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, abo...
Photograph · Corey Leopold · CC BY 2.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
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.
Checked 2026-08-25
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
Seasonal closures come from recorded opening hours.
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
90 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
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.
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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