What are the best things to do in Albury, New South Wales?

The best things to do in Albury, New South Wales, include Murray River kayaking tours and the Yindyamarra Sculpture Trail. Nearby, there’s Lake Hume, the Bonegilla Migrant Experience, Woomargama National Park and the Murray Farm Gate Trail.

The best things to do in Albury, NSW

The best things to do in Albury, NSW, are…

A self-guided heritage buildings walking tour.
A Murray River kayaking tour.
The Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk.
The Bonegilla Migrant Experience.

The largest city on the Murray River

Albury is the largest city on the Murray River, and a handy stop on the Hume Highway drive from Melbourne to Canberra or Sydney.

It is often referred to as Albury-Wodonga, because Wodonga on the Victorian side of the Murray River is essentially part of the same urban area.

Things to do in Albury, NSW: Murray Art Museum & Noreuil Park

A 553km drive from Sydney or 328km drive from Melbourne, Albury is best described as pleasant but inessential. There are several things to do in Albury, but none should be near the top of your Australian bucket list. The tourism authorities would like to pretend that the Murray Art Museum is the star attraction, but it’s just a moderately decent art museum.

It’s possible to kill a couple of hours by doing a self-guided walking tour of Albury’s heritage buildings, but the city’s real appeal is by the river. Noreuil Park by the river’s edge is grassy, and provides picturesque river views. This is the end point for Murray River kayaking tours with Canoe The Murray.

Murray River kayaking tour in Albury, Australia — A kayaking tour in Albury can be a magical way to explore the Murray River. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Also along the river is the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk, in which a series of Aboriginal artworks have been strung out along a walking trail. This is most pleasant to walk in spring or autumn, when the Albury weather is pleasantly warm.

Things to do near Albury

On the Victorian side of the river in Wodonga, the unquestioned highlight is the Bonegilla Migrant Experience. This huge post-war migrant camp was many European immigrants’ first home in Australia. Displays inside the huts tell of the dubious conditions and immigration surges that changed Australia.

The Bonegilla camp is next to the Hume Dam, the first big dam on the Murray River. Lake Hume, the reservoir created by the dam, is popular for fishing, waterskiing and other water sports.

Albury’s major strength is what’s close by, however. Within an hour’s drive, you can be in the Victorian high country towns of Beechworth and Glenrowan. Both play a major part in the Ned Kelly legend, and thoroughly milk it.

Go east, and you’ve got nature walks in the Woomargama National Park. Go west towards Echuca, and you taste whisky and chocolate in Corowa. You can also taste wines in the grounds of a castle at the All Saints winery in Wahgunyah, then hop between local food producers on the Murray Farm Gate Trail. The ghostly submerged river red gum trees in Lake Mulwala near Yarrawonga are also visually stunning.

Best Albury accommodation picks

The best places to stay in Albury are:

For a heated pool and spa in a gorgeous location next to a riverside park: Best Western Plus Hovell Tree Inn.
For apartments with kitchenettes in a central location: Mantra Albury.
For a good quality motel next to the train station: Winsor Park Motor Inn.
For a holiday park with lots of facilities for the kids: Big4 Albury Tourist Park.
For a motel with cheap rates and fairly central location: Allawa Motor Inn.

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