Discover Bendigo

You can get to know Bendigo through a variety of experiences: art spanning several centuries, a guided tour of a historic tram depot, expansive parklands or a longer walk along the Bendigo Creek Trail. This gives you a simple question to consider when planning your trip: should you focus on galleries and local history, time in green spaces or a longer route?

Art from different perspectives

Bendigo Art Gallery was founded in 1887. Its galleries are home to a permanent collection of 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century art, with a focus on contemporary Australian art. If you’re interested in changing artistic eras and Australian art, you can make time for this gallery in your itinerary.

Djaa Djuwima offers a distinct cultural perspective: this permanent First Nations gallery is located on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. Together, the two galleries offer different points of reference for an art visit, without requiring you to expect the same perspective from each. When choosing a holiday rental, consider whether gallery visits are a key reason for your trip and how much time you’d like to spend on them.

Experience tram history

Bendigo Tramways offers a guided tour of Australia’s oldest operating tram depot. The depot itself is the destination, making this a different experience from the Vintage Talking Tram Tour, which helps visitors find their way around Bendigo and see the city’s important sights and monuments.

The Vintage Talking Tram ticket is valid for one day. Passengers can get on or off at any tram stop. This gives you the flexibility to plan your tram day in stages. If you’d like to explore the sights and monuments by tram, the day ticket is a practical part of the experience; the guided depot tour, by contrast, offers a different focus.

Park, gardens and the Creek Trail

Rosalind Park covers 60 acres, with grassy areas and densely leafy trees. It also features a playground, a historic conservatory, a fernery and old gardens to explore. The mix of open spaces and different garden areas gives the park several distinct points of interest. If you’re visiting with children, you can make the playground a separate stop; the conservatory, fernery and old gardens offer other things to explore.

If you’d like to include some exercise in your trip, the Bendigo Creek Trail offers a different scale: the path connects many of the city’s important sights and is 17 kilometres long one way. Take this distance into account when planning your day. A visit to the park and the trail offer different experiences—the former has grassy areas and gardens, while the latter is a longer route.

Take the train to Bendigo

V/Line’s express train from Melbourne Southern Cross Station reaches Bendigo in just over 90 minutes. For travellers arriving by train from Melbourne, this offers a practical guide to the journey. Along with the things to do in the area, the rail connection can help you plan a stay around art, trams, parks or longer walks.

When looking for a holiday rental in Bendigo, you can start by deciding which experiences matter most to your group: galleries and the First Nations gallery, the two distinct tram experiences, the different areas of Rosalind Park or the Bendigo Creek Trail. More local pages to explore: Barnadown, Moorabool, Red Cliffs, Malvern East, Falls Creek, Beverford, Faraday and Altona.

For the broader travel overview: Victoria.