Luxury holidays in Ballarat

The gold rush may be over, but that hasn’t dented the fortunes of this shiny, happy city in the Central Highlands of Victoria. The city’s heavy-metal heritage can be seen in its grand architecture, but it’s become a modern foodie destination thanks to its craft beer obsession and damn fine local wines. The city’s also home to Australia’s largest regional art gallery — the Art Gallery of Ballarat houses Australian art ranging from colonial to cutting edge. Get a sense of the swinging sixties (1860s, that is) at Sovereign Hill, an open-air museum that recreates the gold mining days, complete with costumed actors and horse-drawn carriages; or, have close encounters of the marsupial kind with koalas, kangaroos, wombats and Tasmanian Devils at the Ballarat Wildlife Park before a serene stroll through the oak avenues and fern-fringed conservatories of the Botanical Gardens. Golden days, indeed.