What's on Locally

EAT & DRINK

The culinary hallmark of many of the restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars and hotels in the region is a welcoming country vibe with a focus on locally sourced produce. Your choice of where to eat and drink ranges from chef hatted fine dining to casual home cooked meals. Feel free to ask during your stay and we will be happy to suggest a few of our favourites to suit your taste.

WINERIES & BREWERIES

The central highlands from the Macedon Ranges to Daylesford are emerging as an ideal high altitude, cool climate for growing grapes. The hills are alive with some of the finest boutique wineries and breweries in the country. What better way to while away your time than a leisurely drive between cellar door tastings before settling into a long lunch with a glass of locally produced wine.

EVENTS & FESTIVALS

There is always something happening in Daylesford, Hepburn Springs and the local area. ChillOut Festival festoons the town in rainbow flags on the March long weekend; lavender fragrance infuses the air during the Autumn Harvest Festival and; the Lost Trades Fair shows off skills from a bygone era. There are Words in Winter, beautiful open gardens and country agricultural shows; come for an event or come for everything.

GALLERIES & ART

Is it something in the air, or something in the water that gets people’s creative juices flowing in this part of the world? Galleries big and small, art studios of known and yet to be discovered artists, sculpture gardens and furniture makers are dotted around town. Whether participating in an organised open studio weekend or creating your own informal trek between studios your artistic desires will be satiated.

MARKETS & SHOPS

Farmer's markets abound in the region and provide opportunities to sample locally produced goods or garden fresh home-grown veggies. The rain, hail or shine Daylesford Sunday market and the Mill Markets are a chance to test the theory that one person’s throw away is another person’s treasure. And of course, there are specialty shops in the main street for shop till you drop aficionados. 

SPRINGS & SPAS

With sixty-five mineral springs, the Daylesford-Hepburn Springs region accounts for more than eighty per cent of Australia’s known reserves of effervescent mineral water. Taking the waters was a tradition in Europe, but long before this the local Dja Dja Wurrung people identified this area as a place of healing. Today you can rejuvenate your weary-self with spas, massages, facials and numerous other treatments of choice. 

NATURE & WALKS

Walking tracks weave their way around the town perimeter. There are beautiful walks for all ages and abilities including Sailors Falls, Central Springs Reserve, Mount Franklin Reserve, and Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve. Or simply wander around Lake Daylesford or Jubilee Lake and take in the fresh air. And in the right place (from your deck at Breakneck Gorge) you can be up close and personal with kangaroos, echidnas, wombats, eagles, cockatoos and galahs.

HISTORY & HERITAGE

Blessed with veins of gold and springs of liquid gold this area has been a magnet for many long before becoming one of the premier tourist destinations of Australia. A large Swiss Italian community seeking wealth and health arrived in the 1850’s leaving their architectural and cultural marks. But long before recent history is the ancient history of the local indigenous clans.  

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

We acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung – the yes people, who are the traditional owners of Breakneck Gorge. We pay respect to their elders – past, present and emerging – and undertake to be respectful custodians of this sacred land.