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.
110 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Glenelg Beach is Adelaide's best-known metropolitan beach precinct, centred on the sand, Glenelg Jetty, Moseley Square and the western end of Jetty Road.
Mount Coot-tha Lookout is a prominent elevated viewing platform situated in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland.
Cleland Wildlife Park is a wildlife attraction in the Adelaide Hills region near Adelaide, South Australia. The park is situated within Cleland Conservation Park and offers visitors encounters with native Australian animals.
River Torrens Linear Park is a public open space corridor following the River Torrens through Adelaide. It forms part of the broader Adelaide Park Lands system, which encircles the city centre.
Elder Park is a public park situated on the southern bank of the River Torrens in Adelaide, South Australia. It forms part of the linear parklands that characterise the city's layout.
Waterfall Gully is a valley and recreational area located in the Adelaide Hills face zone, within the Greater Adelaide metropolitan area.
Carlton Gardens is a heritage-listed public garden located in the inner-city suburb of Carlton, adjacent to the Melbourne central business district.
Royal National Park is a large protected landscape on Sydney’s southern edge, stretching between eucalyptus forest, sandstone country, coastal heath and the Pacific shoreline. Established in 1879, it is recognised as one of the world’s oldest national parks.
Royal Botanic Garden
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is a major botanical garden occupying a prominent harbourside position in the Sydney central business district.
Hyde Park is a 16-hectare public park in the centre of Sydney, stretching between the city’s museum and civic precincts. Governor Macquarie proclaimed and named it in 1810, and the City of Sydney identifies it as Australia’s oldest park.
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a protected national park located north of Sydney. It encompasses significant natural landscapes including bushland, waterways, and Aboriginal heritage sites.
Brisbane City Botanic Gardens
City Botanic Gardens is a historic riverside botanic garden in Brisbane. The current curated ranking identifies the exact production place and prioritises it for garden paths, mature planting, lawns, and a river-edge setting beside central Brisbane.
Kamay Botany Bay National Park protects coastal landscapes and culturally significant places around Botany Bay in Sydney. Its two principal visitor areas are Kurnell and La Perouse.
John Forrest National Park is a protected bushland area in Perth’s Darling Range, offering a close-to-the-city escape into jarrah and marri forest. Established in 1900, it is one of Western Australia’s oldest national parks.
The Chinese Garden of Friendship is a traditional Chinese garden located in Sydney. It was established as a symbol of friendship between Sydney and its sister city in China, Guangzhou.
Fitzroy Gardens is a historic public garden in Melbourne, Victoria, situated on the city's eastern fringe near the central business district.
Anzac Square
ANZAC Square is a war memorial and public park in central Brisbane, Queensland. It commemorates Australian and New Zealand Army Corps personnel who served in conflicts.
Manly Beach is a broad ocean beach reached through the Manly peninsula, combining surf frontage with a harbour-to-ocean visitor route.
Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha is a major botanical garden located in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland. It serves as Brisbane's premier botanical collection and is distinct from the city's other green spaces.
Bondi Beach is Sydney’s broad, crescent-shaped Pacific shoreline, where a long sweep of sand meets surf, sandstone headlands and the busy Bondi promenade.
Stirling Gardens is a public garden and recognised heritage landmark in central Perth, Western Australia. It contributes to the city’s network of green spaces and offers a quieter setting within the metropolitan centre.
Treasury Gardens is a public park in Melbourne, Victoria. It sits adjacent to the Treasury Building on Spring Street, near the eastern edge of the central business district.
Fort Lytton National Park is a heritage-listed military precinct located at the mouth of the Brisbane River. Established in 1881, the site served as Brisbane's principal coastal defence fortification until the end of World War II.
Adelaide Himeji Japanese Garden
Adelaide Himeji Garden is a Japanese-style garden in Adelaide, South Australia. It was established as a symbol of the sister-city relationship between Adelaide and Himeji, Japan.
Araluen Botanic Park is a botanic garden in a sheltered Darling Range valley east of Perth. Its terraced gardens, heritage character and cooler microclimate create a garden experience distinct from the warmer coastal plain.
Cottesloe Beach is a coastal beach located in the western suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It sits along the Indian Ocean shoreline and forms part of the metropolitan area's beach network.
Fort Glanville Conservation Park is a heritage-listed site in Adelaide, South Australia, preserving a 19th-century coastal fortification. The park contains the remains of Fort Glanville, constructed as part of colonial Australia's defensive network against potential maritime threats.
New Farm Park is a public park in Brisbane, situated in the inner suburb of New Farm. The park occupies a prominent riverside position along the Brisbane River, making it one of the city's more notable green spaces.
Rippon Lea Estate is a heritage property in Melbourne’s Ripponlea suburb, combining a nineteenth-century mansion with extensive pleasure gardens.
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
Adelaide Botanic Garden is a major public garden in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1855, it occupies a significant site on the edge of the city centre.
Belair National Park is a protected area within the greater Adelaide metropolitan region, managed by the South Australian Department for Environment and Water. Established in 1891, it holds distinction as one of Australia's oldest national parks.
Organ Pipes National Park is a protected natural area in Melbourne’s north-west, centred on a striking formation of basalt columns beside Jacksons Creek. Ancient volcanic activity shaped the dark, closely packed pillars that give the park its name.
South Bank Parklands is Brisbane’s riverside public parkland on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, beside the city’s cultural precinct.
Sherwood Arboretum is a public park and botanical collection in the Sherwood suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Established in the 1920s, it occupies riverside land along the Brisbane River.
Bathers Beach is a coastal area in Fremantle, the port city at the mouth of the Swan River within the greater Perth metropolitan region of Western Australia.
Anstey Hill Recreation Park is a protected natural area in the Adelaide metropolitan region, managed by the South Australian Department for Environment and Water through the Parks SA network.
Bronte Beach is a coastal beach within the Sydney metropolitan area, located in the eastern suburbs. It forms part of the sequence of beaches along Sydney's southeastern coastline.
Marmion Marine Park is a protected marine area located off the coast of Perth, Western Australia. Established to conserve marine ecosystems, the park encompasses coastal waters, reefs, and islands that support diverse marine life.
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden is a botanical garden situated in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It forms part of the network of botanic gardens managed under the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia.
Royal Botanic Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria is Melbourne Gardens, a living botanical landscape beside the city centre rather than a single indoor attraction. Its identity comes from planted collections, lawns, lakes and winding paths that make the garden itself the experience.
St Kilda Beach is a sandy beach located in the inner-southern suburb of St Kilda, approximately six kilometres from Melbourne's central business district.
Davies Park is a public park in Brisbane, Queensland, managed by Brisbane City Council. It serves as recreational green space within the metropolitan area and is included in curated visitor rankings for the city.
Birrarung Marr is a public park in Melbourne situated along the Yarra River. Its name derives from Woiwurrung language, with Birrarung meaning river of mists and Marr referring to the side of the river.
Black Hill Conservation Park is a protected natural area within the Adelaide metropolitan region. The park forms part of the Mount Lofty Ranges and serves as a significant conservation reserve preserving native vegetation and providing habitat for local wildlife.
Brownhill Creek Recreation Park is a public park situated within the Adelaide Park Lands system. It occupies a portion of the extensive Park Lands that encircle the central business district of Adelaide, South Australia.
Hallett Cove Conservation Park is a protected coastal reserve in the Adelaide metropolitan area, South Australia. The park preserves significant geological formations and Aboriginal cultural heritage along the shoreline of Gulf St Vincent.
Marino Conservation Park is a compact coastal reserve in metropolitan Adelaide, 18 km south of the city. It protects native vegetation while remaining accessible from surrounding streets and the Seaford railway corridor.
Morialta Conservation Park protects a steep gorge landscape in the Adelaide Hills, about 10 kilometres northeast of central Adelaide. Fourth Creek, rocky cliffs, eucalypt woodland and seasonal waterfalls create a substantial bushland destination close to the city.
Roma Street Parklands
Roma Street Parklands is a landscaped urban parkland in central Brisbane, immediately beside Roma Street station and the Brisbane Coach Terminal. Its character comes from connected planted areas, lawns, paths, hillside levels, the Spectacle Garden and the Rainforest Walk.
Supreme Court Gardens is a public garden in central Perth, Western Australia, beside the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The garden forms part of a significant civic and heritage precinct within the city’s central business district.
Williamstown Botanic Gardens is a historic public garden in Melbourne's western suburb of Williamstown. Its nineteenth-century origins and Victorian landscape character make it a calm counterpoint to the waterfront's maritime attractions.
Bicton Baths is a riverside swimming facility in Bicton, on Perth's Swan River. It belongs to the tradition of enclosed river swimming places that make the metropolitan foreshore distinctive.
Coogee Beach is a sandy ocean beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, facing the Tasman Sea. It is a straightforward place for swimming, sunbathing, shoreline walks and relaxed coastal views.
Edinburgh Gardens is a public park in Fitzroy North, in Melbourne’s inner north. The gardens form a large recreational green space within the City of Yarra and offer a distinctly local way to experience the suburb.
Esplanade Park
Esplanade Park Fremantle is a public park in Fremantle, the historic port city within the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. It sits near the waterfront and forms part of the recreational landscape around Fremantle’s maritime district.
Point Cook Coastal Park is a coastal park located in the south-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The park encompasses significant areas of remnant native grassland, wetland habitats, and coastline along Port Phillip Bay.
Rocks Riverside Park is a public park in Brisbane, Queensland. The park sits along the Brisbane River and provides open space for recreation and leisure.
Tamarama Beach is a compact crescent on Sydney’s eastern suburbs coast, positioned between Bondi Beach and Bronte Beach. Steep sandstone headlands press close around the sand, making the Pacific feel immediate and powerful.
Veale Gardens is a public garden space located in Adelaide, South Australia. It forms part of the broader Adelaide Park Lands system that encircles the city centre.
Moort-ak Waadiny / Wellington Square
Wellington Square is a public urban green space in Perth, Western Australia. It offers a simple pause within the city, with open outdoor space suited to a short walk, quiet rest, or a meeting point between central destinations.
Westgate Park is an open space in western Melbourne beside the West Gate Bridge. Its setting combines riverside and estuarine landscape with the immense scale of major transport infrastructure overhead.
Catani Gardens is a public garden space located in the St Kilda area of Melbourne, Victoria.
Rottnest Island, also known as Wadjemup, is a Class A Reserve off the Western Australian coast.
Kings Park and Botanic Garden is a major parkland in Perth, Western Australia. It occupies a prominent position on the western edge of the central business district, overlooking the Swan River.
William Ricketts Sanctuary is a cultural and spiritual attraction in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne. It preserves the sculptural work of William Ricketts, an Australian potter and sculptor who created clay figures integrated into the natural forest environment.
Barangaroo Reserve
Barangaroo Reserve is a landscaped harbour headland built around sandstone terraces, foreshore paths, and views across western Sydney Harbour.
Blaxland Riverside Park is a public park situated along the Parramatta River in Sydney. It forms part of the broader Sydney Olympic Park precinct, developed from the site of the 2000 Olympic Games.
Clovelly Beach is a compact coastal inlet in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Its narrow, channel-like shape differs from a broad surf beach: concrete platforms and promenades follow rocky edges around the water.
Elwood Beach is a sandy coastal area located within the broader Melbourne metropolitan region. Positioned on Port Phillip Bay, it forms part of the continuous shoreline that serves both recreational and residential functions for the city.
Nudgee Beach is a coastal locality and beach area within the greater Brisbane metropolitan region in Queensland, Australia. It sits on the shores of Moreton Bay, forming part of the city's north-eastern coastline.
Scarborough Beach is a prominent coastal destination within the Perth metropolitan area, located along the Indian Ocean shoreline. The beach forms part of the broader Scarborough precinct, which has undergone significant redevelopment in recent decades.
Trigg Beach is a northern Perth beach on the Indian Ocean, known for its sandy shore, exposed reef and surf breaks. It suits travellers seeking an active metropolitan coast: swimming, surfing, walking and watching waves all belong naturally here.
Victorian State Rose Garden
Victoria State Rose Garden is a horticultural attraction in the Melbourne area, centred on curated rose plantings maintained for public appreciation and botanical interest.
The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is a protected marine area located in the Port River and Barker Inlet region north of Adelaide's central business district.
Albert Park Lake is a large artificial lake situated within Albert Park, approximately three kilometres south of Melbourne's central business district. The lake forms the centrepiece of a broader parkland area that serves multiple recreational and sporting functions.
Bold Park is a large urban bushland reserve in Perth’s western suburbs, preserving remnant vegetation on the Swan Coastal Plain. It gives visitors a chance to exchange city streets for native bushland, varied ground, birds and other wildlife.
Bunyaville Conservation Park is a protected natural area located within the Greater Brisbane metropolitan region. The park preserves remnant bushland and provides habitat for native flora and fauna.
Como House and Garden
Como House and Garden is a heritage estate in Melbourne, combining a historic house with landscaped grounds.
Coogee Beach is a coastal beach located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. It sits within the broader Cockburn region south-west of Perth's central business district.
Cylinder Beach is a coastal locality on North Stradbroke Island, part of the Moreton Bay region associated with Brisbane. The beach lies within a recognised natural coastal environment that forms part of the broader Stradbroke Island landscape.
D'Aguilar National Park is a protected natural area situated in the vicinity of Brisbane, Queensland.
Dandenong Ranges National Park is a protected mountain landscape east of Melbourne, known for cool temperate rainforest, mountain ash forest and dense fern gullies.
Enoggera Reservoir is a heritage-listed water supply reservoir located in Brisbane's north-western suburbs. Constructed in the 1860s, it represents one of Queensland's earliest major public water infrastructure projects.
Freshwater Beach is a sandy coastal cove in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, set between two headlands. Its sheltered shape makes it a natural place for swimming, surfing, sunbathing and a relaxed seaside walk.
Grange Beach is a coastal beach located within the Adelaide metropolitan area in South Australia. It forms part of the shoreline fronting the suburb of Grange, positioned north-west of Adelaide's central business district.
Henley Beach is a coastal suburb and beach located in Adelaide's western suburbs, approximately 10 kilometres west of the central business district. The area forms part of the Adelaide metropolitan coastline along Gulf St Vincent.
Jawbone Marine Sanctuary is a protected marine area located in Melbourne's vicinity. The sanctuary preserves coastal waters and marine ecosystems, offering visitors a chance to observe natural underwater environments.
Kangaroo Point Cliffs is Brisbane’s distinctive river-edge recreation landscape: a band of red-brown cliffs rising beside the Brisbane River, with the city centre spread across the water.
Kingston Park Coastal Reserve is a coastal open space within the Adelaide metropolitan area, situated along the shoreline of southern Adelaide. The reserve forms part of the continuous coastal belt that characterises this section of the Gulf St Vincent coastline.
Lesmurdie Falls National Park is a Perth Hills nature destination centred on a waterfall descending the Darling Scarp. The escarpment setting creates a strong contrast between elevated bushland and views toward the coastal plain.
Melbourne Park is Melbourne's major sports and entertainment precinct and the principal home of the Australian Open tennis tournament. The site brings together stadiums, tennis courts, event spaces, and public movement routes beside the Yarra River.
Mettams Pool is a natural swimming spot on Perth’s coast, formed by rocky reef that creates a partially sheltered pool beside the open ocean.
Minnippi Parklands is a public park area in Brisbane, included in curated metropolitan visitor rankings as a notable green space. The parklands form part of Brisbane's broader network of recreational areas accessible to residents and visitors.
Mount George Conservation Park is a protected natural area situated within the greater Adelaide region of South Australia. The park forms part of the Mount Lofty Ranges and preserves significant bushland habitat characteristic of the Adelaide Hills environment.
Nerima Gardens is a Japanese-style garden located in Brisbane, Queensland. It forms part of the broader network of parks and gardens across the Brisbane metropolitan area.
Newport Lakes Reserve is a public park and nature reserve in the inner-western Melbourne suburb of Newport. The site occupies a former bluestone quarry that operated from the mid-1800s until 1978.
Nielsen Park is a heritage-listed public park situated within Sydney Harbour National Park in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The park occupies a prominent harbour foreland position in Vaucluse, offering sheltered swimming beaches and picnic grounds.
Northshore Riverside Park is a public riverside green space located along the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland.
Orleigh Park is a public park situated in the inner-western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland. It occupies a riverside position along the Brisbane River within the West End locality.
Palm Beach is a coastal suburb and beach at the northern end of Sydney's Northern Beaches peninsula. A narrow isthmus places the Pacific Ocean on one side and Pittwater on the other, giving the area two contrasting waterfronts.
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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