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
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
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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