I arrived grumpy in ‘Australia’s happiest city’. I left charmed

My son is not happy by the time we arrive in Australia’s happiest city. “Dad, this hire car is rubbish. You said we were getting an MG,” he moans as we pull into Sturt Street, Ballarat’s grand European-style boulevard.

I share my offspring’s disappointment – the rental company, a new start-up, has given me a clapped-out Suzuki instead of the sleek, bright red MG sports coupe displayed on the website. I, too, was grumpy.

Bathed in sunshine, Ballarat, a thriving city just 116 kilometres from Melbourne, soon works its magic on the two jaded travellers who wheeze arthritically past the town hall in their decrepit sedan.

After dumping our suitcases (and car) at the hotel we set out on foot to explore Ballarat, a city that was recently named as the 16th happiest city on the planet, knocking off Australia’s previous winner, Adelaide.

The Happy City Index is no fatuous piece of marketing greenwash but a rigorous assessment based on 64 indicators, focusing on each city’s quality of life, sustainability and long-term development strategies.

Ballarat, one of only 251 cities worldwide to make the final cut, scored well on things like housing affordability, recycling, law and order, air pollution, life expectancy and green public space.

As one of 50 “Gold Cities” on the list, Ballarat joins the ranks of names such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, Geneva, Uppsala and Tokyo – an achievement that comes as no surprise to locals Don and Christine Bennetts.

“It’s really a question of scale,” says Don, a filmmaker who relocated from South Yarra six years ago. “Ballarat is just the right size for a liveable city – you can get everywhere easily and without fuss.”

Christine spent her childhood in Ballarat and they both value the city’s architectural heritage and its commitment to performing arts – the city supports a choral society, symphony orchestra and Her Majesty’s, Australia’s oldest continuously operating theatrical venue.

“I’ve always lived in busy cities like Melbourne, Dublin and London,” says Don. “So, it’s very pleasant to come back to Ballarat where people have time to chat and enjoy one another’s company.”

Simple pleasures for everyone

There are far more glamorous destinations in Victoria than Ballarat – such as Daylesford, Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley – but none quite offers the sheer variety, warmth and charm of this inland oasis.

Where else could you find a delightful waterway like Lake Wendouree, the oldest regional art gallery in Australia, magnificent botanic gardens (dating from 1858) and Victoria’s finest collection of working tramcars?

For those who enjoy the dubious pleasures of the Middle Ages, nearby Kryal Castle, just eight kilometres from Ballarat, offers archery, a maze, axe throwing, a torture museum and jousting displays.

One morning at L’Espresso, our favourite breakfast haunt, one of the waiters sees my son practising his calligraphy and immediately sits down and writes a couple of perfect lines of copperplate for him.

Such gestures, remarkable anywhere else, are everyday events in Ballarat, a city of grand Victorian facades where people have retained a genuine, dare we say, 19th century sense of curiosity.

Even Sovereign Hill, Ballarat’s most commercial tourist offering, has an unexpected charm and whimsicality that goes beyond gold panning, red coats and coach rides. No-one is left in any doubt about how tough life was on the Ballarat diggings in the 1850s.

“Conditions for the diggers were pretty miserable,” says our guide Bill, taking us inside a typical canvas tent. “The work itself was backbreaking and there were few luxuries apart from grog and tobacco – even the food was horrible, mostly mutton and damper. Fresh fruit and veg were scarce.”

Today’s diggers face no such hardship since Ballarat has a lively hospitality scene – fuelled, I suspect, by a recent wave of craft-beer-loving Melbourne exiles. Two local eateries, Babae and Underbar, were awarded single hats in the 2026 issue of The Age Good Food Guide, but we enjoy exploring Ballarat’s pub scene and settle on the Golden City Hotel, which is child-friendly and stumbling distance from our hotel.

After tucking into battered flake and chips, salt and pepper calamari and a decent slab of Scotch fillet we find ourselves on the pub’s first-floor veranda, gazing down Sturt Street as evening settles over Australia’s happiest city. It’s like being in the bush, but with streetlights.

THE DETAILS

RIDE/DRIVE
Ballarat is a 90-minute drive from Melbourne. Trains run from Southern Cross Station to Ballarat (vline.com.au). Interstate visitors should pick up a hire car from Tullamarine Airport and avoid city traffic.

STAY
Centrally located Quest Ballarat offers clean, bright rooms and plenty of parking. The hotel is close to cafes, restaurants and shops. Studios from $249 a night. See questapartments.com.au

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The writer travelled at his own expense.