Mid-North Coast
Located at Stockton Bight, these are the longest moving sand dunes in the southern hemisphere, stretching more than 35km. Thanks to the generosity of the…
Must-see attractions in Australia
Circular Quay & The Rocks
Built in the 1850s, Sydney’s copper-domed, Italianate sandstone observatory squats atop Observatory Hill, overlooking the harbour. Inside is an intriguing…
Victoria
Commanding expansive ocean views, this windswept national park on the peninsula’s western tip was a seasonal base of its traditional owners, the Boon…
Naracoorte Caves National Park
Limestone Coast
About 10km southeast of Naracoorte is World Heritage–listed Naracoorte Caves National Park. The discovery of an ancient fossilised marsupial in these…
Alice Springs
Head to Desert Park, where the creatures of central Australia are all on display in one place, including many that are extremely difficult to find out on…
City Centre & Haymarket
This noble brick building was designed by the convict architect Francis Greenway to house prisoners arriving in the colony. Now a flagship museum, the…
Victoria
Don't leave Halls Gap without visiting the superb cultural centre at Brambuk, 2.5km south of town. Run by five Koorie communities (including the…
Victoria
Looming from its commanding hilltop location, the Old Castlemaine Gaol is the town's most notable historical landmark; dating from 1861, it closed its…
Melbourne
Built for the 1880 International Exhibition, this Victorian edifice in Carlton Gardens symbolises the glory days of 19th-century Melbourne's economic…
Katoomba
Echo Point's clifftop viewing platform offers a magical prospect of the area's most essential sight, a rocky trio called the Three Sisters, sacred to the…
Outback Northern Territory
Run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), this ground-breaking wildlife reserve 136km south off the Tanami Track covers 2620 sq km and is on the…
Canberra
Occupying a flash, purpose-built building, this wonderful gallery is a striking representation of Australia's shifting self-image and a must-see for art…
Surry Hills & Darlinghurst
Acclaimed local artist Brett Whiteley (1939–1992) lived fast and without restraint. Many of his multimillion-dollar paintings were created in this hard-to…
Cairns
These gorgeous gardens are an explosion of greenery and rainforest plants. Highlights include a section devoted to Aboriginal plant use, the Gondwana…
Cairns Esplanade, Boardwalk & Lagoon
Cairns
Sunseekers and fun-lovers flock to Cairns Esplanade's spectacular swimming lagoon on the city’s reclaimed foreshore. The artificial, sandy-edged, 4800-sq…
Adelaide
A tourist sight or a shopping op? Either way, satisfy your deepest culinary cravings at the 250-odd stalls in superb Adelaide Central Market. A sliver of…
Golden Dragon Museum & Gardens
Victoria
Bendigo’s Chinese heritage sets it apart from other goldfields towns, and this fantastic museum is the place to experience it. Walk through a huge wooden…
Kings Cross & Potts Point
Now dwarfed by 20th-century apartments, Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay's elegant Greek Revival mansion was one of the finest houses in the colony…
Darwin
If the tourists won't go out to see the crocs, then bring the crocs to the tourists. Right in the middle of Mitchell St, Crocosaurus Cove is as close as…
Rockhampton
The stories of the local Darumbal people and Torres Straits islanders are well-conveyed here. Self-guide through exhibits such as 'The Vanishing Culture…
Brisbane
On South Bank, just over Victoria Bridge from the CBD, the Queensland Cultural Centre is the epicentre of Brisbane’s cultural confluence. Surrounded by…
Hobart
Standing in startling, Gothic isolation next to the clean-running Hobart Rivulet, Australia’s oldest brewery (1824) is still pumping out superb beers. The…
Fremantle
Located within an 1852 commissariat store, the Shipwrecks Museum is considered the finest display of maritime archaeology in the southern hemisphere. The…
Brisbane
All angular glass, concrete and black metal, must-see GOMA celebrates modern and contemporary art, with a particular emphasis on Australian, Asian and…
Clare Valley
Martindale Hall is an astonishing 1880 manor 3km south of Mintaro. Built for young pastoralist Edmund Bowman Jnr, who subsequently partied away the family…
Circular Quay & The Rocks
Divided into four displays – Warrane (pre-1788), Colony (1788–1820), Port (1820–1900) and Transformations (1900 to the present) – this small, excellent…
Cairns
Cairns' multi-million-dollar aquarium is well worth a visit for its vast and gorgeously presented range of marine life, the Great Barrier Reef in…
Victoria
Housed in a superb art deco building, this gallery (established in 1913) features colonial and contemporary Australian art, including works by such well…
Byron Bay
This photogenic, 32-hectare green oasis outside Byron is shared by Three Blue Ducks restaurant, a produce store, the Bread Social bakery, an ice-creamery…
Western Australian Museum – Maritime
Fremantle
Significant West Australian boats are suspended from the rafters of this sail-shaped museum building. There's the yacht that won the America's Cup race in…
Noosa
Noosa's unmissable national park delivers spectacular coastal views (expect to see dolphins) and ambrosial beaches like Tea Tree Bay. The most scenic way…
Darling Harbour & Pyrmont
This piscatorial precinct on Blackwattle Bay shifts around 15 million kilograms of seafood annually, and has retail outlets, restaurants, sushi and oyster…
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Perth
Founded in 1895, this excellent gallery houses the state's preeminent art collection as well as regular international exhibitions that, increasingly, have…
Qantas Founders Outback Museum
Outback Queensland
Qantas Founders Outback Museum houses a life-size replica of an Avro 504K, the first aircraft owned by the fledgling airline. Interactive multimedia and…
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village
Warrnambool
The world-class Flagstaff Hill precinct is of equal interest for its shipwreck museum, heritage-listed lighthouses and garrison as for its reproduction of…
Northern Territory
One of the prettiest corners of the West MacDonnell Ranges, Simpsons Gap, 22km by road from Alice Springs and 8km off Larapinta Dr along a paved road,…
Yarra Valley
One of the best places in southern Australia to see native fauna, this wildlife park is home to kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, echidnas,…
Lord Howe Island
The southernmost of the two magnificent peaks dominating the island, Mt Gower (875m) is a spectacular sight. Though it looks sheer at first glance, it's…
Western Australian Museum – Geraldton
West Coast Australia
At one of the state's best museums, intelligent multimedia displays relate the area's natural, cultural and Aboriginal history. The Shipwreck Gallery…
Sunshine Coast
This is one of Australia's most atmospheric artisan markets, attracting over 1.6-million visitors a year to its 600-plus stalls. Dive into a leafy,…
