hero media

This charming riverside town has been named Victoria’s best

Credit: Visit Victoria

Jessica O'Donnell Jessica O'Donnell
Echuca has just been crowned Victoria’s Top Tourism Town for 2026.

Each year, every Australian state announces a winning destination across three competitive categories: Top Tourism Town, Top Small Tourism Town and Top Tiny Tourism Town – and Victoria has just announced its winners.

After finishing in third place in 2025, the historic riverside town of Echuca returned to take the crown for Top Tourism Town for 2026. With a picturesque position on the banks of the Murray River on the Victorian-NSW border across from its twin border town of Moama, Echuca is renowned for its historic paddlesteamers, houseboat stays and wineries.

Having also earned a spot in Australian Traveller’s exclusive, expert panel-voted list of Australia’s 100 best towns for 2026, it’s safe to say this rural gem is having a good year.

Victoria’s Top Tourism Town

Echuca's historic Paddlesteamers on the Murray River
The riverside town has a rich history and no shortage of activities to uncover. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Just a 2.5-hour drive from Melbourne, this charming town has unhindered access to the Murray River and the Campaspe River, which flows from Victoria’s Central Highlands to join the Murray west of Echuca, delivering plenty of on-water activities as well as riverside walking trails, prime fishing spots, and an abundance of native birdlife.

Once home to Australia’s largest inland port, travellers can experience Echuca’s river-trading past onboard the town’s historic paddlesteamers with a cruise along the Murray River. Launching in September 2026, visitors will soon be able to sleep onboard the PS Australian Star, Australia’s first five-star river cruise, with all-inclusive three-, four-, and seven-night itineraries departing from Echuca.

Those who prefer to do their own thing can hire a houseboat and spend a weekend drifting down the river, or, if you have less time, spend a day exploring the river by kayak or canoe and soak in the stunning riverfront.

The Discovery Centre at the Port of Echuca
The Discovery Centre at the Port of Echuca explores the town’s history. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Back on dry land, make the most of Echuca’s food and drink scene with a stop at Echuca Distillery for spirits or pop across the river to its sister town, Moama, for Two Lads Brewing, Morrisons Winery and Old School Winery to taste honey wine and buy hand-thrown pottery under one roof.

The Riverboats Music Festival
The Riverboats Music Festival is an annual event. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

The year-round events calendar includes Riverboats Music Festival and the Festival of Stories, so there’s no shortage of things to do in this Victorian town.

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

AI Prompt

Victoria’s Top Small Tourism Town

Wine bar with ocean views at Port Arlington
Portarlington is a foodie’s dream. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

This year, the title of Victoria’s Top Small Tourism Town went to Portarlington, a seaside town on the Bellarine Peninsula known as Australia’s mussel capital.

Food is a major part of its appeal. Fresh mussels are harvested from the waters of Port Phillip Bay, while local restaurants, nearby wineries and even a boutique mussel cruise make it easy to build an entire weekend around eating and drinking.

But there’s more to Portarlington than just seafood. Visitors can swim, fish and boat in the bay, tee off at the local golf course or wander the town’s shops before checking into the beautifully restored Portarlington Grand Hotel, which dates back to 1888.

Victoria’s Top Tiny Tourism Town

Coastal view of Portsea in Mornington Peninsula
Although it has a reputation for being exclusive, the coastal calm Portsea has to offer is refreshingly simple (Credit: Visit Victoria)

For towns with fewer than 1500 residents, Portsea took out the top prize.

Sitting at the tip of the Mornington Peninsula, the tiny coastal town has the best of both worlds: the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay on one side and the wild Bass Strait coastline on the other.

A day here can be as laid-back or adventurous as you fancy. Swim at Portsea Front Beach, wander the clifftop trails or head into nearby Point Nepean National Park, where walking and cycling tracks weave between spectacular coastal scenery and remnants of the area’s military and quarantine history.

And although Portsea has a reputation as one of the Mornington Peninsula’s more exclusive enclaves, its biggest drawcards are refreshingly simple: beautiful beaches, dramatic coastal walks and plenty of opportunities to slow down and take a breath.

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.
Jessica O'Donnell

Jessica O'Donnell

View profile and articles
skewers and cocktails at Etta, Melbourne
Melbourne

The 55 Melbourne restaurants worth planning a trip around

No matter where you find yourself in Melbourne, a world-class meal is waiting for you in one of the city’s many fine dining restaurants or tucked down a hidden laneway; you just need to know where to look.

Read more
HER Rooftop, Melbourne CBD
Melbourne

31 sunny rooftop bars in Melbourne you need to try

The best rooftop bars in Melbourne range from hidden terraces above laneways to sky-high cocktail bars overlooking the CBD.

Read more
coffee at Industry Beans, Fitzroy
Melbourne

31 best coffee shops in Melbourne right now

Whether you’re searching for a quick flat white or a specialty filter coffee, it’s easy to find exceptional coffee in almost every Melbourne suburb.

Read more
Park Club Health and Day Spa at Park Hyatt, Melbourne
Melbourne

The 14 most indulgent day spas in Melbourne

Looking for the best day spas in Melbourne? You’re far from alone, and you no longer need to leave the city for a luxury wellness experience out in Daylesford or the Mornington Peninsula.

Read more
hero media

Discovering Bendigo’s unique heritage through incredible foodie experiences

    Kate Bettes Kate Bettes
    Continue
    Tuck your napkin firmly in place and get ready to dive into Bendigo’s history.

    It’s an internationally recognised fact that Bendigo food experiences prove this region knows how to wine and dine. After all, its shiraz-laden landscape was named Australia’s first UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy. But what visitors lured in by this shiny label might not know is how deeply its culinary scene sits within the gold-rush town’s colourful past.

    Whether you’re eating in a grand colonial bank or nibbling through a gold miner’s garden, grab a big plate. In Bendigo, every meal is served with a huge helping of heritage.

    Take a food tour

    foodie walking tour in bendigo at Ms Batterhams restaurant Bendigo foodie experiences
    Join a Foodie Walking Tour to local highlights like Ms Batterhams.

    Start in the capable hands of Bendigo Guided Tours. Named as the 2025 Victorian Best New Tourism Business, they run two 12-person options. A Taste of Bendigo – Foodie Walking Tour will see you tasting seasonal dishes and sipping wine, craft beer and cocktails made with regional spirits over two-and-a-half hours, with stops at Ms Batterhams, Wine Bank on View, The Dispensary and Bendigo Brewing.

    You can up the ante a notch or two with the Four Hats of Bendigo – a night of fine-dine hopping with the experts across Terrae, Le Foyer, Alium Dining and The Woodhouse.

    Book a table

    Terrae restaurant in bendigo victoria
    Dine at Terrae.

    Alternatively, see Bendigo’s stars under your own steam. There’s Terrae, where produce from the owners’ own farm kitchen garden and orchard is plated up inside what was once a bank, while cocktails are poured in the underground bar below. For something special, book a private table in old bank vault. Rather less wholesome? The bullet hole in the window – a throwback to Victoria’s wild gold rush era.

    Another former bank-turned-eatery, Alium Dining, goes full art nouveau inside a 1908 building overlooking the Alexandra Fountain in the heart of Bendigo. Here, Alium’s Asian-meets-European flavours run all the way from duck leg croquettes with mandarin marmalade to raw trevally with coconut and nước chấm, to pork milanese with anchovy and stout mustard.

    Beneath an old school hall at Mackenzie Quarters, Ms Batterhams serves southern European-inspired dishes inside a 19th-century basement bar and restaurant. Beyond its sourdough crumpets (smeared with taramasalata, paprika and parsley oil, if you must know) is the origin of the restaurant’s name: Winifred Batterham, the owners’ mother’s former kindergarten teacher. Honour her properly with a ‘Winifred’ cocktail.

    Alium Dining in bendigo victoria
    Alium Dining offers a unique setting inside a 1908 building.

    Carnivores, get ready to bang your sharpest knives on the table. Bendigo’s only dedicated steakhouse, The Woodhouse, specialises in Wagyu sourced from surrounding farms. They’ve got beef every which way – from tartare topped with Giaveri Oscietra caviar and wagyu toast to porterhouse dry-aged and grilled over redgum.

    Your next bank stop on the food circuit is Bunja Thai. Housed inside the former Colonial Bank, it’s all Victorian-era Australian grandeur, from the enormous arched ceilings to the detailing overhead. Thai Singha and local craft beer jostle for attention – but both are perfect quenchers when you’re sharing barramundi baked in banana leaf beneath all that old-world opulence.

    If your trip through Australia isn’t complete without a country pub stop, make it The Bridgewater Hotel on the Loddon River. Renovated since its 1942 beginnings, but the establishment still retains its Art Deco charm. It’s the kind of place where steak burgers come stacked with bacon, egg, cheese and dripping beetroot relish, and are best handled in the riverside beer garden.

    Pour a glass

    Heathcote Wine Hub bendigo food experiences
    Find over 180 local wines at Heathcote Wine Hub.

    Your plate’s been stacked. Now it’s the glass’s turn – ideally with the famously bold shiraz and cab sav grown here. Early settlers in Bendigo and Heathcote were onto something when they first planted vines in the area’s mineral-rich soil, and their legacy still pours strong across more than 60 cellar doors today. Start big at the Heathcote Wine Hub, where more than 180 wines from nearby vineyards sit beneath the rafters of a restored former wooden church, with 16 available to taste by the glass.

    Heathcote Winery might have become one of the area’s first commercial wineries in the seventies, but its story started way before its courtyard tastings. Back in 1854, it operated as a miners’ produce store during the gold-rush years. Other cellar doors aren’t immune to reinvention under the wine wave either. At Munari Wines in Heathcote, charcuterie boards are presented in their newly renovated cellar, originally the stables of the former sheep station.

    Discover local events

    the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk in bendigo
    Time your trip for the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk

    Time your trip right and watch the parks, gardens and buildings fill with food and drink. Fans of the malt: mark 29 August  2026 for Bendigo On The Hop, when craft breweries take over venues throughout the CBD. Brews make way for history at the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk (17 October 2026), where bottles are opened inside some of the city’s most interesting buildings – including rarely opened spaces. In November, the Regional Gin Gala raises spirits in Mackenzie Quarters with a boozy celebration of its homegrown distilleries, including Noble Bootleggers, Envy Distilling and In Good Spirits. Explore wine, food and live music at Heathcote on Show (6 – 8 June 2026).

    Take it all in

    bendigo tram cafe Bendigo foodie experiences
    Tram meets tasty at Bendigo Tram Cafe.

    Takeaway means something different in Bendigo. At Australia’s oldest operating Tram Depot, the Tram Cafe sits aboard an out-of-service 1916 N-Class Tram that serves tea and scones. Once you’ve polished off the last crumb, you can even pop into the driver’s cab and try the controls yourself.

    Peppergreen Farm continues Bendigo’s long connection to Chinese market gardens, first established here by immigrants in the 1850s. Today, the not-for-profit farm invites visitors to pick up organic produce, alongside jars of honey harvested from its own hives.

    Indulge in retail therapy

    Bendigo Pottery
    Elevate your at-home dining experience after a trip to Bendigo Pottery.

    If there’s still room in your bag among the clanking jars and bottles, stop by Uniquely Bendigo inside the Old Post Office. Sharing space with the Bendigo Visitor Centre, it’s a one-stop shop for favourites like Bendigo Brittle, Bridgeward Grove and Tea Associates.

    If you’d rather leave your fingerprints on your Bendigo souvenir, there’s a place for that too. At Bendigo Pottery, visitors can try their hand at shaping clay while taking part in another tradition of evolving old spaces – creating works of art within Australia’s oldest working pottery.

    Start planning your Bendigo adventure at bendigotourism.com.

    This charming riverside town has been named Victoria’s best - Australian Traveller