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Subscribe How to Plan A Perfect Weekend in Beechworth
Gold Rush charm, big flavours, cool-climate wines and waterfall walks await.
Beechworth is a Gold Rush boom town that never quite shook its good manners, still wearing its heritage like it means it. Honey-hued stone buildings line elm-shaded streets, grand old pubs creak with history, and the pace is gently unhurried. Yet the rewards are immediate: world-class wineries within arm’s reach, a food scene that overdelivers, and enough culture to fill your pockets for the drive home. Beyond town, waterfalls tumble through rugged country, cellar doors pour liquid gold, and winding trails beckon.
Struck by the spell? We’ve struck gold too — here’s your guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore in Beechworth.
Contents
● At a glance
● Getting to Beechworth and where to stop
● Sit in for breakfast and lunch
● Shop around Beechworth
● Drink and Dine
● Soak in culture and history
● Explore nature with walks and trails
● Visit wineries, breweries and distilleries
At a glance: Beechworth weekend essentials
- Ideal length: 2 nights (Friday to Sunday)
- Best time to go: Autumn for golden light and long lunches, winter for pub fires and red wine, spring for wildflowers on the trails, summer for Woolshed Falls swims
- Book ahead: Provenance (and The Parlour Amaro Bar upstairs) and Ford Street Enoteca if you’re travelling on weekends or during festivals
- Don’t miss: A walk to Woolshed Falls and a slow wander of the historic precinct (gaol + courthouse + Burke Museum)
- Best sip trail: Beechworth/Stanley cellar doors (then detour to King Valley or Rutherglen if you’ve got the time)
- Best for: Food-forward weekends, heritage lovers, wine people, and anyone who wants a proper country reset without going off-grid
- Where to stay: Beechworth has everything from heritage hotels to cosy cottages and whole-home stays. For the latest availability and prices, browse Beechworth accommodation here. Want a side of wellness? Book in at The Benev for restorative treatments that make the whole weekend feel better.
Getting to Beechworth
Driving from Melbourne? It’s worth making a few stops along the route, as it’s an easy three-hour-plus drive. Stretch the legs in Seymour and grab a coffee at The Brewer’s Table, plus a parmi pie from Gaffney’s Pie Shop (their lemon tart is also one of the creamiest, most delectable on record). Or switch lanes to Baracca Lane for more good coffee and a panini that makes the detour feel non-negotiable.
Euroa’s Seven Creeks Hotel is a historic gem with a sunny beer garden, while The Wine List is a must if you’re keen to try a local drop, a cherry spritz and build-your-own charcuterie. You’ll find more than Ned Kelly at Glenrowan: Glenrowan Providore is perfect for stocking up on gourmet goods and country pies from nearby north-east Victoria producers.
If time allows, swing through Benalla for the art gallery and riverside park, or detour to some silo art. Finally, Milawa’s gourmet region beckons, with Milawa Mustards and the Milawa Cheese Company, plus small-batch distillery Hurdle Creek Still.
Sit in for breakfast and lunch
This small town punches above its weight in cafes. As the name suggests, Tiny is a hole-in-the-wall spot on Camp Street: cool coffee bar and toastie shop by day, and on Friday and Saturday nights it’s a boozy bar, with cocktails and snacks like cheeseburger spring rolls. The must-order at cafe Table Three Seven Four Seven is the okonomiyaki, a savoury Japanese pancake.
Project 49 fills up with locals and tourists on weekends, a perfect spot for coffee, spiked slushies and brunch dishes from organic muesli to baked claypot Italian beans and egg in a house-made sugo and toasted paninis. Planning a picnic? Grab your cheese, wine and smallgoods here.
Bandit purveys large, Melbourne-worthy sandwiches, like Dom’s Ruben or the generous roast chicken salad, as well as Thursday taco nights. Beechworth Provender is a quaint espresso house and pantry known for its Italian hot chocolates, and Little Nev is perfect for a takeaway coffee as you wander.
Just outside of town, Beechworth Conservatory is a dog-friendly cafe-bar hideaway with plush lounges, houseplants, carpets and kitschy decorations, serving waffles or granola for breakfast, scones all day and snacks in the evening. Pair said snacks with VB longnecks, local pet nats or espresso and you’re set.
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Shop around Beechworth
Taste your way through over 40 jars at Beechworth Honey, browse homewares, books and collectables, and check out the exhibition and beehive. At Beechworth Toys & Collectibles you’ll find everything from rocking horses to model planes, lawn games and old-school wooden toys. Beechworth Sweet Co is a good old-fashioned country candy shop, with boiled sweets and fresh fudge. Sweet tooths should stop into the Beechworth Ice Creamery on sunny days, made in-house with local ingredients. Their mango gelato is the only choice come summer.
Check out the array of charming boutiques, including Spencer Phillips and Hello Darling, but remember that op shops and antique stores are where you can strike absolute gold in country towns. Browse fresh volumes at Beechworth Books, then head uphill to the Quercus bookshop for a rummage around pre-loved editions. There’s even a tattoo parlour, the Tough Luck Tattoo Club, and if you’re lucky, catch the monthly Farmer’s Market at Christ Church, on the corner of Ford and Church streets.
Drink and dine
A country town is defined by its pubs, and Tanswell Hotel’s among the best. Established 1853, it’s a bit rock n roll, a bit country, with live music, a pool room and the public Kelly Bar spilling onto the pavement beneath a heritage balcony. The menu’s a spin on pub classics, with wild boar dim sims and their famous venison schnitty just as happily paired with Carlton Draught, local craft beer or King Valley prosecco. Hotel Nicholas (“The Nick”) is old school, with sports on the TV and an honest feed like curries and “pub grub” lunch specials, and the no-frills Hibernian Hotel is notable for its parmis.
A must-visit for special occasions, Provenance is a 16-year-old, award-winning fine dining institution with a Japanese-influenced tasting menu led by Chef Michael Ryan. Upstairs, you’ll also find The Parlour Amaro Bar, a tasting room for the Beechworth Bitters Company and a vinyl-spinning cocktail bar.
Formerly the Ox and Hound Bistro, Ford Street Enoteca is snug yet stylish, defined by seasonal flavours and famed for handmade pastas – but don’t skip the “Something very chocolatey & disgustingly rich” dessert. From Friday to Sunday, the pared-back white-walled Vino Bar opens its doors for a quick snack of terrine or something more substantial, like beef and fennel meatballs, with the perfect wine pairing. If you’re feeling casual, Miss Amelie Gourmet has award-winning pies to rival the Beechworth Bakery, and Ageing Frog Fish Bar does a mean sweet potato cake.
Soak in culture and history
Take in 140 years of history with Old Beechworth Gaol tours (Ned Kelly was a repeat visitor). The Beechworth historic precinct is home to registered 19th-century heritage sites, including the old courthouse (currently housing the Kelly Trials exhibition) and the Burke Museum (one of Australia’s oldest, featuring a reconstruction of the Gold Rush era streetscape).
These days, the former Beechworth Asylum is known for its well-kept grounds and tours: history by day, ghosts and paranormal hunts by night. The Old Stone Hall has drawn in big names for its gigs, like Clare Bowditch and Meg Washington, and Beechworth Contemporary Art Space exhibits original works by local artists.
A 20-minute drive from Beechworth brings you to the Yeddonba Aboriginal Cultural Site in the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, a place of archaeological and spiritual importance to a number of clans, including the Dhudhuroa people (a sub-clan of the Pangarang people), the Quat Quatta and Minjambutta clans.
Explore nature with walks and trails
Aside from having the Alpine Region on your doorstep, it’s an easy walk (and an even easier drive) to the trailhead for Beechworth Gorge and Lookout, as well as Woolshed Falls. Take the Beechworth Gorge Walk through granite formations, seasonal wildflowers and native woodland, see the Cascades and Newtown Bridge. To the south, you’ll find tree walks around Mayday Hills and the Lake Sambell circuit and bird hide. Pack the picnic!
Visit wineries, breweries and distilleries
Weathercraft, Giaconda and Indigo wineries are all clustered a short drive west of town, with Fighting Gully Road and Willem Kurt just south. Of course, nearby King Valley and Rutherglen are day trips in themselves. Or stay close at Eldorado Road cellar door on Ford Street. Weathercraft, Giaconda and Indigo wineries are all clustered a short drive west of town, with Fighting Gully Road and Willem Kurt just south. Of course, nearby King Valley and Rutherglen are daytrips in themselves. Or stay close at Eldorado Road cellar door on Ford Street.
If you’d like some guidance, Cellar Door Wine Store is like a bookshop of wine, local compendium of knowledge for the whole region (and a great spot to pick up premium Euro wines, too).
Bridge Road Brewers on Ford Street are your go-to for great pizza and beers, situated in a 1850s coach house. They also stock limited-edition releases, merch, and even hold run clubs and the High Country Hop festival. Last St Brewery is a family-owned all-rounder with craft beers, spirits, sodas, cordials, jams and even a by-booking-only Saturday dining room, The Last Supper Club.
Nearby, visit Barking Owl Distilling Co (temporarily closed until February 14th, 2026) in Wooragee and Backwoods Distilling in Yackandandah, while Bright has both Bright Brewery and Reed & Co. If you’re making a trip to Stanley for Vignerons Schmolzer and Brown, check out The Stanley Pub with its Asian-influenced menu, as well as some pleasant loop walks around the village.
Beechworth knows how to treat a weekend: breakfasts that drift into long lunches, pub nights soundtracked by live music, and days stitched together with galleries, gaol tours, gorge walks and that bracing high-country air. Come for the Gold Rush history and honey-hued streets, then let the food, wine and alpine light take over. You’ll head home with a boot full of bottles, a phone full of photos, and plans to return before the year’s out.
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