Best Family Activities in Bendigo: Bendigo Art Gallery, Vintage Trams and the Goldfields

Bendigo offers a rich set of family-friendly experiences built around the city's extraordinary goldfields heritage, its world-class art gallery, the historic tram network and the accessible natural landscapes of central Victoria. The Bendigo Art Gallery on View Street is one of Australia's most respected regional galleries and regularly mounts blockbuster exhibitions with international and national significance that attract significant family visitation, with works across historic Australian art, decorative arts and contemporary practice. The Bendigo Tramways, a heritage electric tram service operating on the original 19th-century network that connects the railway station, the central city and the Central Deborah Gold Mine, is one of only a handful of heritage tram services still operating in Australia and is a genuine family experience. The Central Deborah Gold Mine on Violet Street is the centrepiece of Bendigo's gold rush interpretation, with underground mine tours through actual working mine shafts, gold-panning activities and a surface interpretation centre. The Bendigo Pottery at Epsom, the oldest working pottery in Australia, has family-friendly clay workshops and a heritage museum. Lake Weeroona in Bendigo's southern suburbs has a good family park with playground equipment and walking paths. The Discovery Science and Technology Centre on Pall Mall has hands-on science exhibits for younger children.