What it is
Sovereign Hill opened in 1970 on a former mining site. Its main street of shops, hotels, a bank and workshops is staffed by people in period costume, and visitors can watch blacksmiths, candle makers and a gold pour, ride in a horse-drawn coach and try panning for gold in the creek of the diggings area.
Across the road, the Gold Museum covers the wider history of gold in Ballarat. In the evening the site hosts a sound-and-light show about the land and its peoples.
Getting there by bus
Bus 21 stops at Sovereign Hill/Bradshaw St, right at the entrance, and at Sovereign Hill/Main Rd on the other side of the site. Route 21 connects with the city centre, where Ballarat's bus routes meet near Ballarat Station.
