos, empanadas, ceviche and charred corn, with cocktails and Latin American wines to match. Lively and a little loud, it's a great spot for a celebration.
- Carboni's Italian Kitchen - Classic Italian done with care in Ballarat East. Chef-owner Dona and his team turn out handmade pasta, artisan pizzas, antipasti and proper desserts, backed by a solid wine list. Regulars rate the gnocchi and the seafood pasta, and the team is known for looking after dietary needs. Warm and relaxed, it works for a family dinner or a quiet night out. Worth booking, as it fills up.
- Fika Coffee Brewers - A small, Scandi-inspired coffee bar on Doveton Street, run by a barista who trained at Melbourne's St Ali. Fika takes its coffee seriously, with espresso and filter brewed from specialty beans, alongside bagels, toasties, smashed avo and pastries like almond croissants and cinnamon scrolls. Space is tight inside, with a few tables out the front, so it's ideal for a quick, excellent cup on the go.
- Webster's Market And Cafe - A neighbourhood favourite in a historic corner store on leafy Webster Street, a short stroll from Lake Wendouree. Webster's does all-day brunch with specialty coffee, plus cakes, baguettes and panini, and there's a market side for picking up something good on the way out.