Orange
Wine Country · Historic · Relaxed · Good for couples and groups
A cool-climate wine town on the side of an extinct volcano - orchards, cellar doors, a food festival every April, and restaurants that people drive from Sydney for. Mount Canobolas has the views and the snow, some winters. A long weekend.
A weekend here might look like
- Morning: Gaanha Bula - Mount Canobolas - An extinct volcano rising to about 1,395 metres, the high point of the district, with a sealed but winding road up to a summit lookout taking in Orange, the farmland around it and the Blue Mountains on a clear day. Walking tracks link the summit with Young Man Canobolas if you want more than the view from the car park.
- Lunch: The Peacock Room & Bela Vista Bar - Destination dining inside The Oriana on Woodward Street, in a vintage-inspired room of velvet and antique touches. Executive chef Albi Cuni's menu is modern European with a strong Italian lean: handmade pasta, regional Italian dishes and refined classics built on seasonal produce. The adjoining Bela Vista Bar does classic cocktails and fine wine in a glamorous lounge setting. One for a long dinner or a special occasion.
- Afternoon: Philip Shaw Wines - A cool-climate cellar door on Shiralee Road pouring wines from the Koomooloo vineyard at around 900 metres, one of the highest in the country. Bookings are essential rather than optional.
More to explore
- Orange Botanic Gardens - Seventeen hectares of native and exotic plantings on Kearneys Drive, opened in 1988. An easy walk with plenty of birdlife, and there is a playground and barbecues nearby.
- Orange Regional Museum - A purpose-built museum on Byng Street telling the story of Orange and the wider Central West through objects, with touring exhibitions alongside its own displays.
- Borrodell Vineyard, Cellar Door & Wedding Venue - A vineyard, orchard and truffle farm on the slopes of Mount Canobolas, with a cellar door, the SkyBar restaurant and cottages to stay in. Tables for the a la carte menu need booking, and truffles are what people come for in winter.
- Mr Lim Korean & Chinese Diner - Korean and Chinese cooking in a converted corner store on Summer Street, with eclectic, modern decor and a room that hums on a Friday night. Order broadly and share: drunken duck, whole fried fish in XO sauce, silken tofu, prawn wontons and Korean fried chicken all have their champions, and the local wine list is worth a look. Banquets run on Friday and Saturday with karaoke from 8pm. Book ahead, especially for the Korean BBQ.
- Fiorini's Osteria Italiana - Ten minutes out of town on Canobolas Road, in a corrugated-iron shed with a cow grazing in the paddock opposite, Fiorini's is a Tuscan villa hiding in a tin shed. Antique tables, landscapes on the walls, specials chalked up on a blackboard and a grill smoking away outside. Simonn Hawke's kitchen turns out handmade pasta and seasonal local produce: wild boar ragu, burrata, trout crudo, sirloin from the grill, and a pistachio tiramisu. The wine list sticks close to home, with the best of Orange by the glass or bottle. Book ahead.
- Byng Street Local Store - The red-door cafe at 47 Byng Street, pouring Allpress coffee and serving breakfast and lunch, with dinner as well. It takes no bookings, so expect a queue at busy times, and there is a separate takeaway window.
- Factory Espresso - A cafe and coffee roaster on Kite Street. Coffee is roasted on site and sold by the bag if you want to take some home.
- Provence Boulangerie - A proper French bakery tucked into the Woolworths carpark off Summer Street, from a chef who spent nearly a decade in Michelin-starred kitchens in France. Everything is baked fresh each day: baguettes, sourdough loaves, bagels and a counter of pastries, with the pistachio and almond croissants the ones people come back for. The coffee is well rated, the staff are warm, and dogs are welcome. What's out varies with the hour, so come early for the best pick.