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.

My partner & I spent the day here & very much enjoyed all it had to offer. The demonstrations were great, staff were amazing, the town is fascinating & it was a great part of history to learn about & experience. We highly recommend spending a full day here to experience all it has to offer & especially recommend spending the extra few dollars to do the quartz mine tour, it was absolutely our favourite part of the trip!

While staying in Melbourne we decided to venture a little further from base and headed north to Ballarat. Having left our base in reasonable temperature of high teens, it soon became clear we hadn't brought enough warm clothing! On arrival the temperature was only 7 degrees! We have several similar recreated open air industrial villages in the UK (beamish/Blists Hill/Black Country etc) - and Sovereign Hill was as good as any of these. The guides in the various areas were all in character and well dressed. There were several school parties enjoying the facilities - and the panning for gold seemed to be the most popular. We didn't have chance to sample the catering outlets and I feel we would have stayed longer had we been in warmer clothing - but that was our problem. Perhaps a return visit is needed.

Turned out to be way better than I expected - was in for a real surprise and treat. We were only there for 2.5 hours but were able to catch a sweet making workshop (and taste them afterwards), wheel making demonstration and gold pouring demonstration, try gold panning and bowling, watched a show in the theatre. So much more to do but pity we didn’t have time!

What an interesting,unique experience! Hubby was really excited to watch the gold pour and it was amazing. Had no idea that gold didn’t conduct heat or that it could cool off so quickly when placed in water. All set up like an old west town with storefronts, tents, panning for gold, water wells, etc. we were disappointed that the Chinese temple was shut down for renovations.

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.

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.

You need a full day to really make the most of this place. It is so immersive. The moment you step outside you are transported into the 1850s. Most activities are free but if you want to do the ride on the horse and carriage it is $6 and the old time photos start from $64 for two people. You can also do a tour of a gold mine but there are lots of steps and has a fee of about $8. The gold pouring and confectionery making demonstrations are definitely worth watching (free samples!) And if you have good knees and patience I definitely suggest trying your hand at gold panning. Food was good and staff were very friendly. I would recommend coming here just after it opens and also there will be school groups if you come during term time.

Awesome place. Was awesome 30 years ago and still well worth a visit. Horse rides, historical recreations and historical acts, including old school magic and theatre.

Went to Ballarat for a few days with Tour Local from Pakenham, with 10 other friends. We had a fantastic time. Lots of food, drink and laughs! Winter wonderland at Soverign hill was everything I was expecting and more. Our tour guide Joanne, amazing! Will certainly be doing further trips with her!