Day One: History and Art, Food and Wine

We suggest your first day in Castlemaine is spent taking in a little of the town’s culture and history and the surrounding scenery, along with exceptional coffee, food and wine.

Stop 1: A Big Country Brekkie!

Indulge in a great (Fair Trade) coffee and a hearty breakfast (pancakes? BLT? Eggs Hollandaise?) at local institution Saffs Café. Serving good food for breakfast, brunch and lunch, with plenty of gluten-free and vegetarian options, for well over 20 years, it’s an ideal place to say hello to Castlemaine.

Stop 2: Visitor Information Centre

After breakfast, stroll a block down the road to Castlemaine’s fabulous Visitor Information Centre in the historic Market Building built in 1862. Enjoy the architecture, the wealth of information on offer, local souvenirs, the seasonal art exhibition featuring dozens of works by local artists, and the award-winning Boorp Boorp Boondyil exhibition which welcomes visitors onto Djaara Country, shares the stories and teachings of the Djaara People and offers important cultural lessons about living on Country.

Stop 3: Castlemaine Art Museum.

A two-block stroll from the Visitor Centre takes you to the Castlemaine Art Museum. Founded in 1913, the heritage listed art deco building is home to a unique collection of Australian art, First Nations cultural material and historical artefacts reflecting the early history of the region including the 1850s goldrush.  

Stop 4: Lunchtime!

Hit the road for a 15-minute drive to the village of Harcourt (famed for apples, wine, cider, cycling and a great community spirit!). On High Street in the heart of town you’ll find the recently opened Le Coq Door which serves top-notch charcoal chicken, chips, salad and local Harcourt wine Thursday to Sunday. Trust us, it’s very good!!

Stop 5: Mount Alexander Regional Park.

After lunch take a leisurely drive through the magnificent Mount Alexander Regional Park, on the outskirts of Harcourt. Head to Lang’s lookout, Dogs Rocks and Shepherd’s Flat for truly spectacular views across landscapes to the north and northeast. Sit back and take in the scenery or explore the rocky granite outcrop and walk off lunch on the popular and moderately challenging four-kilometre West Ridge Walking Track that provides a link between the lookouts

Stop 6: Oak Forest, La Larr Ba Gauwa

Before leaving the Harcourt area, visit the Oak Forest, a popular spot for photographers capturing seasonal beauty, a noted film location and just a lovely, peaceful place for a visit that offers an other-worldly, remote atmosphere.

Stop 7: A Country Pub Dinner

After the sightseeing and fresh air, an upmarket pub meal, with local beer and wine or perhaps a cocktail or two, sounds just right. Head across the road from BIG4 Castlemaine to the historic Bridge Hotel, where you’ll be well taken care of. Chances are live music might be happening and there’s a great outdoor garden seating area.

Dinner Alternative: Head back into Castlemaine, on foot or by car, to the iconic Theatre Royal. Built in 1854 to provide live entertainment to the thousands of diggers who migrated to Central Victoria in search of gold, it is now one of the oldest continuously running theatres in the Southern Hemisphere. A vital and much-loved part of the Castlemaine community and a cultural institution, the theatre is a venue for films, festivals and live music. It also offers superb organic pizzas (eat in or takeaway), great wines and cocktails and a gorgeous garden bar.

Day Two: A Market, Shopping, More Art and Good Food and Wine Again

Stop 1: To market, to market!

This morning you’re heading to the Saturday morning Wesley Hill Market  on the Pyrenees Highway heading out to Chewton. This is the locals’ market and you’re going to find excellent coffee for your morning hit or aromatic chai, breads, sweet treats and baked goods, second-hand clothing and books, fruits and vegetables, and more. There might be music, furniture, plants – who knows? Sit for a while, explore, meet the locals – this is vibrant, quirky Castlemaine at its best.

Stop 2: Forest Creek Historic Gold Diggings, Chewton.

Just a few minutes from the market you’ll find this goldrush-era site, an ideal introduction to the fascinating history of Castlemaine's vast Central Goldfields.  A 400-metre track circles around an historic alluvial goldfield, complete with mining relics and structures, and detailed signboards along the way provide facts and information about the ancient Forest Creek riverbed and the gold rush of the 1850's.  

Stop 3: Pennyweight Flat Cemetery

Heading back to Castlemaine, take a brief detour to visit the beautiful Pennyweight Flat Cemetery, a haunting tribute to the harsh reality of the early goldrush years. Located on a hill overlooking the Forest Creek goldfield where 30,000 diggers once lived and worked, this is Victoria’s most intact and evocative gold rush cemetery. Around 200 shallow marked graves of children and adults, including Chinese migrants, are scattered amongst the trees. A beautiful information sign stands beside the walking track to the cemetery.

Stop 4: A picnic lunch

Head to the extraordinary Mill Complex opposite BIG4 Castlemaine and pick up some delicious gourmet treats for a picnic lunch at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, next door to us.  You’ll find artisan bread, locally cured organic meats and fish, pate, hand-made cheese and dairy products, chocolates and more. Put a feast together and take it across the road, settle under a big shady tree – possibly planted over 150 years ago – and relax and enjoy.  

Lunch alternatives: Stay at The Mill and head to ShedShaker Brewing and the Taproom for locally brewed craft beers and a lunch of pizzas or sharing platters. Or go to Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar, a very funky wine-cooperative that offers outstanding wines and bountiful seasonal meals Thursday to Sunday.

Stop 5: The Mill

Yes, it’s back to The Mill. This vast 1870s reimagined woollen mill is home to far more than specialist food producers, outlets and restaurants. The 2000-square metre Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar is host to dozens and dozens of stallholders offering upmarket recycled and upcycled clothing, homewares and much, much more! The artisan precinct includes makers of furniture, clothing, bath soaks, mosaics, an ethical florist and you’ll also find quirky artists’ studios and small galleries. In short, it’s a shopping and browsing wonderland that attracts visitors from far and wide.

Stop 6: Dinner

It’s time for something extra special so you booked ahead for a table at the intimate Bar Midland (a 10-minute walk away), awarded a Chef’s Hat by the Age Good Food Guide for the past two years. Noted local chef Alex Perry offers a menu that celebrates Victorian producers who focus on organic, bio-dynamic and regenerative land management.  Open Friday and Saturday for dinner and Saturday and Sunday for lunch. A reservations-free casual Supper Club offers snacks and drinks.

Dinner alternative: Castlemaine’s Wild restaurant and wine bar also celebrates the best of the region's farmers, producers and winemakers with a flexible menu based around sharing plates. Open Thursday to Saturday for dinner and Friday to Sunday for lunch

Day Three: Touring

Stop 1: A Viennese breakfast

It’s back to The Mill for breakfast at Das Kaffeehaus, a Viennese-themed coffee house. Enjoy the chandelier, the European-style tables and a breakfast menu that includes smoked salmon and dark rye, Austrian pancakes and Viennese frankfurters as well as excellent freshly roasted coffee.

Stop 2: Bendigo: The Art Gallery and View Street

Head to the regional city of Bendigo, Australia’s fourth largest inland city, just 40 minutes north of Castlemaine.  A gold-rush boom town, Bendigo is known for its ornate architecture and diverse cultural heritage as well as its food and wine, parks and reserves and its year-round events and festivals calendar that ranges from huge Easter celebrations to chamber music, and comedy and writers’ festivals.

Today you’re heading to the renowned Bendigo Art Gallery on View St, in the heart of the city. One of the oldest and largest regional art galleries in Australia, the gallery has an extensive collection of 19th century European art and Australian art from the 1800's, alongside a strong collection of contemporary Australian art. It is also known for its recent exclusive blockbuster exhibitions that have included Elvis: Direct From Graceland, Mary Quant, and the Marilyn Monroe Exhibition. The exclusive Frida Kahlo, In Her Own Image is showing at the Gallery until mid-July 2025.

After the gallery, enjoy the shops and cafes along View Street, and then take a stroll through beautiful Rosalind Park to the Golden Dragon Museum which provides a comprehensive history of the Chinese people of Bendigo and an introduction to Chinese arts, history and culture. Also visit the next-door Yi Yuan Gardens (Garden of Joy). 

Stop 3: Maldon

Return to Castlemaine via the historic township of Maldon. Perfectly preserved since its mining days, Maldon was classified by the National Trust in 1966 as Australia's First Notable Town. Explore the insta-worthy streetscapes which look like they haven’t changed for well over 120 years and the impressive number of historic buildings around the town centre, most of which have been converted into cafes, galleries and antiques shops.  It’s the perfect place for an afternoon coffee or perhaps something cold at one of the local pubs.

Stop 4: Dinner: A Final Country Pub Meal

It’s well worth the five-minute drive to the Five Flags Hotel in Campbells Creek where an award-winning chef (2024 Victorian Chef of the Year at the Australian Hotels Association State Awards for Excellence) cooks up delicious, hearty and innovative pub food in a warm, welcoming venue.

Alternative dinner.  Trendy and relaxed wine bar/café/bistro Gornelly’s in Castlemaine serves delicious, creative food and some wonderful wines. Open Thursday to Monday for dinner and Friday to Monday for lunch