Language · 11 published
Country guide
Australia covers 7,688,287 km², sixth largest in the world, and close to 4,000 km separate its east coast from its west. Nearly 28 million people live here, about 80 per cent of them within 25 km of a mainland coastline 35,821 km long — which is the fact that governs any trip taken across it. The cities form a rim around an interior that stays largely empty; Sydney and Melbourne pass five million each, and Canberra, the capital, is neither of them. Six states and ten territories, and a sensible visit chooses two of them rather than the map.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Shkuru Afshar · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Chris Olszewski · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Samuel Wiki · CC BY 4.0
Photograph · Photograph by Doug Barber · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
55 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
The Rocks is a historic precinct on the western fringe of Sydney Cove, forming the birthplace of European settlement in Australia. Its sandstone warehouses, laneways, and terraces survive from convict-era foundations through maritime commercial periods to contemporary adaptive reuse.
Flinders Street railway station is a railway station on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It serves the entire metropolitan rail network.
Chinatown Melbourne is an ethnic enclave in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia.
Parliament House Queensland is the meeting place of the Parliament of Queensland, located in Brisbane. The building occupies a prominent position on the corner of George and Alice Streets in the CBD, overlooking the Brisbane River.
Royal Arcade is a working nineteenth-century shopping passage in central Melbourne, opened in 1870 and still linking the city’s retail streets.
Parliament House South Australia is the seat of the bicameral Parliament of South Australia, comprising the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.
Adelaide Town Hall is a working civic and cultural landmark at 128 King William Street, not a museum with a fixed visitor circuit.
Sydney Opera House is a performing-arts complex at Bennelong Point, where its white sail-like roof shells project into Sydney Harbour beside Circular Quay.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge spanning Sydney Harbour, connecting the Sydney central business district with the North Shore. Opened in 1932, it carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
Royal Exhibition Building is a historic exhibition building and one of Melbourne's highest-priority visitor stops in the current curated list.
Federation Square is Melbourne’s civic gathering place beside the Yarra River and Flinders Street Station, built around open terraces, angular architecture and a changing programme of cultural activity.
The Perth Mint is a heritage precious metals refining facility and tourist attraction in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1899 as a branch of Britain's Royal Mint, it originally struck gold sovereigns from Western Australian gold rush output.
Cook's Cottage is a historic building in Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens. It was built in 1755 in Great Ayton, Yorkshire, England, then dismantled, shipped to Australia and rebuilt in Melbourne in 1934.
Perth Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in the Perth metropolitan area. The facility serves as a centre for public astronomy education and stargazing experiences.
The Shrine of Remembrance is Melbourne’s principal war memorial, set on St Kilda Road with a deliberate architectural presence above the surrounding parkland.
Fremantle Prison stands as a former Australian convict establishment in Fremantle, the port city of Perth.
Polly Woodside is a historic iron-hulled sailing ship preserved as a maritime heritage attraction in Melbourne. Built in 1885 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the vessel operated as a cargo ship for decades before retirement.
Old Melbourne Gaol is a preserved former prison in central Melbourne where the building carries as much meaning as the displays.
Darling Harbour is Sydney’s waterfront public precinct around Cockle Bay, where a broad promenade connects working harbour views with pedestrian bridges, Tumbalong Park, Darling Quarter, museums and event venues.
Arts Centre Melbourne is a performing arts centre located in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria. It serves as a major hub for theatre, music, dance, and cultural events in Australia's second-largest city.
Fort Denison is a heritage-listed former penal site and defensive facility located on a small island in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales.
Adelaide Gaol is a former prison located within the Adelaide Park Lands. It operated as a correctional facility for more than a century before ceasing operations.
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts is a leading cultural institution in Western Australia dedicated to contemporary art practice. Located in Perth's cultural centre, PICA occupies a distinctive heritage building that has been adapted for modern exhibition purposes.
Cadman's Cottage
Cadmans Cottage is a historic sandstone building in The Rocks, beside Sydney Cove. Built during Sydney’s early colonial period, it is one of the city’s oldest surviving residential buildings.
Hornby Lighthouse is a heritage-listed active lighthouse situated at the southern entrance to Sydney Harbour, on the tip of South Head in Watsons Bay.
Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building serving as the seat of the City of Melbourne local government. Located on Swanston Street in the central business district, it occupies a prominent position in the city's civic and cultural landscape.
Old Treasury Building is a grand nineteenth-century public building in Melbourne, Victoria. Built during the Victorian gold rush era, it reflects the wealth and administrative ambition that shaped the young city.
Parramatta Park is a large public park in Parramatta, western Sydney, beside the Parramatta River. It combines open lawns, mature trees, garden areas, walking paths and colonial heritage associations.
The Wheel of Brisbane
The Wheel of Brisbane is a prominent observation wheel situated in the South Bank Parklands area of Brisbane, Queensland.
Mrs Macquarie's Chair is a historic carved sandstone bench located on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand-carved by convicts in 1810 for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who enjoyed sitting and viewing the harbour.
Forum Melbourne
Forum Melbourne is a historic entertainment venue located in the central city area. The building features distinctive architectural elements that contribute to its recognition as a significant Melbourne landmark.
Newstead House
Newstead House is a heritage property situated in the Brisbane suburb of Newstead. It stands as one of Queensland's surviving nineteenth-century residences, positioned on the Brisbane River with grounds that form part of the broader riverside parkland.
Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is a public astronomy education facility located within the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha. Named after the astronomer governor of New South Wales, it serves as a cultural and scientific institution for the metropolitan area.
Cleveland Point Lighthouse
Cleveland Point Lighthouse is a navigational aid structure located at Cleveland Point in the Brisbane metropolitan area. The lighthouse sits within the broader network of parks and gardens that characterise Brisbane's coastal and riverside landscape.
Hart's Mill is a historic industrial site located in Port Adelaide, South Australia. The building represents an important part of the region's maritime and milling heritage, situated within the Port Adelaide area that has undergone significant revitalisation.
Montsalvat is an artists' colony and cultural precinct located in Eltham, within the greater Melbourne metropolitan area. Established in the 1930s, it occupies a distinctive hillside property that has served as a creative community for multiple generations.
The Bell Tower
The Bell Tower is a landmark structure in Perth, Western Australia. It houses the Swan Bells, a set of eighteen bells from St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London.
The National Wine Centre of Australia is a visitor attraction in Adelaide dedicated to showcasing Australian wine culture and industry.
Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance is a war memorial located in Brisbane, Queensland. It stands as a commemorative structure dedicated to honoring military personnel who served and sacrificed in armed conflicts.
Brickpit Ring Walk
Brickpit Ring Walk is an elevated circular walkway over a former industrial brickpit in Sydney. The route lets visitors look down into the excavated landscape while remaining on a maintained structure above it.
Streets Beach is an artificial swimming beach in South Bank Parklands, a rare city-centre lagoon where sand, water and Brisbane’s urban skyline meet.
Werribee Park Mansion is an Italianate-style nineteenth-century mansion in the western part of Greater Melbourne. Built in the 1870s, it reflects the wealth of Victoria’s pastoral era and stands at the center of the wider Werribee Park precinct.
Woodbridge House
Woodbridge House is a heritage property in the Perth metropolitan area, representing nineteenth-century domestic architecture and the region's colonial settlement history.
Bare Island Fort is a preserved coastal defence structure on a rocky island in Botany Bay, reached from La Perouse by a narrow causeway. Built in the late nineteenth century, it forms part of Sydney’s military and maritime heritage.
Centre Place is a narrow pedestrian laneway in central Melbourne, running between Flinders Lane and Collins Street.
The Clipper Ship City of Adelaide is a historic sailing vessel and museum ship located in Port Adelaide, South Australia.
Eureka Skydeck, locally known as Melbourne Skydeck, is a prominent observation deck and visitor destination in Melbourne. It offers elevated city views from one of Australia's tallest buildings.
North Head Sanctuary is a protected coastal headland area located at the northern entrance to Sydney Harbour. The site forms part of the traditional lands of the Gayamagal people and holds significant Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Old Petrie Town is a heritage precinct in Brisbane's northern suburbs, preserving historical buildings and rural Queensland character. The site functions as an open-air museum and community gathering place, showcasing relocated and restored structures from the region's pioneering era.
The Round House is the oldest surviving public building in Western Australia, constructed in 1830-1831 shortly after the Swan River Colony was established.
Shark Island is a small harbour island within Sydney Harbour National Park. Its name refers to historical maritime associations, while the visitor experience centres on vegetation, rocky shoreline, picnic areas and views across the harbour.
Story Bridge is Brisbane’s 1,072-metre steel road bridge across the Brisbane River, linking the central city side with Kangaroo Point.
Tangalooma Wrecks is a collection of deliberately sunk vessels located off the coast of Moreton Island, near Brisbane. These shipwrecks were scuttled to create a breakwall for small boats and have since become a significant marine attraction.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Ten to fourteen days should cover one coast, one city pair or one city plus a nearby landscape, not the continent. Sydney and Melbourne can share a southeastern route; Perth, the tropical north and the Red Centre each demand separate flights and more time.
Australia’s Department of Home Affairs is the authority for Visitor visas and electronic travel permissions. Select the product for the passport and purpose, complete required declarations, and remember that visa approval does not remove Australia’s strict biosecurity obligations.
Flights are usually the efficient link between distant states. Rail and coaches serve selected corridors, cars become important outside cities, and urban fare cards are local rather than national; remote drives require fuel, water, communications and realistic distance planning.
Australia’s seasons and hazards vary dramatically by latitude. Southern-city summers, tropical dry seasons and Red Centre heat create different windows, so choose dates for the selected region and check official fire, cyclone or flood advice before road travel.
The Australian dollar is the sole recorded currency. Contactless payment is common, but remote roadhouses and small services justify a backup card or cash; check surcharges at the point of sale and budget fuel around long gaps rather than metropolitan prices.
Use 000 for urgent police, fire or ambulance assistance; Australia uses Type I power at 230 V. Treated public tap supplies are recorded as safe, but remote-site notices take precedence, and travellers should save the state emergency service relevant to their route.
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