Swan Hill sits on the Murray River in Victoria's dry north-west, far enough from Melbourne to feel like a real inland town rather than a weekend suburb. The river is the reason to come: it shaped the Aboriginal stories of the area, the paddlesteamer trade, and the farming towns that grew along this part of the Murray.
The headline attraction is Pioneer Settlement, a living-history museum beside the Little Murray River with old shops, cottages, horse-drawn rides, and paddlesteamer cruises. It is touristy, but it gives Swan Hill a clear centre of gravity and makes the town more than a service stop.
Swan Hill also works as a quiet base for the river country. The regional art gallery is better than you might expect for a town this size, and Lake Boga adds a sharp Second World War story just down the road.