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.
307 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is a dedicated Australian wildlife sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket, reached from Brisbane rather than encountered in the city centre.
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.
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.
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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