Top Towns for 2022: Experience the timeless beauty of Bendigo

By Laura Waters
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Victoria’s fourth largest city is one classy dame, Laura Waters explores why this appears at no.23 on your list of Top 50 Aussie Towns.

Find the complete list of the Top 50 Aussie Towns here.

History meets modernity

Ornate Alexandra Fountain stands proud in the middle of Pall Mall as cars loop around it. Wide streets are lined with Victorian-era architecture, and hectares of lush parkland are dotted with trees that are almost as old.

Like an aristocratic lady, Bendigo has the kind of timeless beauty that isn’t flashy or try-hard. Her history stretches back to 1851 when the discovery of gold made her (for a while) the richest town in the world.

Architecture in Bendigo

Bendigo is a timeless beauty. (Image: Visit Victoria)

I’ll admit that it’s often one thing that lures me here initially. Bendigo Art Gallery has made a name for itself internationally, hosting absurdly impressive exhibitions for a regional town – Princess Charlene of Monaco visited to open Grace Kelly: Style Icon; Priscilla Presley to open Elvis: Direct from Graceland. But there is so much more to Bendigo than this much-lauded gallery.

Exterior of Bendigo Art Gallery

Art is a big part of Bendigo. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Wine, dine and fine art

Bendigo has an enticing mix of good food, wine and shopping, laced with a hefty dose of history. On View Street, wine bars, restaurants and theatres reside inside heritage beauties such as a grand bank, a red-brick schoolhouse and an 1898 fire station.

Boutique shops in Bendigo are refreshingly different. A five-minute walk away, Chancery Lane has an entirely contrasting vibe with restaurants spilling out onto a narrow laneway colourful with graffiti.

The vibrancy continues in the murals and street art found up Dimples Lane. Stories of the Dja Dja Wurrung Peoples are shared through Djaara Lights, an installation featuring neon artworks and augmented reality around Oscars Walk and the Bath Lane Precinct.

Exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery.

Bendigo Art Gallery has made a name for itself internationally. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Golden town highlights

I like that plenty of Bendigo is walkable. From Melbourne, it’s two hours by train (only minutes slower than driving) and, once there, the historic Bendigo Tramways run the length of town.

A 45-minute round trip pauses at many of Bendigo’s biggest draws: Central Deborah Gold Mine, where you can descend 61 metres to subterranean tunnels from which 929 kilograms of gold was extracted; peaceful Lake Weerona, popular with joggers and walkers; Bendigo Joss House Temple and Golden Dragon Museum, which are both a reflection of the time when a fifth of the population were Chinese miners and merchants.

You can venture beyond the city centre to visit Bendigo Pottery, Australia’s oldest working pottery (since the 1850s), or the 48-metre-high Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, an ambitious Buddhist complex that’s constantly evolving. And then there are the dozens of surrounding wineries, renowned for their bold reds. Whatever draws you to this old gold town, you’ll leave richer for it.

Aprons at Bendigo Pottery.

Bendigo Pottery is Australia’s oldest working pottery. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Explore more of Bendigo in our travel guide or find out which other towns made it into your Top 50.
Laura is a Melbourne-based writer, speaker and author with a passion for adventures in the great outdoors. Her memoir ‘Bewildered’, about hiking the length of New Zealand, won Best Travel Book at the 2021 ASTW Awards and she has also penned the popular Ultimate Walks & Hikes Australia.
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Bendigo’s Groove Tram rolls on with live music, local brews and wine

    By Kassia Byrnes
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    Bendigo is bringing the groove to their historic tramway.

    If there’s one thing I’ve always said, it’s that trams should be 70 per cent groovier. Thankfully, Bendigo has taken me seriously and will be sending off a Groove Tram over twice a month.

    The small Victorian town of Bendigo, just two hours by train from Melbourne, has already made a name for itself by combining its historic beauty (the town was established in 1851) with modern gastronomic delights, thanks to an incredible restaurant scene and delicious wineries to boot. But nothing exemplifies the old and new more than Bendigo’s historic tramway.

    bendigo groove tram exterior

    Get your groove thang on Ballarat’s iconic trams.

    Stretching the full length of the town, the trams first started operating in 1890, in an on-again, off-again fashion. That old-world charm is maintained even today, thanks to Bendigo being the only place in Australia that left track, trams and a depot behind after closing its tramway system. Today, the tram system in Bendigo is not only a fun way to get around town (even though it’s a very walkable destination), but it’s Australasia’s largest tourist tramway, with over 40,000 visitors flocking to ride it annually.

    So, all pretty cool, as is. But like I said – pump up the groove.

    On select nights, tram punters can book one of two, adults-only, Groove Tram rides, which Bendigo Tramways itself describes as a way to “be transported to a world of pure entertainment, where live music, local brews and fine wine are all enjoyed against the picturesque backdrop of Bendigo’s rolling vistas”. Heavenly.

    Each night will have its very own groovy flavour, thanks to a rotating headline of Bendigo’s best musicians. Upcoming performers include David Turpie, Slide, Ally G and Caitie & Co.

    bendigo groove tram interior

    Boogie on down.

    The details

    Price: $25 per person. Drinks and nibbles at bar prices. No BYO.

    Duration: 1.5 hours

    Times: The first Groove Tram pulls out from 5:30pm to 7:00pm, the second of the night from 8:00pm to 9:30pm.

    Dates: Check the website for upcoming dates.

    Location: Pick-up and drop-off at Alexandra Fountain

    Wondering where to stay between tram rides? These are our top picks of Bendigo hotels and quaint Airbnbs.