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.
217 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
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.
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.
Capitol Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre located in Sydney, Australia. The building occupies a prominent position within the city's entertainment district. Originally constructed in the early twentieth century, the theatre has undergone various transformations throughout its history.
St Peter’s Cathedral
St Peter's Cathedral is a prominent Anglican cathedral in Adelaide, South Australia. It serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Adelaide and stands as a significant religious and architectural landmark within the metropolitan area.
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.
The Queen Victoria Building is a heritage-listed late nineteenth-century building in the Sydney central business district. Designed by architect George McRae and completed in 1898, it occupies an entire city block.
Good Shepherd Chapel
Abbotsford Convent is a heritage-listed multi-use precinct occupying former convent grounds in Melbourne's inner north-east. The site encompasses multiple nineteenth-century buildings set within substantial gardens along the Yarra River.
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.
Her Majesty's Theatre is a historic performance venue in Melbourne's East End Theatre District. The theatre opened in 1886 and remains a working commercial venue for musicals, plays, and live entertainment.
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.
Saint George's Cathedral
St George's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in central Perth, Western Australia, and the principal place of worship for the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is both an active religious building and a recognised metropolitan landmark.
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.
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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