How To Spend a Weekend in Ballarat: From Light Shows to Truffle Hunts

Ballarat is well known for its gold rush history and colonial-era heritage buildings, but there are plenty more reasons to spend a weekend in the bustling regional city. The dining and bar scene is more exciting than ever – especially when it comes to breweries and distilleries – and the Pyrenees wine region is right on its doorstep too. And creativity is everywhere you look in this Unesco City of Crafts and Folk Art, from Australia’s oldest regional art gallery to a lively cross-section of murals and public art installations.

Want to see more of what it has to offer? Here’s how to spend 48 brilliantly unexpected hours in Ballarat, encompassing multi-course meals and world-class accommodation. And with its proximity to Melbourne, you can easily come back for more.

Friday

Check-in at Hotel Vera
This re-imagined 19th-century mansion has seven luxury suites, each with its own name, distinct interior design and pieces by a contemporary Australian artist. That means you could stay here seven times and have a different experience each time. Vera’s location right in Ballarat’s CBD means many of the city’s attractions are a short walk away. Guests can also enjoy an in-house seasonal continental breakfast that showcases local bakeries, dairies and butchers.
710 Sturt Street, Ballarat

Pre-dinner drinks at Itinerant Spirits
A heritage-listed former goods shed at the Ballarat Railway Station is now home to independent distillery Itinerant Spirits. Order sips of their all-grain vodka, wild botanical gin or locally-sourced coffee liquor, or try a cocktail class or whiskey experience. The space is something to behold, with its high ceilings and complicated system of brass stills overlooking the main bar. Bonus: you can take home a bottle for a gift or souvenir.
200 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat

Dinner at Mr Jones
Over on Bakery Hill is Mr Jones, the latest eatery from Damien Jones, who cut his teeth with a formative stint at Michelin-starred London eatery Nahm and his own former restaurant Catfish, which specialised in top-tier Thai food. Mr Jones works more broadly across modern Asian cuisine, with a seasonal focus and a banquet menu that lets you try more things.
42-44 Main Road, Ballarat

Nightcap at Renard
Finish the evening in style at this effortlessly cool cocktail bar. Renard offers quirky late-night bar snacks, a thoughtful wine selection, craft beer and mocktails. Fans of Australian spirits need to try the Outback Negroni, or you can sip happily across whisky, gin, tequila and amaro flights. Any given night might bring a soundtrack of globetrotting disco, plus an arty black-and-white movie playing silently behind the bar.
*209 Mair Street, Ballarat *

Saturday

Morning brew from Cobb’s Coffee
Ballarat takes its coffee just as seriously as Melbourne does, and there’s no shortage of options for a world-class cuppa. Cobb’s is a brick-and-mortar showcase for Melbourne roasters Rumble, situated in a heritage-listed building in Ballarat CBD. Other options for caffeine nearby include Yellow Espresso and Fika, both with streamlined fit-outs and painstaking focus on the quality of their products.
2 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat

Lake Wendouree
Situated in the centre of its titular suburb, the sweeping Lake Wendouree is a hive of activity – especially when the local farmers’ market is on every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Families often gravitate to the sprawling adventure playground, while others take to the water for fishing or boating. A six-kilometre path runs the whole way around the lake, inviting walkers, joggers and cyclists to take in the blissful scenery. Also look out for the historic Ballarat Tramway Museum (and take a short ride), plus the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, home to a conservatory stocked with flora specific to each season.
Wendouree

Lunch at Johnny Alloo
With a building dating back to the 1870s and a name that comes from Ballarat’s first-ever restaurateur, Johnny Alloo is a rich space that doubles as a history lesson. Today, it’s owned and run by local coffee connoisseur Matthew Freeman (also Fika): expect all-day breakfast and lunch with coffee by St Ali and Proud Mary, and even sneaky cocktails and other boozy options.
32 Drummond Street North, Ballarat

Ballarat Wildlife Park
This tourism hotspot once specialised in Australian animals, but now you can see everything from Sumatran-Siberian tigers and American crocs to venomous snakes and giant tortoises. Educational presentations and feedings happen on a regular schedule, and one-on-one animal encounters are available for the koalas, tree kangaroo, meerkats, tigers and even the slightly intimidating resident cassowary. You can spend hours wandering the expansive grounds, but make sure to purchase a bag of food upon entry to feed the adorable free-roaming kangaroos right out of your hand.
250 Fussell Street, Ballarat

Dinner at Babae
Since you’re already staying at Hotel Vera, it’s easy to visit its on-site fine diner Babae. This intimate 26-seater serves a seasonal seven-course dinner with matched wines, giving you a taste of the best the region has to offer – including produce from culinary director Tim Foster and partner Peter’s bountiful kitchen garden. And the space is just as spellbinding as the rest of Vera, with painstaking intentionality visible in every detail.
710 Sturt Street, Ballarat

Sound and light extravaganza at Sovereign Hill
There’s more to Sovereign Hill than period dress and candle making. The themed interactivity extends to sound-and-light show Aura, a 90-minute combination of visual storytelling and booming audio technology. Relive all the action and drama of the hectic hunt for gold, including gun battles and sudden swings from poor to rich (and back again). Even if you don’t spend the day at Sovereign Hill, this grand finale is well worth visiting for.
Bradshaw Street, Ballarat

Sunday

Lunch and truffle hunt at Black Cat Truffles
Just a 20-minute drive from Hotel Vera, Black Cat Truffles by Liam Downes is a farm and restaurant near the forests of Creswick. Running through the chilly season from May 31, the 3.5-hour winter truffle hunt and degustation lunch is a popular fixture on Sundays. It includes a deep dive into truffle foraging, led by the in-house team and their trusty companions, followed by a welcome drink and a six-course lunch. There are also summer truffle experiences on offer, plus brunches and lunches year-round.
150 Howards Road, Wattle Flat

Wine-tasting at Captains Creek
Finish the weekend with a tour of the gorgeous Captains Creek, a picturesque fourth-generation organic farm located between Ballarat and Daylesford in sleepy Blampied. The panoramic views are as stunning as the individual drops, which range from chardonnay (both oaked and unoaked) and pinot noir to rosé and sparkling apple cider. The cellar door also features an open fire in winter, allowing you to get warm and cosy as your trip draws to a close.
120 Kangaroo Hills Road, Blampied

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Visit Ballarat.