Is Bendigo or Ballarat better?

Whether Bendigo or Ballarat is better depends on what you’re looking for. Sovereign Hill gives Ballarat a top drawer tourist attraction, but Bendigo’s bars and restaurants are more enjoyable.

Bendigo and Ballarat are the two biggest cities in the Goldfields region of Victoria. Neither is an A list tourist destination, but both have appeal if you visit.

When asking if Bendigo or Ballarat is better, you need to define what you mean by better. If it’s about which is better to spend a couple of days in as a tourist, then Ballarat is better than Bendigo. This is purely because of Sovereign Hill, an enormous open-air museum.

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Does Sovereign Hill make Ballarat better than Bendigo?

Sovereign Hill not only recreates a gold mining town, but brings it to life. You can pan for gold in the creek, go into the gold mine on a train and watch soldiers firing muskets. But it’s also a living place, where niche businesses appropriate to the theme ply their trade. You can watch candlemakers and wheelwrights at work – and they’re not just doing it for tourists. These are people making a genuine living out of seemingly arcane businesses.

Ballarat Town Hall, Victoria — Ballarat Town Hall is one of the most appealing heritage buildings in Ballarat, Victoria. Photo courtesy of Visit Victoria.

Other things to do in Ballarat include visiting 1956 Olympic venue Lake Wendouree and enjoying animal experiences at Ballarat Wildlife Park.

4 Ballarat experiences to book in advance ⬇️

Sovereign Hill tickets – visit Australia’s best open air museum. Give it a full day, too – there’s so much to see and do.
Ballarat Wildlife Park entry – meet loads of cute native Aussie animals.
Kryal Castle admission – enjoy a bizarre knights in armour theme park.
Beer-making course – learn to brew, with tastings and lunch thrown in.

Bendigo vs Ballarat: Is it worth visiting Bendigo?

Bendigo hasn’t got a single attraction that’s nearly as strong as Sovereign Hill – although the Central Deborah Gold Mine tours are really enjoyable. Other things to do in Bendigo include taking in Chinese heritage at the Golden Dragon Museum and pushing buttons at the Discovery Science and Technology Centre.

You can also take the Bendigo Tramways hop-on, hop-off tour, visiting Bendigo attractions such as Lake Weeroona on the way.

Is Ballarat or Bendigo better? Bendigo’s strengths

However, Bendigo is arguably a better city than Ballarat to hang out in. Ballarat plays on its history more, but can feel a little tired and dog-eared. Bendigo, despite being further away from Melbourne, takes on more of Melbourne’s influence. The Bendigo bar and restaurant scene is more fun than Ballarat’s.

So if you’ve got a few days, Bendigo is better than Ballarat. But if you’ve got just one day, Ballarat is better than Bendigo.

Travel to Ballarat and Bendigo

The drive from Melbourne to Bendigo takes about one hour and 47 minutes. From Melbourne to Ballarat, the driving time is around one hour and 22 minutes. The drive from Ballarat to Bendigo takes an hour and 35 minutes.