A photograph of Australia

Country guide

Places to visit in Australia — page 8

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

50,740 Places
5Cities

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

Cities

Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.

Practical information

Language spoken
English is the principal language; no federal official language
National practical orientation; regional and minority languages may also be used
Dialling code
+61
International calling code; local area and mobile prefixes still apply
Currency
Australian dollar (AUD)
Use the official local currency; card acceptance varies by place
Emergency number
000
Use only for an emergency; tourist assistance may use a separate number
Plug type
Type I · 230 V
Check that chargers support the recorded voltage before using an adapter
Tap water
Safe from treated public supplies
Follow local notices in remote communities and after disruptions

Planning a visit

Seasonal closures come from recorded opening hours.

  1. January: seasonal closure recorded
  2. February: seasonal closure recorded
  3. March: seasonal closure recorded
  4. April: seasonal closure recorded
  5. May: seasonal closure recorded
  6. June: seasonal closure recorded
  7. July: no seasonality data recorded
  8. August: no seasonality data recorded
  9. September: no seasonality data recorded — this month
  10. October: no seasonality data recorded
  11. November: seasonal closure recorded
  12. December: seasonal closure recorded

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

  1. Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
    176 1 hr 30 min

    Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute

    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.

    • High
    • Museum
    • Adelaide
  2. Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo
    177 1 hr 30 min

    Adelaide Zoo

    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.

    • High
    • Family attraction
    • Adelaide
  3. Williamstown Botanic Gardens Williamstown Botanic Gardens
    178 1 hour

    Williamstown Botanic Gardens

    Williamstown Botanic Gardens is a historic public garden in Melbourne's western suburb of Williamstown. Its nineteenth-century origins and Victorian landscape character make it a calm counterpoint to the waterfront's maritime attractions.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Melbourne
  4. Perth Zoo Perth Zoo
    179 1 hr 30 min

    Perth Zoo

    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.

    • High
    • Family attraction
    • Perth
  5. National Wine Centre of Australia National Wine Centre of Australia
    180 45 min

    National Wine Centre of Australia

    The National Wine Centre of Australia is a visitor attraction in Adelaide dedicated to showcasing Australian wine culture and industry.

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Adelaide
  6. Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane
    181 45 min

    Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane

    Shrine of Remembrance

    The Shrine of Remembrance is a war memorial located in Brisbane, Queensland. It stands as a commemorative structure dedicated to honoring military personnel who served and sacrificed in armed conflicts.

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Brisbane
  7. State Brickworks Homebush Bay State Brickworks Homebush Bay
    182 45 min

    State Brickworks Homebush Bay

    Brickpit Ring Walk

    Brickpit Ring Walk is an elevated circular walkway over a former industrial brickpit in Sydney. The route lets visitors look down into the excavated landscape while remaining on a maintained structure above it.

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Sydney
  8. Streets Beach Streets Beach
    183 45 min

    Streets Beach

    Streets Beach is an artificial swimming beach in South Bank Parklands, a rare city-centre lagoon where sand, water and Brisbane’s urban skyline meet.

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Brisbane
  9. Werribee Park Mansion Werribee Park Mansion
    184 45 min

    Werribee Park Mansion

    Werribee Park Mansion is an Italianate-style nineteenth-century mansion in the western part of Greater Melbourne. Built in the 1870s, it reflects the wealth of Victoria’s pastoral era and stands at the center of the wider Werribee Park precinct.

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Melbourne
  10. Woodbridge Woodbridge
    185 45 min

    Woodbridge

    Woodbridge House

    Woodbridge House is a heritage property in the Perth metropolitan area, representing nineteenth-century domestic architecture and the region's colonial settlement history.

    • High
    • Historic monument
    • Perth
  11. Block Arcade Block Arcade
    186 45 min

    Block Arcade

    The Block Arcade is a historic shopping arcade in Melbourne, Victoria. It opened in 1892 and represents a significant example of late Victorian architecture in Australia.

    • High
    • Market
    • Melbourne
  12. Aviation Heritage Museum Aviation Heritage Museum
    187 1 hr 30 min

    Aviation Heritage Museum

    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.

    • High
    • Museum
    • Perth
  13. Bicton Baths Bicton Baths
    188 1 hour

    Bicton Baths

    Bicton Baths is a riverside swimming facility in Bicton, on Perth's Swan River. It belongs to the tradition of enclosed river swimming places that make the metropolitan foreshore distinctive.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Perth
  14. Coogee Beach Coogee Beach
    189 1 hour

    Coogee Beach

    Coogee Beach is a sandy ocean beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, facing the Tasman Sea. It is a straightforward place for swimming, sunbathing, shoreline walks and relaxed coastal views.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Sydney
  15. Edinburgh Gardens Edinburgh Gardens
    190 1 hour

    Edinburgh Gardens

    Edinburgh Gardens is a public park in Fitzroy North, in Melbourne’s inner north. The gardens form a large recreational green space within the City of Yarra and offer a distinctly local way to experience the suburb.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Melbourne
  16. Esplanade Park, Fremantle Esplanade Park, Fremantle
    191 1 hour

    Esplanade Park, Fremantle

    Esplanade Park

    Esplanade Park Fremantle is a public park in Fremantle, the historic port city within the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. It sits near the waterfront and forms part of the recreational landscape around Fremantle’s maritime district.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Perth
  17. Point Cook Coastal Park Point Cook Coastal Park
    192 1 hour

    Point Cook Coastal Park

    Point Cook Coastal Park is a coastal park located in the south-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The park encompasses significant areas of remnant native grassland, wetland habitats, and coastline along Port Phillip Bay.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Melbourne
  18. Rocks Riverside Park Rocks Riverside Park
    193 1 hour

    Rocks Riverside Park

    Rocks Riverside Park is a public park in Brisbane, Queensland. The park sits along the Brisbane River and provides open space for recreation and leisure.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Brisbane
  19. Tamarama Beach Tamarama Beach
    194 1 hour

    Tamarama Beach

    Tamarama Beach is a compact crescent on Sydney’s eastern suburbs coast, positioned between Bondi Beach and Bronte Beach. Steep sandstone headlands press close around the sand, making the Pacific feel immediate and powerful.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Sydney
  20. Veale Gardens Veale Gardens
    195 1 hour

    Veale Gardens

    Veale Gardens is a public garden space located in Adelaide, South Australia. It forms part of the broader Adelaide Park Lands system that encircles the city centre.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Adelaide
  21. Wellington Square Wellington Square
    196 1 hour

    Wellington Square

    Moort-ak Waadiny / Wellington Square

    Wellington Square is a public urban green space in Perth, Western Australia. It offers a simple pause within the city, with open outdoor space suited to a short walk, quiet rest, or a meeting point between central destinations.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Perth
  22. Westgate Park Westgate Park
    197 1 hour

    Westgate Park

    Westgate Park is an open space in western Melbourne beside the West Gate Bridge. Its setting combines riverside and estuarine landscape with the immense scale of major transport infrastructure overhead.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Melbourne
  23. Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park
    198 1 hr 30 min

    Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park

    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.

    • High
    • Family attraction
    • Sydney
  24. Catani Gardens Catani Gardens
    199 1 hour

    Catani Gardens

    Catani Gardens is a public garden space located in the St Kilda area of Melbourne, Victoria.

    • High
    • Nature site
    • Melbourne
  25. Claremont Museum Claremont Museum
    200 1 hr 30 min

    Claremont Museum

    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.

    • High
    • Museum
    • Perth

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·

Common questions

How long should a first trip to Australia be?

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.

What entry documents are needed for Australia?

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.

What is the best way to travel around Australia?

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.

When is a practical time to visit Australia?

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.

What money and payment basics apply in Australia?

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.

What practical safety details should I save for Australia?

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.