Queenscliff

Queenscliff sits on the western side of the entrance to Port Phillip, and it holds two roles at once: a fortified point defending the Rip, and a seaside resort that boomed when Melbourne money arrived by steamer in the 1880s, leaving a main street of ornate hotels including the Queenscliff and the Vue Grand. Fort Queenscliff, built from the 1860s against fears of Russian invasion, is still an army site and is shown on guided tours that take in the black lighthouse, one of very few in the world built of dark bluestone. A heritage steam railway runs to Drysdale, the Sorrento ferry crosses the heads, and the Bellarine wineries lie behind the town.

What you actually see

• Fort Queenscliff - guided tours of the defences and the black lighthouse.
• The Victorian hotels - grand 1880s buildings along the main street.
• The ferry and the Rip - the crossing to Sorrento over the turbulent entrance.
• The Bellarine railway - heritage steam trains running inland.

When to go

October to April for warm weather; summer weekends and holidays are busy and accommodation is expensive. Fort tours run on a set schedule, fewer in winter. The ferry runs year-round but can be cancelled in heavy weather.

Honest expectations

The fort is an active defence site, so access is guided only and photography restricted in places. The town is small and expensive. Swimming beaches are calm but modest, and the Rip itself is dangerous water not for recreation.

Nearby

Point Lonsdale is next along the coast; Geelong lies west and Sorrento across the water.