Top Towns for 2022: Escape to Bright's laidback yet majestic sceneries

This historic town in Victoria’s high country might just take out the prize for Australia’s prettiest town, thinks Craig Tansley, but there’s plenty to do here besides leaf peeping. Discover why Bright landed at no.7 on your Top 50 Aussie towns list.

Find the complete list of the Top 50 Aussie Towns here.

What makes Bright so charming?

If there’s a prettier town in Australia, I’m yet to see it. Bright may well be located in the fissures of north-eastern Victoria, but you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve been transported to a 19th-century mining town in Colorado.  

Set at the south-eastern end of a pine-clad valley dwarfed by the Australian Alps (and more specifically by Victoria’s tallest mountain, Mt Bogong), its leafy streetscape is dominated by century-old-and-then-some heritage buildings, some of which remain from the Victorian gold rush era of the 1850s.  

A picturesque town blooming with green scenery

Its leafy avenues planted with elegant European trees blaze with colour in autumn, while wildflowers bloom just beyond town. The Ovens River flows right through Bright, providing a hell of a backyard view for the cafes, restaurants and breweries built by its banks.  Here, with its sprawling outdoor terrace, the iconic Bright Brewery serves as the town’s main gathering point in summer months especially.  

Alfresco dining at the Bright Brewery.

Local artisan food makers and producers set up stalls at weekly farmers’ markets and walking trails crisscross town, connected by swinging bridges over calm, clear water that is ideal for family swims.

It invites you to explore its great outdoors

The 100-kilometre Murray to Mountains Rail Trail passes through town, too, its easy-to-ride off-road cycling trails that follow the region’s old railway tracks delivering you to nearby produce farms and wineries.  

The verdant vineyards around Ringer Reef Winery.

Bright is part of the Alpine Valleys Wine Region, one of the oldest wine-growing districts in Victoria and home to 12 cellar doors set on rambling estates surrounding town. Set across five mountain valleys, with 30 grape varieties, this is one of Australia’s most underrated wine regions –for the scenery viewed from its tasting rooms alone. 

Sample top drops at Ringer Reef Winery.

A perfect haven for adventure seekers

And there are plenty more excellent adventures to be had in the region besides. From tandem micro-light flights off the tall peaks surrounding Bright, to abseiling the sheer cliff faces of nearby Mt Buffalo National Park, to skiing or mountain-biking the slopes of two of Australia’s best-known ski resorts, Falls Creek and Mt Hotham, part of a spectacular loop road that connects Victoria’s highest country.  

Or you might not want to leave town at all. And therein lies Bright’s charm. There’s a festival on almost every weekend, especially in summer and autumn. Or a sporting event – like the Audax Alpine Cycling Classic, one of Australia’s premier mountain bike races, held each Australia Day weekend.  

And some of the restaurants and cafes along its main drag are rated among regional Australia’s finest. 

Have a delightful conversation over coffee at Sixpence Coffee Roasters.

Explore more of Bright in our travel guide or find out which other towns made it into your Top 50.