Winter getaways in Victoria and Canberra: from Melbourne to Mornington Peninsula, Grampians and the Alps
From whale watching and skiing to blockbuster art exhibitions, Victoria has plenty to keep holidaymakers busy. Plus head to Canberra for an extra special reason.
From whale watching and skiing to blockbuster art exhibitions, Victoria has plenty to keep holidaymakers busy. Plus head to Canberra for an extra special exhibition.
Melbourne
North of the Yarra River has long been the place to be in Melbourne, with Fitzroy and Collingwood filled with interesting shopping, dining and culture. Add a cool hotel and a bathhouse that has been so successful it’s being exported to Sydney, and the district’s cool credentials are confirmed. The StandardX opened in 2024 and has become a hipster hangout with its rooftop bar, panoramic views and Thai restaurant Bang. It’s only a few minutes’ walk from the original Lune Croissanterie and a couple of blocks to Collingwood’s Sense of Self, a communal bathhouse with sauna, cold plunge, hot mineral pools and a day spa. It is the perfect place to spend a wintry afternoon before heading to Smith or Brunswick street for a drink.
The NGV has restoked the fire for its 2025 Winter Masterpieces blockbuster with French Impressionism from Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (until October 5), an exhibition that had stalled due to the pandemic. Anchoring a display of more than 100 iconic works from the likes of Renoir, Degas and Pissaro will be a set of 16 canvases by Claude Monet charting 30 years of painting in Paris, Normandy, the Mediterranean and, naturally, his beloved Giverny. Bed down in South Yarra at The Lyall, with its suitably Parisienne balconies.
Mornington Peninsula
Melbourne’s summer playground loses none of its lustre in winter, when the focus turns to indoor pursuits such as fine dining. Standout eating experiences include Tedesca Osteria, Brigitte Hafner’s rustic-luxe restaurant where fire-grilled menus hinge on the harvest from Tedesca’s biodynamic gardens. There’s a similar reverence for local produce at the 40-seat Barragunda Dining where most ingredients come from the surrounding 400ha estate. Check into art and gastronomy-obsessed Jackalope and book a long lunch at Rare Hare, one of Victoria’s most popular country bistros.
Truffles are harvested year-round on the Mornington Peninsula but winter’s black truffles are the most revered, so grab your gumboots and follow Maddie the English springer spaniel on the hunt for this delicacy at Red Hill Truffles. Jenny McAuley has 2500 hazelnut trees on her property, about half of which yield these rich pickings. There are tastings and truffle pizzas or have lunch at a local restaurant making the most of the product. New for winter 2025 are cooking classes. Warm up with a glass of red by the fire at Lindenberry Red Hill, a Lancemore hotel.
Daylesford/Macedon Ranges
The central highlands spa country is Victoria’s antidote to winter. Picture wood fires, European streetscapes, refined eating and bathing in mineral-rich baths. The 150-year-old Hepburn Bathhouse is closed for renos (spa treatments including massages and facials are still available), so head instead to The Mineral Spa, an adults-only affair in Hepburn Springs. Refuel on sophisticated fare at Bar Merenda, The Surly Goat and the Farmers Arms Hotel, and take a room at the century-old Hotel Bellinzona.
High Country
Holiday homes in the High Country often reflect the region’s rural heritage, with rustic cattlemen’s huts, converted tobacco kilns, cute cottages or country homesteads. Sawmill Treehouse is the total opposite; a modern and ultra-minimalist “Japandi” bush retreat that is small, serene and almost surreal in its simplicity. Located at the foot of Mount Buller (with a drying room and storage space for ski gear), the self-contained cabin is clad in Corten steel and lined in Tasmanian oak, with luxe kitchen appliances and a full-length window where you can watch the birds flutter or snowflakes fall. Pure mountain zen.
Officially part of the High Country, the border town of Rutherglen is famous for its fortifieds, especially the nectar-like muscat, but also worth discovering for new-age wines and excellent dining. Spend a fruitful weekend scouting Main Street wine bars such as Thousand Pound and Grace and eating extremely well at Jones Winery and at Bonnie (casual) or Kin (fancy) at the circa 1864 All Saints Estate. Rutherglen embraces midwinter with the Dark Side of Wine Festival (August 8-17) of bonfires and wine events centred around hero varietals. Stay at the revived Victoria Hotel in the town centre.
Yarra Valley
Winter is ideal hot-air ballooning time, primarily because colder air is more stable, but also because you don’t have to get up so early for the dawn lift-off. And the view, especially in the Yarra Valley, is more spectacular, with the rolling green hills scored by the sharp dark lines of dormant grapevines. There’s a good chance of spotting kangaroos on the hour-long flight, and Global Ballooning can package it with breakfast at the renowned vineyard Balgownie Estate, which has standard rooms and deluxe suites overlooking the expansive grounds.
Phillip Island
Migration paths along our southern coast in June and July offer stirring wildlife encounters, not only with humpback and southern right whales (and maybe orca) but dolphins and birds. The headlands of Phillip Island and the Bass Coast are navigation markers for the whales, so there are many land-based vantage points, but get closer on whale-watching cruises from Cowes, Rhyll or San Remo, with raucous Australian fur seals also thrown into the mix. The marine giants are in the spotlight between July 11 and 13 at an island festival incorporating science, conservation, film and art. Stay local at Five Acres, a working farm that has three cute cabins for two overlooking Western Port Bay.
Gippsland
English artist JMW Turner’s compelling landscapes have inspired artists across the world for centuries, and Turner & Australia at Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale (until August 24) brings together works from generations of local artists who’ve followed his path. The highest echelons of Australian painting are represented, including Glover, von Guerard, McCubbin, Roberts, Streeton, Beckett and Rees, shown alongside Turner works held in Australian public galleries. Weekday tickets include free tours at 11am. Stay 30 minutes away in the little lakeside cabin at Mewburn Park Retreat, just outside Maffra.
ACT
Canberra
The National Gallery of Australia’s latest exhibition is a meeting of minds; the interconnection between ground-breaking European painters of the 20th century and Australians who soaked it all up and brought it back to our shores. Drawn from the impressive Museum Berggruen collection in Berlin, Cezanne to Giacometti (until September 21) presents avant-garde visions of those two icons, plus Picasso, Matisse, Braque and Klee, in the company of Australia’s Russell Drysdale, Grace Cossington Smith and Dorrit Black. The quirky rooms of Ovolo Nishi are a gentle 40-minute stroll away, across Lake Burley Griffin.
For winter getaways in NSW and South Australia, click here.
For winter getaways in QLD and the NT, click here.
For winter getaways in Tasmania, click here.
For winter getaways in Western Australia, click here.
Contributors: Kendall Hill, Ricky French, Jeremy Bourke.
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