The wide-open spaces, the glaring absence of traffic jams, the laidback lifestyle with most of the trappings of the big smoke but on a smaller scale. Really, it is not difficult to understand why Australians have been eager to flee lockdowns to the nation's smaller cities and breathe easy again.
If there's an unexpected bonus to emerge from these problematic and disruptive past two and half years it is the rise of once shunned and now embraced smaller cities beyond, and in some cases close to, our major capital cities, Sydney and Melbourne among them.
Vibrant Afl Culture />
Not only did many Australians permanently snuff out the big smoke as a place to live, countless others also set their sights firmly on domestic short breaks and holidays.
Official Visitors Guide
During the pandemic hiatus many of Australia's regional cities - some already on the upward trajectory – saw billions of dollars spent on new infrastructure, accommodation and tourism products giving travellers more reasons than ever to visit.
Geelong, Newcastle, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Launceston to name but a handful of smaller regional cities and destinations are suddenly cool and desirable places to visit as well as to move to permanently .
The remarkable, and for that matter rather exciting, rise and rise of the regions is reflected in the forthcoming editions of the
Hours In Geelong, Victoria: Where To Go, What To Do
, says regional dining in NSW has never been better, largely thanks to a new generation of young restaurant talent returning from Sydney to their hometowns and opening something fresh and exciting with local customers in mind.
Tracy Carter, acting executive director of Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine, says that a city like Geelong, with its manageable population of under 300, 000, offers the benefits of a city with the soul of a town.
Indeed, with the Spirit of Tasmania ferry service now calling the city its mainland base and with Victoria's regionally-focused Commonwealth Games on the way, Geelong has clearly come a helluva long way in recent years.
Spring Melbourne Official Visitor Guide By Visit Melbourne And Victoria
Geelong is Australia's unofficial regional events capital, Carter says, with blockbusters such as the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Australian International Air show and international music acts such as Foo Fighters, Robbie Williams, Elton John and Sting choosing to play here.
Makers, creators and city folk are increasingly calling Geelong home. Our cosmopolitan precincts and venues are attributable to entrepreneurs, chefs, producers and artists escaping the confines of big cities for the intimacy of a smaller local community.
On the Gold Coast, classified as a city, several new and upcoming luxury hotels including the Langham and The Dorsett - Australia's first Mondrian Residences - and world-wide favourite, The Ritz Carlton are in development.
The Geelong Region: Great Value & An Incredible Lifestyle
Sorely missed domestic travellers are returning to the Gold Coast - home to more than 600, 000 - in droves post pandemic with 3.2 million visiting for the year ending June, particularly from Sydney and Melbourne.
Indeed, the Gold Coast has seen an increase in spend per visitor to over $1000 a head. That's higher than both 2019 and 2021- a figure that shows travellers are preferring quality over quantity.
A few hours north of Sydney, Michael Stamboulidis, general manager of the newly-opened QT Newcastle hotels, says that his property, built inside the city's original David Jones department store, is one of the latest parts of the former steel city's remarkable transformation.
Frankston Times 23 May 2023 By Mornington Peninsula News Group
Newcastle is a charming, relaxed city escape with an incredible beachside locale and thriving community, says the Sydney northern beaches born and bred Stamboulidis. It's on the cusp of a new era of culture, undergoing rapid growth.
So if you think you know our regional cities, based on their admittedly less than glamorous past and reputations, it's time to think again. With
THE LOWDOWN Not unlike its tenacious, grand final-winning AFL team, G-town, as many of the quarter of a million locals affectionately call it, refused to lie down when Ford and its manufacturing base shot through, permanently, in 2016. Why would it? Seventy-five kilometres south-west of Melbourne, Greater Geelong has some of the best beaches in Australia (on the Bellarine Peninsula), a glorious, north facing bay, a laidback lifestyle, preserved heritage architecture and an increasingly dizzying calendar of major events. Plus, an influx of sea changers and relocating creatives, especially post-pandemic, has only amplified and accelerated Geelong's food and wine scene.
The Australia Book 2020 21 (aud) By Holiday Experts
SEE + DO For a city of its size, Geelong bats deep in attraction including some excellent museums (www.visitgeelongbellarine.com.au) and an art gallery of international standing (www.geelonggallery.org.au). Nowadays converted, the warehouse and factory scene are attracting the most attention such as Fyansford Paper Mill (www.fyansfordpapermill.com.au), an arts and cultural hub with not only galleries and design studio but a winery sitting alongside Buckley Falls and the Barwon River. Elsewhere, the former Valley Worsted Mills is now the east coast home of Little Creatures brewery (littlecreatures.com.au) while Federal Mills (www.federalmills.com.au), includes the Anthur Gin distillery and the atmospheric 1915 restaurant.
EAT + DRINK Frank Camorra, who grew up in Geelong, is set to open his fifth MoVida Spanish eatery in 2023 (www.movida.com.au). Meantime, the Little Malop Street precinct burgeons with choice such as the elegant fine diner, Felix (www.felix.com.au) and The Arborist (www.thearboristgeelong.com.au), a wine bar and restaurant that melds mod Oz with Middle Eastern. For fun and fromage, Splatters Cheese Bar (www.splatters.online) in Geelong West features Australia's first sushi-style cheese train accompanied by a locally focused wine list.
STAY For views of Corio Bay opt for the north facing higher level rooms of R Hotel Geelong (www.rhotelgeelong.com.au), a serviced room and apartment complex not far from Eastern Beach. Then again with proximity to the waterfront attractions and the CBD, even the rooms without the views offer a great base.
Inpress Issue #1139 By Themusic.com.au
ESSENTIALS With the AFL in winter and concerts in summer, including at famous Mount Duneed Estate (mtduneedestate.com.au), there's plenty to appeal, whatever the season. Geelong is a usually easy drive of under an hour from Melbourne. There's also a passenger ferry (www.portphillipferries.com.au) between the two cities. See www.visitgeelongbellarine.com.au; www.visitvictoria.com
THE LOWDOWN Part of Perth but at the same time completely distinct and separate from it, it's hard to believe the city affectionately known as Freo was once a rough port town, a hard-working hub of stevedores and fishermen and others serving the area's heavy industry. These days, Freo has kept in touch with its past while also morphing into a cultural and creative wonderland, the cool sibling to Perth's buttoned-down desk-jockey, the place to eat, to drink, to see live music and have a good time.
SEE + DO Begin in Freo by tapping into the city's vibrant history, perhaps at the old prison, now a heritage-listed building (www.fremantleprison.com.au), then with visits to the excellent WA Maritime Museum and the WA Shipwrecks Museum (www.museum.wa.gov.au). Next, experience the city's modern charms with a wander through Fremantle Markets (www.fremantlemarkets.com.au), a browse through its many independent boutiques, and then catch a band at music venues such as Freo Social (www.freo.social), The Aardvark (www.theaardvarkbar.com.au) or the Fremantle Arts Centre (www.fac.org.au).
Find Geelong June 2023 Edition By Find
EAT + DRINK Freo's famed Cappuccino Strip is a little daggy but still a good place to grab a coffee. For food, try classy mod-Oz at Tonic & Ginger (www.theoldsynagogue.com.au), upmarket pan-Asian at Emily Taylor (www.emilytaylorbar.com.au), and high-end vegan at Mother (www.motherfremantle.com.au). Freo is also a great place to drink: try small-batch beer at Calamity's Rod (www.calamitysrod.com.au) or Running With Thieves (www.runningwiththieves.com.au), local gin at Republic of Fremantle (www.republicoffremantle.com), cocktails at Strange Company (www.strangecompany.com.au), or hipster cool at Darling Darling.
STAY Book a few nights at Warders (www.wardershotel.com.au), a boutique hotel set in the limestone cottages that were once home to Fremantle Prison warders.
ESSENTIALS Freo is great to visit year-round, though is at its most popular in summer, when culture can be combined with beach time. It's easily accessible from Perth, via a half-hour drive or train trip from the CBD, and a 35-minute drive from Perth Airport (under 30 minutes from central Perth), with connections from the eastern states. See www.visitfremantle.com.au; www.westernaustralia.com
Melbourne And Victoria Official Visitor Guide
THE LOWDOWN Now officially classified as a city and one built almost entirely on tourism, COVID-19 hit the Gold Coast particularly hard. However $1 billion worth of new investment poured into the coast over the course of the pandemic has put the sparkle back into the glitter strip. Beyond the sun, surf and theme parks, Australia's favourite seaside destination is offering travellers a vibrant new arts precinct, burgeoning food scene and emerging sustainable tourism push.
SEE + DO Delve into the coast's creative side at HOTA (Home of the Arts) (hota.com.au), a 17-hectare $365 million art precinct behind Surfers Paradise home to Australia's largest regional art gallery, visit Wonder Reef (www.wonderreef.com.au) 22 metres above sea level where divers can explore underwater sculptures, marine life and six species of coral on the world's first buoyant reef. Cooly Eco Adventures (www.coolyecoadventures.com.au) meanwhile offers the chance to swim with majestic whales.
EAT + DRINK While surf n turf was once the height of culinary sophistication the Goldie's food scene has undergone a quiet revolution. Twenty two hatted restaurants are on offer including the recently opened Michelin-starred Cantonese fine diner T'ang Court (www.langhamhotels.com) along with Kiyomi (www.star.com.au) headed up by renowned chef Chase Kojima.