Daylesford, Australia's Spa Centre

Daylesford is a short one hour and 15 minute-drive away from Melbourne, traveling northwest on the Western Freeway.

The Attraction

Did you know that Daylesford is the spa center of Australia?

Over 50% of Australia's active mineral water outlets can be found in Daylesford and tourists from all over the world regularly visit Daylesford just to sample its mineral waters.

Daylesford is a favorite hideaway, especially for foreign businessmen. After they've visited Daylesford once, they know it is one place they want to visit again on their next Australia business trip. That’s why, upon concluding their business in the big city, repeat visitors usually check out of their Sydney hotel or Melbourne hotel in a flash and head straight to Daylesford.

Upon getting here, this is what they love to do right away: visit the Hepburn Springs Spa Complex, submerge their whole bodies and sink to the bottom of a spa bath as all their stress and tension is slowly washed away. Most spas are even treated with a blend of essential oils whose aroma is deeply soothing, scented with Australian bush flower fragrances. It's absolute bliss after a hard week of stressful business negotiations.

Hepburn Springs Spa Complex is Australia's only mineral water hydrotherapy facility. Businessmen and their families have been visiting Hepburn Springs for years to picnic at its parks and frolic around its mineral-water pumps. There are maps available here that will guide tourists to the other mineral springs nestled in the nearby hills.

Tourist Attractions

For sight-seeing enthusiasts, the best places to visit in Daylesford are the Hepburn Regional Park, Botanic Gardens, Convent Gallery, Daylesford Station and Wombat State Forest.

Tourists can rummage through the many local arts and crafts shops and antique stores at Convent Gallery. The lake is excellent for boating, feeding the ducks or for simply just soaking in the town's idyllic ambience on a lazy afternoon. Beside the lake is the Boathouse Café which is a great place to have breakfast while watching Daylesford come to life from its evening slumber. There are also many excellent luxury accommodation spots in Daylesford to choose from.

Daylesford Station offers vintage railway trips every Sunday that pass through Wombat State Forest and offer the best view of its natural scenery. The station has a couple of well-stocked open-air markets where you are bound to find anything you need. Visitors may also go horseback riding and roam the local trails.

Delish Daylesford Food Delights

Something a little bit different for the visitor to Daylesford is the Tarascon Spa Resort. In-house guests (only) looking for some "good country cuisine" will be very pleasantly surprised at what the Restaurant at Tarascon has to offer.

Plus, you can enjoy a massage or a facial at their Day Spa, and relax in country comfort in one of their beautiful self-contained cottages (designed for 2,4 or 8 people).

If your sweet tooth is aching to be scratched, there's no better place than Sweet Decadence at Locantro, a heady locale of hand-made heavenly chocolates and fine food. They have a wide array of chocolates which are simply sumptuous and, as the name suggests, decadent. You can enjoy your chocolates by an open fire or with all the flavors of ice cream you could possibly want.