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.
90 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
The Melbourne Cricket Ground, commonly called the MCG, is Melbourne's landmark stadium in the sporting precinct east of the central city.
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.
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.
Adelaide Oval is a major sports stadium located in the parklands district of Adelaide, South Australia. It serves as a venue for Australian rules football, cricket, and other events.
Elizabeth Quay is a mixed-use development on Perth's central waterfront, positioned where the Swan River meets the central business district. The precinct redeveloped former industrial and transport lands into a publicly accessible leisure and entertainment zone.
State Library Victoria is a major public reference library in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1854, it occupies a prominent position in the city's cultural and civic landscape.
Swan Valley is a recognised tourism and wine-producing region situated in the upper reaches of the Swan River, northeast of Perth's central business district.
Hahndorf is a township in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, approximately 28 kilometres east of Adelaide's central business district. Established in 1839 by Prussian Lutheran immigrants, it holds distinction as Australia's oldest surviving German settlement.
Howard Smith Wharves is a heritage-listed riverside precinct beneath the Story Bridge in Brisbane. Originally constructed as wharves in the 1930s, the site was redeveloped into a dining and entertainment destination.
Brisbane City Hall is a heritage-listed municipal building located in King George Square, serving as the seat of the Brisbane City Council. Completed in 1930 after a decade of construction, it remains one of the city's most prominent civic landmarks.
The Mortlock Wing is a heritage-listed reading room and exhibition space within the State Library of South Australia on North Terrace in Adelaide.
North Terrace is a premier boulevard in Adelaide, South Australia, forming the northern edge of the Adelaide city centre grid. It functions as a significant cultural precinct, hosting major state institutions along its length.
Optus Stadium is a major sports and entertainment venue located in Perth, Western Australia. It serves as the primary home ground for Australian Football League matches featuring the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers.
Matagarup Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge spanning the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. The bridge connects the East Perth and Burswood precincts, providing access to the Optus Stadium area.
Brisbane Powerhouse is a former power station redeveloped as a contemporary arts and cultural venue. Located on the Brisbane River at New Farm, the industrial heritage building now hosts theatre, dance, music, comedy, visual arts and festivals.
Hillarys Boat Harbour is a recreational marina and leisure precinct located approximately 20 kilometres north-west of Perth's central business district, within the City of Joondalup local government area.
Fortitude Valley is an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, situated immediately northeast of the central business district. Historically an industrial and working-class area, it evolved into a prominent entertainment precinct from the late twentieth century.
Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is a working harbour located in Fremantle, a port city within the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia. It serves as a base for commercial fishing vessels and has developed into a significant visitor destination.
The Adelaide Festival Centre is South Australia's principal performing arts venue and the heart of Adelaide's cultural precinct. Located on the banks of the River Torrens, it was Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre when established.
The WA Maritime Museum is a maritime history museum located in Fremantle, Western Australia. It sits at the entrance to Fremantle Harbour, occupying a prominent waterfront position at Victoria Quay.
Fremantle Arts Centre is a public arts venue located in the port city of Fremantle, part of the greater Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia.
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is a major performing arts venue located in Brisbane's South Bank cultural precinct. It serves as Queensland's premier destination for theatre, music, dance, and opera.
The State Library of New South Wales is Australia's oldest library, established in 1826. It occupies a prominent position on Macquarie Street in Sydney's central business district, adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden.
State Library of Queensland is the principal reference and research library of the state, located in the Queensland Cultural Centre on the South Bank of the Brisbane River.
Adelaide Town Hall is a working civic and cultural landmark at 128 King William Street, not a museum with a fixed visitor circuit.
The Army Museum of Western Australia is a military heritage institution located in the Perth metropolitan area. It preserves and presents the history of the Australian Army in Western Australia, covering conflicts from colonial times through to contemporary operations.
Waite Arboretum is a botanical collection situated in Adelaide's southern suburbs, within the grounds of the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus at Urrbrae. The arboretum occupies land bequeathed through the Waite Agricultural Research Institute legacy.
Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour, positioned where the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers meet. It forms part of the Australian Convict Sites UNESCO World Heritage property.
The Australian Museum is Sydney’s natural-history and cultural museum on William Street, opposite Hyde Park and St Mary’s Cathedral. Its collections and exhibitions connect Australian wildlife, geology and biodiversity with First Nations cultural material.
Hyde Park Barracks is a historic Georgian building on Macquarie Street beside Hyde Park in central Sydney. Built in the early nineteenth century, it first housed transported convicts and later served as an immigration depot and government offices.
The Mint
The Mint is a heritage building in Sydney associated with Australia’s colonial period and the early development of the city. Its sandstone construction reflects the architectural character of historic Sydney.
Sydney Observatory is a heritage astronomical observatory and museum located in The Rocks area of Sydney. Established in 1858, it occupies a prominent position on Observatory Hill near the harbour.
Melbourne Museum is a large museum in Carlton where natural history, social history and cultural material share one visitor complex.
The Australian National Maritime Museum is a major cultural institution located in Sydney's Darling Harbour. It preserves and presents Australia's maritime heritage through exhibitions, vessels, and programs.
The South Australian Museum is a major natural history and cultural institution in Adelaide. It occupies a prominent position on North Terrace in the cultural precinct.
Melbourne Zoological Gardens
Melbourne Zoo is a zoological park situated in the city of Melbourne, Victoria. Established in 1862, it holds distinction as Australia's oldest zoo and one of the world's oldest.
Elizabeth Bay House is an 1830s colonial residence built for Alexander Macleay, the colony’s colonial secretary, in Sydney’s inner east.
Elizabeth Farm is a historic house museum in Sydney's Parramatta area and one of Australia's oldest surviving European buildings. John and Elizabeth Macarthur's house was constructed in 1793 and is closely connected with the beginnings of Australia's wool industry.
The Immigration Museum is a museum in Melbourne dedicated to the history of immigration to Australia. It explores the stories of people who have migrated to Victoria and Australia, examining the causes, processes, and impacts of immigration.
The Museum of Sydney is a history museum near Circular Quay on the site of Australia’s first Government House, built in 1788. It explores Sydney’s colonial foundations, Indigenous history and continuing urban development through archaeology, objects, art and multimedia.
Queensland Museum Kurilpa is Queensland's state museum at the Queensland Cultural Centre in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Its public galleries connect natural history, palaeontology, biodiversity, technology, cultural history and First Nations stories with the museum's active collections and research.
Susannah Place Museum preserves a terrace of four houses built in 1844 in Sydney’s The Rocks. The site presents working-class domestic life across more than 150 years, showing how successive families lived within a compact urban terrace.
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is a Melbourne art gallery devoted to Australian art and located within the Federation Square precinct.
Migration Museum South Australia
The Migration Museum in Adelaide is a cultural institution dedicated to documenting and sharing the stories of people who have migrated to South Australia. It explores themes of displacement, settlement, identity, and belonging through personal narratives and historical records.
Carrick Hill is a historic house and garden estate located in Adelaide, South Australia.
Experiment Farm Cottage is a heritage property in Parramatta, western Sydney, connected with Australia’s early colonial agricultural history. The cottage represents the period when European settlers experimented with farming and food production around the developing colony.
Scienceworks is a science museum and technology centre in Spotswood, Melbourne, operated as part of Museums Victoria. It is designed for active learning, with exhibitions that turn scientific principles, technology and industrial history into experiences visitors can explore.
Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip
WA Museum Boola Bardip is the state museum of Western Australia, located within the Perth Cultural Centre. Its name, from the Noongar language, means many stories.
Taronga Zoo Sydney is a major zoological garden located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman. Established in 1916, it occupies a prominent harbourside position offering views toward the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Hellenic Museum is a cultural institution in Melbourne dedicated to preserving and showcasing Greek history, art, and culture. Located in the city, it serves as a bridge between Australia's Greek community heritage and broader public engagement.
RAAF Museum is the official museum of the Royal Australian Air Force at Point Cook, southwest of Melbourne. It presents Australian military aviation history on a site recognised as the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force.
The South Australian Aviation Museum is a heritage aviation museum located within the Adelaide Park Lands. It preserves and displays aircraft and aviation artifacts significant to South Australia's aerospace history.
ACMI is Melbourne’s museum of screen culture, focused on the moving image rather than a general museum collection. Its identity is built around film, television, videogames and the ways people create, watch and interact with screen media.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is a dedicated Australian wildlife sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket, reached from Brisbane rather than encountered in the city centre.
National Rail Museum
The National Railway Museum is a railway heritage museum located in the Adelaide metropolitan area of South Australia. It preserves and displays Australia's railway history through locomotives, carriages, and associated artefacts.
The South Australian Maritime Museum is a cultural institution in Adelaide dedicated to the maritime heritage of South Australia.
Koorie Heritage Trust is an Aboriginal cultural centre in Melbourne dedicated to preserving and sharing the living culture of south-eastern Australia’s First Peoples. It offers travellers a place to encounter Koorie heritage through collections, exhibitions and cultural programming.
The Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying is a specialist museum in Brisbane dedicated to the history of land administration, cartography, and surveying in Queensland.
SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium
SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium is a marine life attraction situated in central Melbourne. The facility presents aquatic environments and marine species to visitors seeking engagement with underwater ecosystems.
The Abbey Museum of Art & Archaeology
The Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology is a cultural institution in the Greater Brisbane region, dedicated to collecting and displaying art and archaeological artefacts.
The Brisbane Tramway Museum is a heritage transport museum located in the Brisbane metropolitan area. It preserves and operates historic tramcars that once served the city of Brisbane.
The Queensland Maritime Museum is a maritime heritage institution located in Brisbane. It occupies a site at the South Brisbane Dry Dock on the Brisbane River.
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is a large public aquarium situated in Darling Harbour, a waterfront entertainment precinct in central Sydney.
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute stands as a dedicated Aboriginal cultural centre in Adelaide, South Australia. The institution serves as a gallery and performance space focused on promoting contemporary and traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture.
Adelaide Zoo is a zoological garden in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1883, it is Australia's second oldest zoo and occupies land near the River Torrens.
Perth Zoo is a zoological park located in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1898, it occupies a position along the Swan River in the suburb of South Perth.
Aviation Heritage Museum is a Perth museum devoted to aviation history, aircraft preservation and the material culture of flight. It gives visitors a concentrated way to explore aerospace heritage through preserved aircraft, equipment and related objects.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park is a wildlife park located in the Greater Sydney region, offering visitors opportunities to encounter native Australian animals. The facility focuses on Australian fauna including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, and various bird species.
Freshwater Bay Museum
Claremont Museum is a local heritage museum in Perth’s western suburbs. Its focus is the history of Claremont and the surrounding community, presented through artefacts, documents, photographs, and stories connected with the district.
Wireless Hill Museum stands in the Wireless Hill Park area of Applecross and explores the history of early wireless communication.
WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo
WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo is a wildlife attraction located in the Darling Harbour precinct of Sydney. The facility presents Australian native animals in themed habitat zones designed for visitor engagement and education.
Sydney Zoo is a zoological park in the Sydney metropolitan area, designed around animal exhibits, wildlife education, and conservation engagement. It gives visitors a dedicated setting for seeing animals while learning about the natural world.
Gorge Wildlife Park is a privately operated wildlife attraction in Adelaide’s hills, east of the central business district.
AQWA – The Aquarium of Western Australia
AQWA - The Aquarium of Western Australia is a large-scale marine aquarium located in the Perth metropolitan area.
Raging Waters Sydney
Raging Waters Sydney is a commercial outdoor water park in the greater Sydney region. It is designed around water-based recreation, giving visitors a destination for swimming, slides, and active leisure during suitable seasonal conditions.
Werribee Open Range Zoo is an open-range zoo located in Werribee, approximately 32 kilometres south-west of Melbourne's central business district. The zoo forms part of Zoos Victoria, a not-for-profit conservation organisation.
Caversham Wildlife Park is a wildlife attraction in the Perth metropolitan region, north-east of the central business district. It focuses on Australian animals and gives visitors an accessible introduction to native wildlife.
Bay Discovery Centre is a cultural venue located in Adelaide, South Australia. The centre occupies a heritage building at Glenelg, the historic beachside suburb of Adelaide.
Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre is an environmental education facility located in the Boondall Wetlands Reserve in northern Brisbane. The centre serves as a gateway to one of the largest remaining wetland areas on the eastern coast of Australia.
Collingwood Children's Farm is a working farm in Abbotsford, an inner Melbourne suburb beside the Yarra River. It gives city visitors a chance to see agricultural life and domesticated animals in a metropolitan setting.
Kalamunda History Village is a heritage attraction in the Perth Hills of Western Australia. It presents the story of Kalamunda and its surrounding community through preserved historic buildings, local objects, and interpretive displays.
Karawatha Forest Discovery Centre is a nature interpretation facility located within Karawatha Forest, a significant bushland reserve in Brisbane's southern suburbs.
MOD. at UniSA is a futuristic museum and gallery operated by the University of South Australia on its North Terrace campus in Adelaide.
The Motor Museum of Western Australia is a curated automotive heritage institution located in the Perth metropolitan area. It preserves and displays vehicles significant to Western Australia's motoring history.
Museum of Brisbane is the city’s museum inside Brisbane City Hall, on Level 3 above King George Square. Its subject is Brisbane itself: the city’s stories, people, places and changing identity are interpreted through exhibitions in the civic heart.
Pine Rivers Heritage Museum preserves the local story of the Pine Rivers region in Brisbane's northern suburbs.
Scitech is a science discovery centre located in Perth, Western Australia. It serves as an educational and interactive attraction designed to engage visitors with scientific concepts through hands-on exhibits and experiences.
Wadjemup Museum is a cultural museum on Wadjemup / Rottnest Island, reached from Perth by ferry. It occupies a heritage building connected with the island’s former prison period.
The WA Shipwrecks Museum is a maritime heritage institution operated by the Western Australian Museum. It is located in Fremantle, the port city of the Perth metropolitan area.
Fire Services Museum
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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