Swan Hill itinerary

The Paragon Café

A Swan Hill institution at the Pioneer Settlement — good coffee and a proper country counter lunch.

Riverside Park Café

Casual riverside café in Riverside Park. Dog-friendly and easy with kids.

Spoons Riverside

A deck right on the Murray — the best seat in town as the sun goes down.

Peppercorn on Campbell

The closest proper dinner to your room, and open from 6am for early starters.

Subway

Practically next door — handy for a late arrival or an early start.

McDonald’s

The closest food to the motel, and it never closes.

KFC

A short walk up Campbell Street, open late on Friday and Saturday.

550 m · 6 min walk

The Pioneer Settlement

Established in 1963, the Settlement takes you back to life on the Murray during its early years of development. It is known as Australia’s first open-air museum, featuring original historic vehicles and almost fifty replica buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Walk through 1850s structures — the Pioneer Cottages, the Masonic hall, the post office and a photographic studio — and see Australia’s largest publicly accessible collection of pre-war steel-wheel tractors, many of them run daily.

Catch a “blockbuster” at the Kaiser Panorama Stereoscopic Theatre, built in 1895, take a break in the Tea Rooms, or ride a restored vintage Dodge along the Murray.

At the Pioneer Settlement

PS Pyap

The Pioneer Station Pyap was built in 1896 and served as a floating general store, travelling 500 kilometres each week to sell goods to settlers at landing places along the lower Murray.

The trip from the Settlement down to the Murray Downs Homestead takes about an hour — time to enjoy the scenery while the captain narrates the history of the riverboat.

At the Pioneer Settlement

Heartbeat of the Murray

Swan Hill has more sunny days a year than the Gold Coast — but the town is arguably just as beautiful after sunset. This laser light spectacular is an award-winning 360-degree multimedia show that uses the riverside as its backdrop.

13.8 km · 10 min drive

Catalina Flying Boat Museum

The Catalina A24-30 and the original secret World War II bunker at Lake Boga have been restored. A short film in the command centre explains what the communication bunker meant during the war.

350 m · 4 min walk

Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery

Community fundraising drove the council to build a purpose-made gallery, and it still hosts a changing program of exhibitions each year alongside around 300 works displayed all year round.

Guided tours run every Sunday.

1.1 km · 4 min drive

Swan Hill Town Hall PACC

The foundation stone was laid in 1934, with the council planning a hall to seat 1,000 and a supper room for 250. It cost £21,265 to build — about $42,503 at the time.

For its gala reopening a Hospital Ball was attended by over 1,000 people. Now the Performing Arts and Conference Centre, it still keeps much of its original character.

1.4 km · 3 min drive

Swan Hill Farmers Market

Held on the first Sunday of each month in the picturesque surrounds of Riverside Park. The market exists to give local growers a platform to showcase nutritious, seasonal produce — and to give the town somewhere to connect with family and friends.

550 m · 7 min walk

Swan Hill Jockey Club

Nothing says “country” like the Jockey Club’s feature events: the Murray Mallee Winter Series, the Bottle-O Christmas Party Races and the famous three-day Swan Hill June Racing Carnival.

7.1 km · 10 min drive

Murray Downs Golf & Country Club

One of Australia’s leading golf courses, and hands-down the best in town. With the Murray’s sunny weather you can play the award-winning 18-hole championship course 300 rain-free days a year.

700 m · 9 min walk

The Giant Murray Cod

Step out of the Swan Hill train station and you are greeted by a monument to the Murray Cod, which grew to massive sizes before irrigation and drought shrank the population.

Built as a prop for the 1992 film Eight Ball, it was donated to the town after release.

1.3 km · 16 min walk

Riverside Park

Referred to by the town as its “hidden gem” — a place of solace on the river. Take a seat and enjoy the quiet, secluded scenery. There is no better spot to retire to after a day of sightseeing.

900 m · 12 min walk

Showbiz Cinemas Swan Hill

A state-of-the-art boutique three-screen cinema showing the latest mainstream, art-house and selected independent films.

3.3 km · 5 min drive

George Lay Park

Travelling with children? Put this first on the agenda. The playground has a grassy area, a bike route and plenty of play equipment.

600 m · 8 min walk

Supermarkets & supplies

Everything you need for a night in with the microwave and fridge is within a few minutes of the motel.