Where to explore Australia under city lights

Georgina Safe Georgina Safe
hero media
Cities: busy, exciting, chaotic, inspiring; too much to do and not enough time. And that’s why we love ’em. To help you navigate your way through 2017, we’ve picked some WONDERFUL ways to enjoy the big smoke.

 

1. A cellar door in the urban sprawl

URBAN WINERY SYDNEY, NSW

Urban wineries are a cultural mainstay in Europe and New York, but the Urban Winery Sydney is one of the first of its kind in Australia.

A large-scale working winery in the city’s inner-west, the venture is the brainchild of Alex Retief, who wanted to offer Sydney city slickers a taste of the vine without a schlep to the country.

Try a tasting or one of the popular winemaker and chef dinners.

 

2. Shop like a fashion insider

MELBOURNE, VIC

Melbourne fashion designers Georgie and Alex Cleary of cult label Alpha60 share tips for the best retail therapy and food in their city:

“Search out World Food Books on level three of the Nicholas Building in the city but don’t be confused by the name; there are no cookbooks here.

Instead you’ll find a great range of contemporary art journals and limited edition artist books.

Then pop around the corner to Pieces of Eight, which specialises in super cool and interesting jewellery.

If you like jewellery and craft, you’ll love Craft Victoria.

Part gallery, part shop, it has an amazing array of artisan products including work by local potters and woodworkers.

Visit us in our new Flinders Lane store, Alpha60 at Chapter House.

“For food, Embla is a wine bar in the CBD by the renowned chefs from The Town Mouse. Don’t be put off by the laminex tables and bright lighting in the no-frills Chinese diner

Shandong Mama as the dumplings are authentic and delicious.

Meyers Place is one of the original laneway bars, over 20 years old – and still one of the coolest bars in town."

 

3. A taste of the tropics

DARWIN, NT

Darwin has some of the best markets in the Northern Territory, packed full of the best food and views in all of Australia.

Some of the best food to be devoured in Darwin is at its myriad markets, where cross-cultural influences, fresh flavours and stupendous sunsets and sunrises abound.

At the Rapid Creek Markets, Darwin’s oldest, you’ll find Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan and Filipino shoppers jostling for produce, while at the Nightcliff Markets you can linger a little longer over live music, good food and coffee.

Pick up some crafts or flowers at the Parap Markets or listen to buskers and other live entertainers at the Palmerston Markets.

The Mindil Beach Sunset Markets are a bit of a tourist trap, but once you’ve experienced that sunset you’ll understand it’s for a good reason.
darwin.nt.gov.au/explore/markets

 

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

4. Get to know the capital from a kid’s eye view

CANBERRA, ACT 

The family that stargazes together, stays together, so take a night tour of the famous Mount Stromlo Observatory.

To cool off during the day, visit the historic art deco Manuka Swimming Pool, before filling young minds at the likes of Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre, The National Arboretum parks and gardens or the National Museum of Australia; all of which make the capital a paradise for kids – meaning a happy holiday destination for parents, too.

Check out our guide to Canberra for families for more.

 

5. A heritage walk in the other West End

FREMANTLE, WA 

An old port town and part of the Greater Perth region, the atmosphere and history of Fremantle is intoxicating.

The streets of its West End are lined with impeccably preserved Victorian-era buildings, and visitors can explore antique shops, book stores, heritage pubs and new cafes.

Take a dip at Bathers beach or Port Beach before visiting the Fremantle Art Centre for a performance or exhibition.

 

6. You won’t mind if this track work interrupts your journey

CARRIAGEWORKS, SYDNEY, NSW

You’ve seen a performance at the Opera House and a play at the Sydney Theatre Company, so next time you’re in Sydney venture a little further afield to the city’s inner-west and discover one of the best cultural venues in Australia – Carriageworks in Eveleigh.

 

7. Find moments of Japanese calm in the metropolitan madness

MELBOURNE, VIC

Melbourne might be our food, wine and coffee capital, but it also has some of the best Japanese bathhouses in Australia.

Weary travellers can soak and steam at The Japanese Bath House in Collingwood, which has been open since 1999 and underwent a slick refurbishment in 2015.

Men and women have their own bathing areas and everything is provided, including towels, soap, robes and shampoo.

For a more upmarket unrobing, try Onsen Ma at Meyers Place in the city.

It offers exquisitely serene designer baths as well as Japanese massage packages, as does the Japanese health space Sensu Spa.

 

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

8. Design dreams in our island state

HOBART, TAS

Hobart has some of the best seafood and wine in the country, but did you know it also has some of the nation’s best design stores?

Look a little further than the architectural marvel that is Mona and discover design treasure troves such as LUC for homewares and interiors, FIND Collective for contemporary jewellery and Handmark Gallery for Tasmanian art and craft.

 

9. Some coriander with your morning coffee?

BRISBANE, QLD

Ethnic breakfasts are one of the biggest food trends, and Brisbane dishes up three of the best.

Try West End Coffee House for Thai food with your morning latte.

Cook Em Clare hails from Isaan in Thailand and has a breakfast menu including Chinese leek dumplings and khao tom gai, an aromatic Thai rice soup with chicken and ginger.

PawPaw serves a south-east Asian menu including a Bali bowl and an Asian omelette, while Café Ó-mai specialises in Vietnamese breakfast dishes such as claypot-baked eggs with Vietnamese lemongrass pork sausage and tamarind sauce.

 

10. Step into the private world of an art obsessive

THE DAVID ROCHE FOUNDATION,
ADELAIDE, SA

If you love quirky house museums of the super-wealthy, such as the Frick Collection Museum in New York, you’ll adore The David Roche Foundation collection in Adelaide.

Roche was an avid collector of decorative arts, and his collection spans two centuries of European design – from French Rococo to the Fabergé of Russia.

Housed in his original residence, Fermoy House, and a new adjoining building, IT offers a fascinating insight into Roche’s life and passions.

Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set Australian Traveller as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Georgina Safe

Georgina Safe

View profile and articles
the pool at Alex Beach Cabins & Tourist Park, Mooloolaba
Australia

Something in the future.

Read more
Coffee being poured with latte art
Australia

Australia’s best coffee revealed – and it isn’t where you think it is

The judges have spoken, and the flavours taking top honours are ones you’ll want to try.

Read more
The converted bakery and off-grid cabin crowned in best Airbnb stays
Australia

This off-grid Blue Mountains cabin was just crowned Airbnb’s best nature escape

Airbnb just unveiled the winners of its 2025 Australian Host Awards, and the lineup will have you booking your next getaway.

Read more
Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations in South Australia
Australia

What’s on around Australia in October 2025

October is serving culture, colour and creativity.

Read more
hero media

Farm fresh produce to a trail of lights: the ultimate guide to Mildura

    Rachel Lay Rachel Lay
    Continue
    The charm of Mildura is hidden in plain sight along the Sturt Highway. The capital of Tropical North Victoria is in a league of its own.

    From the moment you arrive in Mildura, the warm air and palm trees invite you to slow down. While most Australians might drive right past it, Mildura is full of surprises. Here you’ll spend one day witnessing over 50,000 years of First Nations history in a UNESCO-listed National Park, and the next dining in a hatted restaurant after wandering through 12,500 fireflies as the outback sunset bursts to life above. From roadside fruit stalls and family-run wineries to houseboats and galleries, it’s time to explore Mildura.

    Feast Street, at the heart of Langtree Avenue in Mildura.
    Taste, wander and be surprised in Mildura.

    Taste Mildura’s produce

    It makes sense to start your trip by addressing the most important question: where to eat. In the beating heart of Australia’s food bowl, sample the local produce directly from the source. And then, of course, experience it through the menu of a hatted chef. Or sandwiched between pillowy slices of Nonna’s ciabatta.

    Rows of orchards and olive groves invite you to spend the day traipsing from farm to farm. Taste olives propagated from Calabrian trees brought over in the 40s, oranges picked right from the tree and squeezed into juice and spoons full of honey. Bring the holiday back to your kitchen by stocking your pantry at roadside produce stalls, or calling into the ‘silver shed’ (Sunraysia’s gourmand Mecca).

    Thanks to the warm, balmy air and fertile soils, the wineries dotted along these hills produce award-winning local wines. Like Chalmers, a family-run, innovative winery dedicated to making their wines as sustainable as possible. And picturesque Trentham Estate offers views of the snaking Murray River as you sample their vintages.

    Venture beyond the gnarled shadows of olive groves and fragrant rows of blossoming fruit trees and you’ll find an otherworldly side to Mildura. With Discover Mildura as your guide, visit Murray River Salt’s Mars-like stacks. The naturally pink salt is formed from an ancient inland sea and evaporated entirely by the sun to create one of the region’s most iconic exports.

    Start your day with just-squeezed sunshine.

    Hatted dining & Italian history

    Mildura is home to a proud community of Calabrians and Sicilians. This, paired with the exceptional local produce, means that you can find paninos on par with those in Italy. The Italian is a Paninoteca serving up made-to-order, hefty, authentic Sicilian paninos. Nonna Rosa’s pork meatballs, slowly cooked in tomato ragu and served in a crusty, fluffy roll topped with gratings of Grana Padano cheese and salsa verde, will call you back to Mildura for the rest of your days.

    To find hatted dining in Mildura, simply follow the staircase down into the basement of the historic Mildura Grand Hotel to find Stefano’s. Following the muscle memory and instinct of his Italian roots, he delivers on the principle of ‘cucina povera’. That is, the Italian cooking ideology that turns simple, local ingredients into magic.

    Things to do in Mildura include dining at the acclaimed Stefano’s, where simple local ingredients are transformed into Italian culinary magic beneath the historic Grand Hotel.
    Bite into Mildura’s Italian heritage.

    Discover a thriving culture scene

    The city is alive with culture. Whether it’s painted on the town’s walls, told in ancient yarns, or waiting for you in a gallery.

    The Mildura Arts Centre was Australia’s first regional art gallery. Behind the walls of Rio Vista Historic House, you’ll find a lineup of ever-changing exhibitions. The gallery’s wall space pays tribute to the art and songlines of local First Nations People, the region’s awe-inspiring landscapes and more. Outside, on the gallery’s lawn, find 12 contemporary sculptures in the Sculpture Park.

    Mildura’s streetscapes are a punch of colour. Swirling strokes of paint blend the winding artery of the Murray River, red dirt and local characters into a story you can see with your own eyes, thanks to the Mildura City Heart’s Mural Art Project. Pick up a copy of the Murals of Mildura guide from the Visitor Information Centre.

    Follow the border of NSW and Victoria on a map and you’ll see it hugs the curves of a tiny island on the Murray. That’s Lock Island, where, as the sun and moon trade places, the island comes alive as darkness falls. The island is dotted with 12,500 firefly lights that lead you on a meandering path through the outback sunset. The installation is known as Trail of Lights and was created by the same visionary who dreamt up Field of Light at Uluṟu, Bruce Munro.

    Things to do in Mildura include exploring its rich cultural scene. From vibrant street art and ancient stories to exhibitions at the Mildura Arts Centre, Australia’s first regional gallery.
    Find culture around every corner.

    Wonder at ancient landscapes

    The landscapes of Mildura feel almost transcendental. The skyline bursts to life with reds, pinks, and deep, sparkly night skies.

    The nature will leave you in awe. See hues of pink water changing with the weather at Pink Lakes inside Victoria’s largest national park, Murray Sunset National Oark. Cast a line into Ouyen Lake. Watch the sunset against 70-metre tall red cliffs that reflect the setting sun. Or get the heart racing and sandboard down the Perry Sandhills dunes, formed 40,000 years ago at the end of an ice age.

    Just don’t leave without following the twists and turns of the Murray. Stroll or ride along the Shared River Front Path, or jump onboard a boat for a scenic ride.

    Your itinerary will be incomplete without a visit to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park. Head out with an Indigenous ranger to witness ancient campsites and footprints, before standing in awe of ancient civilisation near the discovery site of Mungo Man—Australia’s oldest human skeleton at 42,000 years old.

    Mungo National Park at night is a vast, silent landscape where ancient dunes glow under moonlight and stars blanket the sky in breathtaking clarity.
    Walk in the footsteps of ancient civilisation.

    Meet your home away from home

    On equal par with planning your meals and adventures, is finding the perfect place to relax at the end of each day.

    Sleep inside a Palm Springs postcard at Kar-Rama. A sleek boutique hotel complete with a butterfly shaped, sun-soaked pool. Here you’re staying right in the heart of Mildura but you’ll feel worlds away. Or if you really wish to connect with nature, a night glamping under the stars at Outback Almonds will have you spellbound.

    When in Mildura it’s only right to stay on one of the Murray River’s iconic houseboats. Wake up each day to the calm waters of the Murray lapping outside your window. Enjoy days full of river swims, fishing and exploring. All boats are solar-powered and can be self-skippered or moored along the river.

    A solar-powered houseboat on the Murray River in Mildura.
    Stay and play on the Murray in a solar houseboat.

    Start planning the perfect getaway at mildura.com.