Geelong

Understand

Geelong has a diverse range of activities for all the family from nearby wineries to an antique carousel for the kids on the waterfront. Its close proximity, and good transport links, to the Great Ocean Road (including Torquay, and the Twelve Apostles) and to the state's capital Melbourne make Geelong an ideal city to spend a few days. Whether you want to indulge in Australian History at the award winning National Wool Museum or swimming at the beach - Geelong has it.

See

thumb|Geelong waterfront Geelong Botanical Gardens, open every day 8AM-5PM, or 7PM during daylight savings. Free entry. Also contains the Tea House Cafe.

Do

See an Aussie rules football match Kardinia Park, located on Moorabool Street is the home of the Geelong Cats, the local Australian Football League team. They are somewhat of a local institution. There are about half a dozen home games per year from April to August; the rest of Geelong's home games are played in Melbourne. Expect to pay about $20 for an adult, $12 concession and $5 for a child. Alternately you could catch a local league game on a Saturday afternoon. There are dozens at venues spread around Geelong, and matches are of a very high standard. Most grounds you can walk in free, whilst some have gates, expect to pay no more than $7-8. Bellarine Rail Trail starts from near South Geelong Station, and is a 35km cycling track to Queenscliff.

Buy

Two major shopping centres operate in the CBD, Westfield and Market Square. They are situated directly across the road from each other on Malop Street with free Wifi and can offer cheaper parking than the city-operated street parking.

In the suburbs of Geelong West and Newtown, Pakington Street (known as Pako to locals) is host to thriving shopping strips, as is High Street in Belmont.

Corio Central and Waurn Ponds shopping centers are the mainstay for the northern and southern suburbs, respectively, together with smaller shopping centres that provide ample coverage to the city.

Connect

There are paid internet (and printer) access kiosks in Market Square shopping centre within the CBD, located on level 1. All Geelong public library locations provide internet access computers at no charge, and guests can access free WiFi hotspots outside of opening hours, from immediately outside the building.

Throughout the CBD, and along the Waterfront, city council provides a free WiFi network with a 100 MB per day limit. Various businesses also provide free WiFi, such as McDonald's (some are open 24 hours, including the CBD store) and APCO service stations, though at one of these places it would be considerate to buy something in-store, particularly if it is late at night or you are staying a while.

Australia Post mail outlets are common, and usually located in shopping areas. 24-hour parcel lockers are available to 'MyPost' members within Australia to use at the main Geelong Post Office (Gheringhap and Little Myers Streets), Worksafe Building (1 Malop Street) and the 7-Eleven in East Geelong.

Go next

Visit the Bellarine Peninsula or drive the Great Ocean Road running from Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong to Portland near the border with South Australia.