Located midway between Sydney and Canberra, the lush countryside of the NSW Southern Highlands provides a welcome respite from the hustle of city life. Tailor the perfect stay, from winery weekends and artistic adventures to family getaways.
Sip & savour local drops
The Southern Highlands is home to more than 60 vineyards and a dozen cellar doors, producing an incredible variety of cool climate drops. Pinot noir has long been a local speciality, and lighter varietals like rose, pinot gris and pinot grigio are the rising stars of summer. Just outside Bowral is Centennial Vineyards where you can enjoy a tasting in the cosy barrel room or outside on the terrace. Stay on for a long lunch or high tea at the award-winning Centennial Restaurant.
Centennial Vineyards, Bowral
Nearby is the sprawling Bendooley Estate, a grand country property dating back to the early 19th century. Visit the striking, modern cellar door then browse the unique Berkelouw Book Barn, housed inside an exquisitely restored hayshed. Wander through the vines of Tractorless Vineyard to see how the winery gets its name; petite black-faced Hampshire sheep are employed to manage the grass and weeds.
Tractorless Vineyard, Berrima
The grapes for PepperGreen Estate's wines are grown in Canyonleigh on the western edge of the Southern Highlands, but their cellar door and restaurant are in the heart of Berrima. You can also taste their estate-grown olive oil and new olive leaf gin. Other popular cellar doors around the Southern Highlands include St.Maur, Artemis Wines and Cherry Tree Hill.
PepperGreen Estate, Berrima
If beer is more your thing, visit Eden Brewery in Mittagong to take a behind the scenes tour and taste their ever-changing range of craft brews. Joadja Distillery, set in an abandoned kerosene mining village outside of Berrima, is one of the few single malt whisky distilleries in the world that grow their own barley. Visit the cellar door for a tasting of their whisky, gin, vodka and liqueurs.
Joadja Distillery, Joadja
Discover delicious dining
With its lush farmland, award-winning vineyards and passionate producers, it's no surprise that the Southern Highlands is a foodie hotspot. Start with the big guns – Paste in Mittagong is a hatted Thai restaurant led by a Michelin-starred chef, while Eschalot in Berrima is also hatted and specialises in elegant modern Australian cuisine. At Robertson's Moonacres Kitchen, everything you see on the menu will have been sourced from their own gardens or local suppliers.
Paste Australia, Mittagong - Credit: Paste Australia
Lucette is a chic Parisian-style bistro in the centre of Bowral, with an all-day menu of classic dishes like French onion soup and beef bourguignon. The Three Blue Ducks team opened a Southern Highlands outpost in 2026, set on a 240-hectare regenerative farm at Burradoo with a restaurant, bakery and store. Savour Latin American flavours cooked over an open flame at Fire Kitchen in the Osborne House hotel. For more exceptional dining, read our article on the best food and wine in the Southern Highlands.
Three Blue Ducks, Burradoo - Credit: Three Blue Ducks
Be immersed in foodie experiences
If you're not sure where to start, let the experts guide you through the best of the region's food and wine. The Grape Escape offer customised Southern Highlands wine tours with flexible itineraries that can be tailored for you, visiting cellar doors, microbreweries or distilleries. The Highlands Tour Co can help you create a private, bespoke tour taking in the best wineries, restaurants, breweries and more. You can even bring your dog!
Bendooley Estate, Berrima
Join chef Stefano Marvelli for a hands-on cooking class in Moss Vale, learning the art of handmade pasta, grilling over an open flame or sitting down to an indulgent long lunch you've prepared yourself. Don a beekeeping suit to harvest liquid gold fresh from the hives at Bowral Honey Farm or hunt out rare black Perigord truffles with Robertson Truffles in winter.
Italian Cooking Experience with Stefano Marvello, Bowral
Embrace the arts
The Southern Highlands is home to an eclectic community of artists, writers, musicians and makers of all types. Ngununggula, the Southern Highlands' first regional art gallery, opened in late 2021 at the historic Retford Park estate in Bowral. The name means ‘belonging' in the local Indigenous language and the project was driven by artist and local resident Ben Quilty. The gallery features works from artists like John Olsen and Ken Done, a collection of Aboriginal art, and a vibrant exhibition program.
Ngununggula Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, Bowral - Credit: Brian Rapsey
Other popular galleries include Bowral Art Gallery, Michael Reid and Whitewall Art Projects in Berrima, and Jennings Kerr and Spud Lane Gallery in Robertson. Unleash some of your own creativity at one of the Art at the Cowshed painting workshops, run by local artist Kirstin Deakin and Cowshed shop owner Maree Reid. Green Door Studios has classes in everything from watercolours to embroidery and jewellery making.
Jennings Kerr, Robertson - Credit: Ashley Mackevicius | The artist and Jennings Kerr
Shop til you drop
From bespoke homewares to sophisticated fashions and one-of-a-kind antiques, the excellent shopping in the Southern Highlands lets you take a little piece of local style home. In Bowral, wander along Bong Bong Street for stylish clothing and accessories in stores like MicMac Boutique, HEM and The Countryman, each offering unique fashion finds from around the world. High Street Bowral is a small pedestrian mall that runs off Bong Bong Street and is lined with lots of interesting shops.
Berrima, Southern Highlands
There's plenty for the home along this strip too, like Few & Far, Country Accent and local icon Barbara's Storehouse. Suzie Anderson Home is full of impossibly chic pieces. For vintage finds and pre-loved furniture and homewares, visit the famous Dirty Jane's. Next door is Green Lane, a boutique shopping precinct home to The Potting Shed, specialising in garden furniture, fire pits and perennials, and The Orangery, where you'll find orchids, indoor plants and gifts.
Dirty Janes, Bowral
Moss Vale has its own selection of stunning boutiques, including Made by Others, another outpost of Suzie Anderson Home, Nest & Burrow, and Hunter & Gatherer Collections. Visit The Mossy Store for fantastic locally made furniture. Admire the handcrafted pieces at Berrima Village Pottery or find a one-off piece of vintage clothing at Twisting Vintage in Mittagong. Lydie du Bray Antiques in Welby stocks a great selection of European furniture, lighting and decorative items.
Berrima Village Pottery - Credit: Southern Highlands Visitor Information Centre
Have fun with the family
Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures, just outside the village of Robertson, offers one of Australia's most-popular rainforest canopy experiences. Stroll the 1.5-kilometre steel walkway and be sure to take the spiral staircase up to the fairytale-esque Knight's Tower, savouring the enchanting view of the rainforest along the Illawarra escarpment. For those after more of a thrill, soar through the treetops on a family zipline tour, suited to ages four and above.
Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures, Knights Hill
For sports fan, a visit to Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral is a must. The interesting museum sits next to the heritage listed Bradman Oval where The Don played cricket in his youth and where his ashes are scattered. You can also spend the night in his childhood home, No 52. Bowral, just across the road. Over 100 years old, Empire Cinema in Bowral is Australia's oldest regional theatre. Family-owned and family-friendly, it screens both old Hollywood classics as well as current box office hits.
Bradman Museum, Bowral
Explore the great outdoors
Away from the villages, there are walks, hikes and cycling routes winding through gorgeous landscapes and lush national parks. Technically a collapsed volcanic core composed of very hard rock, Mount Gibraltar is also the highest point between Sydney and Canberra. With hiking paths catering to all fitness levels, those who trek its peak will be rewarded with one of the most spectacular lookouts across the district.
Red Rocks trig walking track, Kangaroo Valley
Carrington Falls' Blue Pool Swimming Hole is based in Budderoo National Park, just 20 kilometres west of Kiama. It's one of the prettiest natural swimming spots in the Highlands. There are several wide, shallow pools, slightly upstream of a beautiful waterfall. You'll find a deeper pool beneath the waterfall, which is just a magical place to swim. Nearby, Nellies Glen is the perfect spot for a picnic with the sound of more waterfalls babbling in the background.
Carrington Falls, Budderoo National Park
Relax in a stylish stay
Sleep in style at one of the Southern Highlands' grand manor hotels. Ardour Milton Park Bowral was built at the turn of the 20th century as an elegant family home and is surrounded by one of the most spectacular cool climate gardens in the country. Today, it offers chic rooms and suites with spa baths and open fireplaces, tennis courts, and a French-style bath house with an indoor pool and day spa. Near Bundanoon, Osborn House was built in 1892 and reborn as a luxurious boutique hotel in 2022. There are 15 suites in the original house and seven new freestanding cabins, two restaurants, an indoor pool and plush spa.
Ardour Milton Park Bowral, Bowral - Credit: Salter Brothers Hospitality
One of Australia's most historic hotels, The Robertson Hotel sits in 14 acres of sprawling heritage-listed rainforest gardens with its very own tiny train station. If it looks familiar, it's likely because a decent portion of the 1996 Oscar-winning film Babe, was filmed on the grounds. Berida Hotel in Bowral will take you back in time, with its 1925-built ivy-draped manor a picture of timeless elegance that you'll find sophisticated and welcoming.
Berida Hotel, Bowral
Other heritage properties in the Highlands include Peppers Craigieburn in Bowral, Peppers Manor House in Sutton Forest and Moss Manor in Moss Vale. For history of a different era, book The Seidler House, a striking, architectural masterpiece designed by the late Harry Seidler. Perched on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the Southern Highlands, this is like sleeping in a piece of Australian architectural legend.
The Seidler House, Joadja - Credit: The Seidler House
Charming cottages are dotted throughout the villages of the Southern Highlands, where you can settle in to your own slice of country living. In Bowral, The Hidden Door is a 100-year-old, pet-friendly villa sleeps four people in style. French provincial style Antler & Oak Cottage in Moss Vale is a chic retreat for six. If you'd prefer a rural retreat, enjoy the luxurious features of Bramble Cottage, feed the alpacas at the stylish Woodland Studio & Farm, soak up the breathtaking views at Cloudview Farmstay or sleep in a converted train carriage at Redleaf Farm.
Cloudview Farmstay, Upper Kangaroo River - Credit: Cloudview Farmstay
