ballarat self-guided & guided city tales & hidden lanes tour
a slow travel self-guided & guided tours
go on An slow travel Adventure in ballarat - Solve Clues & Discover inspiring tales, unique shops, art studios, delicious eateries, stunning scenery on the
ballarat city tales & hidden lanes tour.
take the ballarat City tales & hidden lanes tour -your intriguing journey awaits!
Take an immersive slow travel journey to discover mysterious laneways, quirky local shops, and captivating hidden tales.
Take the Ballarat guided walking tour (weekend tours and on-demand Wednesday-Sunday for small groups) or the self-guided tour. What’s the difference? They both include similar things, but the self-guided tour is designed for people who love big walks in a city and takes half to a full day. The guided tour is 2.5 hrs and focuses on the intriguing tales of Ballarat.
“Myself and 2 girlfriends had a blast…Will be back to explore further as more to see yet!
— Janita
highlights of the ballarat self-guided tour
The route starts from The Ballarat Train Station, or Main Road (for a shorter journey) or can be started at any of the landmarks/points. The journey focuses on hidden laneways, art galleries/studios, antique and local gift stores, quirky cafes and beautiful scenery.
It takes 3-5 hrs including stopping at our recommended spots.You can also pick and choose what you want to do - the main point is to slow down and enjoy the experience.
The self-guided tour runs Wednesdays-Saturdays between 10:30am to 4pm. It’s available to do all year round except for public holidays and the Summer school holidays when most businesses are closed.
A Beautifully curated, inspiring slow travel experience of inner ballarat
This self guided tour is designed for adventurous souls to discover beautiful scenery, art, history and experience slow travel in Ballarat. We recommend scheduling this as a full day-walk, or for a 2 hour to half day walk start at Main Road. Featured in Kayak’s guide to Ballarat here.
Slow Travel Journeys - Inspired by Korea’s Jeju Island
Jarrod and Emma Hall, Hidden Lanes creators spent 9 years in South Korea, and during that time created video content and a slow travel guide to Korea’s Jeju Island. The journey was a walking or cycling route that included beautiful scenery, funky cafes, art galleries and nature. They made a film about the journey, that was featured in the Korean Expat Film Festival and World Bicycle Film Festival. This style of slow journeying includes meandering along laneways, taking your time to take photos, take in the scenery and buy local produce. They were inspired to make something similar for Ballarat and other slow travel vibe places in the world!
get the coffee table book of the ballarat hidden lanes guidebook
This beautifully produced full colour interactive self-guided tour and guidebook is proudly local from start to finish - with layout by local designer Matthew Brown, and local printing business by Sovereign Press. This 100-page guidebook is now available at Visit Ballarat and the Ballarat Imaginarium for just $37 RRP. Or you can order the guidebook here.
shop the New ballarat collection
thanks to our sponsors
Acknowledgements: With thanks to historians Dr. David Waldron and Doug Bradbury.• This guidebook was developed on the Country of the Wadawurrung who have performed age old cultural ceremonies, celebrations and traditions here for thousands of years. We would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Elders past and present. • This project was made possible by the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia.