Best of Ballarat
Free Things to Do in Ballarat: Heritage, Parks and Gold Rush History
Ballarat has a solid collection of free activities centred on its extraordinary heritage streetscapes and public open space. Lydiard Street in the CBD is one of the best-preserved Victorian-era commercial streetscapes in Australia and is free to walk and admire, with the Town Hall, Her Majesty's Theatre and Craig's Royal Hotel as landmarks. The Ballarat Botanical Gardens at Lake Wendouree are free, as is the lake circumference walk. The Art Gallery of Ballarat is free to enter, though its Lydiard Street building is closed for interior upgrades; the original Eureka Flag is displayed at the Eureka Centre, not at the gallery. The Stockade Site Memorial at Eureka is free. Ballarat Wildlife Park carries an entry fee, but the surrounding natural areas are free. Sturt Street, the main boulevard with gold rush-era buildings, is best explored on foot.
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1
Lake Wendouree Foreshore Walk
A free 6km circuit walk around the lake used for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics rowing events, with heritage boathouses, picnic areas and native waterbirds.
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2
Art Gallery of Ballarat (Free)
Free entry to the permanent collection at Australia's oldest regional gallery, with colonial paintings, sculpture and rotating contemporary exhibitions.
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3
Sturt Street Heritage Walk
Ballarat's main boulevard is lined with extraordinary Victorian goldfields architecture, a self-guided walk past the Town Hall, Lydiard Street and the heritage churches.
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4
Botanical Gardens Ballarat
A formal Victorian garden established in 1858 with a renowned begonia house, a collection of marble statues of Australian Prime Ministers and a free Sunday brass band.
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5
Lydiard Street, Heritage Buildings
Australia's best-preserved example of a Victorian goldfields streetscape, free to walk and marvel at the Her Majesty's Theatre, Craig's Royal Hotel and the Post Office.
More Best of Ballarat
- Art Gallery of Ballarat: the collection, the Eureka Flag and visiting
- Sovereign Hill Ballarat: A Guide to Australia's Gold Rush Living Museum
- Lake Wendouree Ballarat: Walking, Rowing and the Olympic Heritage
- Day Trips from Ballarat: Goldfields Country and the Western District
- Day Trips from Ballarat: Goldfields, Wineries and the Great Ocean Road
- Weekend Getaways from Ballarat: Daylesford, the Grampians and Goldfields Country