Sovereign Hill
Sovereign Hill
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
At Sovereign Hill, the story of an important time and place in Australian History, and the people who lived it, lives on. An internationally acclaimed tourist attraction, Sovereign Hill prides itself on its close attention to detail found in every aspect of this living, outdoor museum. Sovereign Hill is a glimpse of the vigour and excitement of life on Australia’s 1850s goldfields. Visitors can find real gold in the creek – gold pans are provided and it’s ‘finders keepers’, see $150,000 worth of molten gold poured into a gleaming bar, and take in the rich program of activities, shows and demonstrations. On Main Street there are working shops, hotels and a theatre – all based on original Ballarat businesses. Visitors are able to watch goldfields tradespeople in action and take a ride around the township in a horse-drawn coach. For the brave hearted, journey underground on a gold mine tour.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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  • Paul P
    Melbourne, Australia233 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A vision of old Victoria and golden times.
    Been years since I had been here and I wasn't disappointed, even if it was wet. They manage to keep things looking great and not shabby so you may find some areas being redeveloped. Plenty to see and learn here and the people working there are friendly and play their rolls well. My only complaint is that I didn't strike gold. Well maybe next time.
    Visited March 2023
    Written April 9, 2023
  • KDCBA
    59 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Felt like stepping into the past!
    The whole place was amazing! There were so many people that it really had a fantastic vibe as the streets came alive (possibly due to school holidays). There was so much to see and do. We spent nearly 6 hours exploring and only left as we had a decent drive home. We went to as many demonstrations as we could and enjoyed them all. Definitely take the time to visit. You can bring in a backpack with food/drinks if your wish, but be warned, the bakery there is pretty tasty!
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written April 18, 2023
  • Wendy O
    Brisbane, Australia173 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Olsen’s of Hendra
    My husband I visited here while in Ballarat, our first time here. It was well set out, staff very friendly and helpful. Lots to see and do including gold panning. It was also nice to see the coach rides pulled by the Clydesdale horses. You can attended the different attractions on set times as well. The food was great,reasonably priced, would recommend this to anyone visiting including families.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 15, 2023
  • HofH999
    Melbourne, Australia1,118 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Exceptional experience and not just for kids
    This is so creative and professional. There is so much to do which is entertaining for big people as well as kids. The gold pouring was amazing. The performances in the Victoria Theatre are superb offered by talented your actors. The red coat appearance at 4pm was fabulous. Be warned that some things need booking in advance e.g. the stage coast rides which were sold out for the day by the time we made it there. No sure that Peter Rowlands would be too impressed with what's going on in his cafe. The food's fine but the staff seem inexperienced and slow. The coffee was terrible. Otherwise, a great experience.
    Visited June 2023
    Written June 30, 2023
  • Liz C
    Melbourne, Australia267 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful!
    Great day out! So much to do, the bakery is delicious, enjoyed the gold pouring, Lolly making, pantomime bowling and the fabulous winter lights. Great value for a whole day of entertainment.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 6, 2023
  • Deb.ctheworld
    Western Australia, Australia172 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Winter wonder lights was wonderful
    We went to the winter wonder lights that is on at the moment. We didn’t know what to expect. It was a fantastic surprise. All the staff are in character and there is a lot of history to see and learn. It was very interactive and lots of fun. They plant real gold in the gold panning experience. There are food outlets. We had a delicious stuffed spud. The best part was when the sun set and all the buildings turned into a live canvas with images projected and fake snow spraying in the Main Street. Everyone there was in awe of the projections. Well done to all involved it truly was a great day and night.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 7, 2023
  • Sharon G
    Whyalla, Australia134 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Sovereign Hill well worth it
    Wow wow wow..this place is amazing, I visited about 35 years ago and remembered it like it was yesterday. Still such an amazing place to visit, you can spend the whole day here just going from shop to shop and watching various shows that are put on. The cafe is great the bakery has the best Apple turnovers anda perfect size.. loved every step we took..
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 7, 2023
  • krocchi
    Singapore, Singapore1,430 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A worthy museum with lots of stuff to look at
    Definitely a very unique and must visit attraction. I believe this place is very popular as there are so many people and students when we visited on a weekday! There are so many shops to go into and the place is truly like in the movies. Staff are even dressed in theme and are happy to take pictures. There are also horses! All of the decor and architecture are on point I don’t even know if they are recreated or actual buildings. We really had a fun day exploring this attraction. I would recommend spending around 4-5 hours here. Parking is free too and there are lots of gift shops.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 23, 2023
  • Mia M
    Doncaster East, Australia4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    10/10!!
    I absolutely love visiting here. The kids are all teenagers now and we still had a ball. From the muskets firing to the mine tours and our first family portrait which was great! Not to mention how amazing every staff member there is! It must be hard keeping character most the time and im sure it gets hot in their costumes but they were extremely wonderful to chat to and knowledgeable. And of course the Panning for gold is always a highlight and you cant leave without a jar of raspberry drops and a sneaky vanilla slice.
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written September 29, 2023
  • joy23
    Sydney, Australia40 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great fun for teen, tween and little kids
    Had a great time visiting outside of school holidays. Some talks werenaenlightening for young children but teens enjoyed them. Pick of the day was the gold smelting demonstration. Make sure you book early if you want a photo, they booked out quickly with school classes taking the majority of spots in advance. We enjoyed ours but it was a bit rushed as staff had another school class coming.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 7, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles3,827 reviews
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Poor
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Terrible
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Morroyce
Sydney, Australia61 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
We went to Sovereign Hill on a week day with a toddler and had the best time.

We expected to be done after 3hours max but ended up staying for longer. Everyone is so lovely and we had the best tour guide for the mine tour.

My toddler loved panning for gold and the playground.

The only think I would say is, would be great to be able to book experiences at the start rather than having to run through to book everything for early in the day. I was also a bit overwhelmed with everything we could watch and didn't plan that out very well, so we missed a heap of demos.
Written March 14, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Simon N
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
A really great place to visit - so much to learn and see. Allow a full day.

The gold pouring and mine tours were great to do as was the food in the cafe. Nice to have a teapot and leaf tea.
Written March 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Irena R
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
Poor experience with transport issues.
1 vehicle was broken down (which can happen). The event could be better prepared for the idle waiting times between each transported group.
The final ride bus was met by angst as we weren't allowed to exit the hot theatre.

The show itself was an informative experience.
Written March 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MrDDrocks
Melbourne, Australia2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
The experience began well with the 3D experience going to plan.
However it all went sour from here. We were told that 1 of the 2 bus had broken down and we had to split the group into two trips resulting in 15minute-20minute wait.
The second show by the dam was fine and we had no issues there.
However the last part of the show we had many guest upset as at the end of the show everyone was tired and over the production, there was NO cooling and really STUFFY inside the seating area. Half the guest also had to wait for the bus to drop the first set of guest off and make a returning trip to pick them back up.

Overall, we had a bad experience and would not return or bring other family and friends along.
Written March 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EmmaH
Hobart, Australia117 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
Really great morning out, the staff were very friendly and the tours we did helped us understand more about the gold mining days. We really enjoyed panning for gold and it was nice to take some home with us. We did find the entry fee a little expensive at $49 each
Written February 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sennadog
Adelaide1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
This was fantastic, I highly recommend it. The 3D was the best I've seen the Aboriginal laser show awesome and the Eureka Stockade story excellent with the backdrop of Sovereign Hill. Even better than before and I loved it before, which was around 15 years ago.
Written January 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dwaune M
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
I loved it! absolutely awesome show for all ages, educational, informative, it was really informative and well done!!
Written January 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jayashri
Beaumaris, Australia18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Excellent educational sound and light show in 3 parts. A wonderful experience for all ages. Highly recommend this for tourists and locals
Written January 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JemmaB
Melbourne, Australia264 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
I took my 4 year old daughter for her first Sovereign Hill visit with my dad after previously being many times before as a child and teenager. While the town set up is still the same I was disappointed the walk through exhibition & movie has been removed at the entrance. This gave a great introduction to Sovereign Hill especially for children and you really felt like you had stepped back in time. Now this has gone it doesn't feel as magical.

Thr horse & carriage ride was a big hit with my daughter (you pay extra for this). As was the gold pouring. She enjoyed using a quill at the school but the paper wasn't restocked so she couldn't have a 2nd attempt.

Experiences like the gold panning, candle making, sweet making were so busy we couldn't really get close to participating. This is partly our fault for going in school holidays so if you are planning on going go outside this time.

I would bring a picnic next time too. The Cafe food was running out and was mostly fried food. They should look at Healsville Sanctuary and the healthier food options there. The playground and park area by it were lovely though.

All in all a good day but too busy.
Written January 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marsland J
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
If you have no life, hope, will to go on and don’t value your personnel space, probably worth a look otherwise do something - anything else.
Written December 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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SOVEREIGN HILL: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Sovereign Hill