Visiting Geelong, Australia: Top Sights on Foot

Geelong is a vibrant Victorian city where rich maritime history, gold-rush heritage, and striking nineteenth-century architecture meet beside the sea. Whether you are looking for things to do in Geelong or planning what to see in Geelong during a weekend getaway from Melbourne, the city center offers an engaging combination of historic churches, cultural institutions, and public spaces to explore at your own pace. Neywo features a free audio guide for Geelong with 12 narrated places to help you discover the city.

What to See in Geelong: Key Landmarks and Heritage Sites

Exploring central Geelong reveals a dense concentration of historic buildings, former places of worship, and cultural venues that tell the story of the city’s development in Victoria, Australia.

St John’s Lutheran Church

Completed in 1842, St John’s is one of the oldest church buildings in Victoria. It first functioned as Geelong’s initial Presbyterian church, later served as a hall, and now operates as a Lutheran church with later additions forming part of its continuing history.

Christ Church

Designed by Edmund Blacket, Christ Church is the oldest Anglican church in Victoria in continuous use on its original site. Its historical importance was formally recognized in 1974 when it was listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

St Mary of the Angels Basilica

Rising prominently above Yarra Street, this Gothic Revival bluestone building features a spire that reaches 150 feet (46 metres)—making it the tallest bluestone spire in Australia—and a total height of 210 feet (64 metres). Established originally as a parish church, it was raised to the status of Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2004.

Market Square

The ground beneath the Market Square Shopping Centre was once an open eight-acre (3.2-hectare) town square reserved by Governor Sir George Gipps during the initial surveying of Geelong. It later functioned as a produce market before being progressively built upon over time.

Ryrie Street Presbyterian Church

Also known as the Steeple Church, this former Presbyterian place of worship opened in 1857 and remained active until 1914, after which it was absorbed into the neighboring arts center complex.

Geelong Performing Arts Centre

Also known as the Geelong Arts Centre, this central venue brings together several performing arts, functions, and events spaces within a single complex, incorporating historic elements like the former Ryrie Street church.

Geelong Gallery

Formerly known as Geelong Art Gallery, this major cultural destination holds a collection of about 5,000 works of art, making it a substantial regional art museum in the heart of the city.

Fenwick Street Baptist Church

Constructed in 1868, this heritage-listed bluestone building served as a Baptist place of worship until 1922 before being converted into offices, preserving its nineteenth-century stonework in the city center.

St George’s Presbyterian Church

Built in 1861 at the corner of Latrobe Terrace and Ryrie Street, this is a notable example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture complete with a matching former manse beside it.

St Paul’s Anglican Church

Built mainly between 1850 and 1863 on Latrobe Terrace, this complex is notable for its face red brick, unusual internal timber columns, and prominent Gothic Revival tower.

Explore Geelong with a Free Walking Tour

If you want to experience the city in depth, you can take a self-guided walking tour using Neywo. The app offers 1 walking tour covering 3.03 km and 10 stops over 93 minutes.

Neywo’s audio guide tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule, and narration available in 11 languages. Download Neywo before you set out to explore Geelong, or discover other destinations across the region such as Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, and Coober Pedy.