Friday afternoon: arriving at BIG4 Castlemaine
Of course, you’re staying at BIG4 Castlemaine! With the beautiful Castlemaine Botanical Gardens right next door and the vibrant, amazing Mill Complex just across the road, you’ve arrived at some of the best Castlemaine has to offer. So, welcome!
Arrive in Castlemaine in time to enjoy a light lunch – Superhero Banh Mi or Lunchbox Sushi are local favourites for something quick and delicious. Then head off for a wander through town. Call in to the Castlemaine Art Museum to take in some noted Australian art, a current special exhibition or two and a fascinating and comprehensive display on the area’s early history. Drop in to the Visitor Information Centre housed in the historic market building and take in the award winning, interactive Boorp Boorp Boondyil exhibition about the history, culture and language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people. Browse some boutiques shops, admire the architecture, and perhaps pick up a bottle or two of the region’s award-winning wine.

Friday evening.
It’s off to the charming Castlemaine Maurocco Bar located in the Midland Hotel for cocktails followed by a memorable dinner at Wild restaurant, noted for local produce and wines. Or keep it casual with a gourmet pizza at the Theatre Royal or a great burger at The Love Shack Brewing Co, both located in the heart of town.  

Saturday morning and lunch.
Join the popular Castlemaine Park Run in the Botanical Gardens next door to BIG4 Castlemaine – everyone’s welcome at this weekly five-kilometre run or walk around the gorgeous Botanical gardens. Afterwards, enjoy breakfast at Saint Florian Café, housed in a historic fire station, or at perhaps at the local stalwart Saffs Café. Take the two-minute drive to Wesley Hill, just out Chewton way for the local Wesley Hill Saturday morning market for - fruit, veggies, home-baked pastries, plants, clothes, bric-a-brac, coffee, gossip and friendly faces everywhere. The market has been going for decades and is a local institution. Then be sure to head to the fabulous Mill Complex, back near BIG4 Castlemaine, a food and artisan manufacturing hub, for very serious vintage shopping at Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar, Platform No. 5 and a wander through quirky studio spaces.

Saturday afternoon.
Lunch at the Mill Complex is a choice between Das Kaffeehaus, a Viennese coffeehouse and coffee roastery or a casual meal at the Boomtown Wine Co-Operative. Either is good! Or browse the small food producers who call The Mill home – here you’ll find makers of craft beers, cheeses. amazing chocolates, smallgoods, breads and pastries, as well as a popular fruit and vegetable stalls. Pick up a few supplies for later or enjoy a picnic lunch in the Botanical Gardens.
Time for a long walk! Perhaps a section of the Goldfields Track, a 210-kilometre track which traverses some of the most beautiful mountains, landscapes and small towns of Central Victoria. Perhaps try Vaughan Springs, Dog Rocks near Harcourt, or Expedition Pass Reservoir. Enjoy the scenery, the views and the fresh air, and perhaps visit a local winery or cidery on the way back to Castlemaine.

Saturday evening.
Decisions, decisions! Fine dining with a set degustation menu at the hatted, intimate Bar Midland (advance booking essential)? Or a relaxed dinner at a local pub? The Bridge Hotel, just a three-minute walk from BIG4 Castlemaine, serves great pub meals. Or perhaps you’ll choose to just enjoy a picnic of cheeses and meats with a glass of wine on your private deck and watch dusk settle over the trees of the Botanical Gardens? Then perhaps head off for some live music – check who might be playing at the Theatre Royal, The Bridge Hotel or the Taproom and Shedshaker Brewery located at The Mill precinct.  

Sunday.
Departure day and more decisions! If it’s the first Sunday of the month, the Castlemaine Farmers’ Market is happening, which means great coffee, snacks and treats and plenty of outstanding produce to load up the car with!  Or enjoy a walk to the hole-in-the-wall specialty coffee shop Tortoise Espresso on the town’s main road, which offers up to 50 different coffees to try!
Head home the slow way via the historic town of Maldon, with its carefully preserved gold-rush era streetscapes. Enjoy the architecture, the shops and a long lunch at one of the pubs or restaurants. Or head back to Melbourne through Hepburn and Daylesford, again enjoying lunch at one of the noted restaurants in that area and perhaps taking in the views of the region from the top of the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens.

Or just spend a last day lingering on in Castlemaine. A visit to the eclectic and lovely Lot 19 Art Space. Yum Cha at the Taste of the Orient on Barker Street or a long lunch at the Guildford Winery 15 minutes from Castlemaine (book ahead!) And finally, some Sunday afternoon live music at one of the local pubs.

A couple more days?!
Why not stay a little longer, if you can? Work can wait! Spend an extra day exploring popular Daylesford and Hepburn, a 40-minute drive away. The towns and surrounding area are famous as a centre for wellness and lay claim to 80 per cent of Australia’s fresh mineral water. With more than 200 therapies on offer, this is the place for a facial, massage, mud bath, reiki or any other rejuvenating therapy that appeals. The iconic Hepburn Bathhouse is a good starting point.
There’s also seriously fabulous food and wine on offer, from the lauded Lakehouse Restaurant to numerous eateries offering everything from dumplings to pastries to pub classics along Vincent Street, Daylesford’s main street.  
And, of course, there are some excellent and eclectic galleries and creative art spaces to visit. Start at The Convent, a 19^th century school and convent building now home to seven gallery spaces over four levels as well as a museum, chapel, café and bar and spectacular views.  Also check out Daylesford’s calendar of events and festivals – Chill Out, the Words in Winter Writers’ Festival, the World Circus and Cabaret Festival are just some of the amazing events that attract big and diverse crowds.   

Other towns well worth a visit that are within a 30-to-40-minute drive of Castlemaine include Kyneton, home to trendy Piper Street eateries and shops, and Macedon and the Macedon Ranges. For something very special visit the extraordinary and beautiful Hanging Rock in the Macedon Ranges, also known as Ngannelong, where indigenous people were performing ceremonies more than 25,000 years ago.