Yarra and Dandenong

Yarra Valley cellar doors encompass everything from grand architectural statements to rustic tin sheds hidden among the vines. The architecture perfectly reflects the diversity of styles and approaches in this fertile, beautiful, cool-climate region.

For more than a century, this region has been one of Melbourne’s favourite retreat......[More]

Yarra and Dandenong

Yarra Valley cellar doors encompass everything from grand architectural statements to rustic tin sheds hidden among the vines. The architecture perfectly reflects the diversity of styles and approaches in this fertile, beautiful, cool-climate region.

For more than a century, this region has been one of Melbourne’s favourite retreats. Today, the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges is renowned for its boutique accommodation. Where better to escape from the bustle of life?

Hide away in the Yarra Valley in an elegantly restored BandB, luxury cottage or five-star hotel, including the famous Chateau Yering Historic House Hotel or Sebel Lodge at Yarra Valley.

For those looking for a romantic getaway, retreat to the Dandenongs. Hidden amongst the hills are BandBs, garden-fringed guesthouses and self-contained cottages offering spa baths, open fires and panoramic views of city lights, and lush forests and valleys.

Also on offer throughout the region are farmstays, conference centre accommodation and rainforest bungalows. If you are looking to get a little closer to nature try a holiday park where you can pitch a tent or stay in a log cabin.

Healesville is famous for its internationally-renowned wildlife sanctuary, home to more than 200 species of Australian native animals. Surrounded by scenic countryside, the town is an important food and wine centre and host to the annual Yarra Valley Grape Grazing Festival. Year-round, visit local vineyards to sample local wines and talk to their makers at cellar doors.

Marysville was established in 1863 as a stopover for diggers on the way to the nearby Woods Point goldfields. Today, the town is well known for its beautiful gardens and scenery, and as a gateway to year-round outdoor activities. The town streets are a riot of colour in spring, when cottage gardens come alive with blossoms of dogwood, azaleas and rhododendrons. The wonderful avenue of century-old oak trees in the main street form a cooling canopy in summer, and a golden display in autumn. Nestled in the valley beside Melbourne’s closest ski fields, scenic Marysville is surrounded by waterfalls and tall forests of mountain ash.

Yarra Glen is an agricultural and dairy town in the heart of the Yarra Valley wine and food region and is an ideal base for enjoying cellar door tastings and sampling local produce. A short distance from Melbourne, Yarra Glen is a popular weekend getaway with a host of indulgent activities and attractions.

For over 100 years the Dandenong Ranges have been an idyllic retreat for Melburnians wanting to take the mountain air and escape the bustle of city life. Today visitors flock to the romantic hilltop villages for luxury hideaways, beautiful gardens, and magnificent tall forests and views.

Visit Olinda and the National Rhododendron Gardens, home of 15,000 rhododendrons, 12,000 azaleas, 250,000 daffodils, native birds, and spectacular panoramic views of the Yarra Valley and distant ranges. Spend a relaxing afternoon browsing through the many art, antique and handicraft galleries and sampling a famous Dandenong Ranges Devonshire cream tea. Take a ride on Puffing Billy, Australia’s oldest steam railway, through thick forests, fern-filled gullies and past gorgeous villages with poetic names like Belgrave, Gembrook and Emerald.

Home of spectacular tall forests, the Dandenong Ranges National Park is the perfect place to unwind and relax. Over 300 kilometres of walking tracks meander through lush gullies and misty mountain ash forests to magical places such as Sherbrooke Forest, Dongalla Homestead and the Thousand Steps.

For those looking for a romantic getaway, choose from one of the many BandBs hidden amongst the hills, garden-fringed guesthouses and self-contained cottages offering spa baths, open fires and panoramic views of city lights, and lush forests and valleys. [Less]