There’s more to explore in Victoria than you might think. Plan your next holiday around one of these less-touristed, underrated and hidden Victorian destinations and towns.
Victoria
Victoria's quirkiest attractions
Discover 10 quirky attractions in Victoria, from the Pink Lakes and Cactus Country to Fairy Park and the Big Rolling Pin, ordered by distance from Melbourne.
Planning a day trip or mid-week break in regional Victoria? Add one of these 10 quirky attractions to your itinerary for an easy detour, a memorable photo stop or a quick activity between towns. They’re ideal when you want something a little different, without adding hours of extra driving.
Many of these distinctive Victorian attractions owe their existence to the grand visions of individuals, including Cactus Country, KellyLand Glenrowan and Kryal Castle. They are listed by approximate driving distance from Melbourne, starting with the biggest regional adventures and working back toward to easy day-trip destinations.
More: Melbourne's best day trips
Are you road trip ready?
Before heading out, check that your emergency roadside assistance is up to date, and download the VicEmergency app for bushfire or extreme weather warnings. RACV Members can use the RACV App to find nearby fuel and charging stations along their chosen route.
The Pink Lakes are best seen at dusk or dawn in late summer or early autumn. Image: Visit Victoria
Top 10 quirky attractions in Victoria
1. Pink Lakes, Murray-Sunset National Park
Murray-Sunset National Park combines wide skies, rugged mallee country and the famous Pink Lakes, making it one of Victoria’s most surreal natural landscapes.
The park draws photographers and road-trippers with colours that can shift from bright white to rose-pink, especially around sunrise and sunset.
Pioneer Drive offers one of the easiest ways to experience the lakes, taking visitors past Lake Kenyon, Lake Becking, Lake Crosbie and Lake Hardy. Beyond the lakes, the park offers walks, birdlife, camping and traces of the region’s salt-harvesting history.
Explore Australia's largest cactus garden and enjoy cactus cake at the end. Image: Visit Victoria
2. Cactus Country (Strathmerton)
Cactus Country is one of Victoria’s most surprising attractions: a 4.8ha desert garden that feels more like Mexico, Arizona or Patagonia than northern Victoria. Created by Jim and Julie Hall, it has grown from a personal passion project into a multi-award-winning tourist hotspot.
Described as Australia’s largest cactus garden, it features thousands of cacti and succulents spread across sandy walking trails, from giant statement plants in the Valley of the Giants to smaller, stranger specimens from around the world.
There is a Mexican-inspired bar and restaurant, cactus cake and cactus ice cream, and even a nursery where visitors can take a plant home. It's one of the top things to do if you're staying in Cobram.
More: The best things to do in Cobram for families and tourists
The giant rolling pin on top of this bakery has turned into a hot destination for selfies.
3. Big Rolling Pin at Henri’s Bakery (Wodonga)
No road trip through Victoria feels complete without a bakery stop. Family-owned and serving the region since 1977, Henri’s Bakery in Wodonga is exactly the kind of place worth checking out.
What makes it even better for road-trippers is the giant rolling pin on the roof, a wonderfully absurd landmark that deserves its place alongside the Giant Koala near the Grampians, the Giant Murray Cod in Swan Hill and the Big Mallee Bull in Birchip. In fact, there are more than 150 eye-catching structures all around Australia, worthy of a road trip across Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
At Henri's Bakery, you can grab something hot to eat, pick up a sweet treat for later, and snap a photo of one of the state’s most memorable novelty stops.
More: Melbourne to Sydney: your ultimate road trip guide for the Hume Highway
Kellyland Glenrowan brings the Ned Kelly story to life with elaborate sets depicting life in the 1880s. Image: Visit Victoria
4. Kellyland Glenrowan
Kellyland Glenrowan is one of Victoria’s most unusual roadside attractions, bringing the story of Ned Kelly’s last stand to life through animatronics, special effects and a deeply theatrical sense of place.
Tucked into the historic township of Glenrowan, the experience begins with a time-travel-style journey back to 1880 before immersing visitors in the drama of the siege that made Ned Kelly so infamous.
Across five elaborate sets, you move from the old Melbourne railway station to the Glenrowan Inn, through scenes of smoke, fire and confrontation, and finally to Old Melbourne Gaol for Ned’s final moments. Established in 1972 by Don and Valda Tibbits, Kellyland Glenrowan has become one of the most memorable collections dedicated to the Kelly story in Australia.
Victoria is home to Australia’s biggest outdoor gallery. Image: Visit Victoria
5. Victoria’s Silo Art Trail
Victoria’s Silo Art Trail transforms an ordinary regional road trip into something far more remarkable. Spread across four regions - the Murray, Grampians, High Country and Goldfields - the trail now includes 23 large-scale works by renowned artists from around the world, turning Victoria into the home of Australia’s biggest outdoor gallery.
Each mural is rooted in the local landscape, history and people, giving travellers a reason to slow down, stay overnight and explore towns they might otherwise pass through.
The route can be tackled over three or four days, either through the north west or north east, making it flexible for a long weekend or a bigger regional adventure.
More: How to explore Australia’s biggest outdoor art gallery
6. The Stick Shed (Murtoa)
The Stick Shed in Murtoa is one of Victoria’s most surprising historic attractions: a vast World War II grain store whose dramatic timber interior has earned it the nickname “Cathedral of the Wimmera".
Completed in 1942, it is the only remaining emergency grain store of its type in Australia. It was built quickly during wartime shortages using hundreds of unmilled mountain ash poles and simple galvanised iron joints.
Its ghostly rows of towering timber poles, long central aisle and shafts of light through the roof create a serene atmosphere that feels completely unexpected in the middle of the Wimmera wheatbelt. Now heritage-listed and open to visitors, it is both an engineering marvel and unforgettable detour.
More: Best towns to visit on a trip to Victoria's High Country
7. J Ward (Ararat)
J Ward in Ararat is one of Victoria’s most haunting and compelling historic attractions. Originally established as a goldfields gaol, the bluestone complex later became the place where Victoria housed men described at the time as the criminally insane, giving the site a layered and deeply unsettling story that still lingers in its stark cells and iron-doored corridors.
Today, visitors explore the building on guided tours led by passionate volunteers, hearing stories of murderers, thieves, institutional life and the treatment of mental illness in a very different era.
If that sounds too dark to you, then Ararat is also home to the Ararat Gallery TAMA, a premier public gallery for textile and fibre art, and cool-climate vineyards that offer localised tasting experiences. The town is a gateway to the Grampians National Park.
Kryal Castle is Australia’s only replica medieval theme park. Image: Visit Victoria
8. Kryal Castle (Ballarat)
Kryal Castle is one of Victoria’s most unexpected attractions: a medieval fantasy world just outside Ballarat, complete with knights, dragons, jousting and castle towers. Open since 1974, it has welcomed millions of visitors and turns a simple day trip into something far more theatrical and memorable than most people expect from regional Victoria.
There are special events throughout the year, such as Knights of Fire: a family fire spectacular (27 June -19 July 2026) and the Australian Jousting Championships (1-2 August 2026).
The brainchild of former Ballarat local and entrepreneur Keith Ryall, the replica castle offers a family-friendly and delightfully strange outing.
Fairy Park is fun for children and a walk down memory lane for adults. Image: Visit Victoria
9. Fairy Park (Anakie)
Fairy Park is a nostalgic storybook world of castles, cottages, caves and fantasy creatures set among rolling countryside west of Melbourne. Open since 1959, it describes itself as Australia’s first themed attraction, and that long history is part of its appeal. The park leans into old-school enchantment, inviting visitors to wander paved paths through scenes inspired by classic fairytales, myths and legends.
Alongside fairytale scenes, there are model trains, castle towers, panoramic summit views, picnic grounds and the Camelot Adventure Playground.
It's a great pitstop if you're on your way to Geelong and Bellarie Peninsula, and most families spend around two hours exploring this attraction. It is not polished in a theme-park way, which is precisely why people remember it so fondly.
Immerse yourself in the Redwood Forest as part of a day trip to the Yarra Valley. Image: Visit Victoria
10. Californian Redwood Forest (near Warburton)
The Redwood Forest near Warburton is one of Victoria’s most unexpectedly atmospheric natural attractions, a quiet grove of towering Californian redwoods that feels completely out of place in the Yarra Ranges.
Popular with Melbourne day-trippers and locals alike, the forest was planted in the 1930s as part of a hydrology experiment and now features more than 1,470 trees rising in strikingly uniform rows, some more than 55m high.
Visitors can wander beneath the enormous canopy, picnic on the lawns, or follow the Cement Creek trail through lush native vegetation to where the creek meets the Yarra River. Just 15 minutes from Warburton and about 90 minutes from Melbourne, it is an easy day trip that combines novelty and beauty or stay overnight at a nearby resort.
How to turn this list into a memorable Victorian road trip
To keep your itinerary relaxed, choose one feature attraction and build the rest of the day around a nearby town (for food and fuel or charging) plus a short walk or lookout.
Good pairings include: Western Highway/Grampians (JWard is on the way to the Grampians), Wimmera (Murtoa’s Stick Shed and silo art), Yarra Ranges (Warburton and the Redwood Forest), and North East Victoria (Glenrowan’s Big Ned Kelly with a Rutherglen winery stop).
Before you go, check opening hours (where applicable), park access and weather conditions, especially for national parks and remote roads.
Staying in Melbourne? Take a guided tour of the city's unique street art. Image: Visit Victoria
Staying in Melbourne? Try these quirky attractions
These unusual Melbourne attractions are easy to slot into a free afternoon, and work well as bookends before or after a regional mid-week break.
- Elvis memorial at Melbourne General Cemetery (Carlton North) – A landmark for music fans and a different kind of sightseeing stop.
- Historic Princes Pier (Port Melbourne) - Beyond the restored gatehouse, a striking forest of timber piles extends into Port Phillip Bay as a reminder of the site's maritime history.
- Organ Pipes National Park (Keilor North) – Ancient basalt columns create a striking, almost man-made-looking rock formation.
- State Library experiences and tours – A simple way to add something different to a CBD day out, especially if you’re travelling mid-week.
- Laneways and street art routes – Ideal for self-guided wandering when you want an activity that’s free, flexible and easy to combine with cafés and galleries.
