The 15 best things to do in the Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is undoubtedly one of the world’s great wine regions, and the cream of the crop when it comes to Australia’s wine scene. With scorching hot summers, cool winters and mineral-rich soils, it’s the perfect environment for producing big, beefy red wines. Shiraz is the local hero, with some mighty fine rieslings emerging from the slightly higher, slightly cooler Eden Valley sub-region, just over the rise. You’re spoiled with more than 150 wineries in the Barossa, plus 80-plus cellar doors, including the iconic Penfolds, Henschke and Jacob’s Creek. You could spend weeks going between them, sipping fine wines all day long – but that’s probably not entirely sensible. Why not start with our top picks and take it from there?

Time Out tip: Don't worry about finding a deso driver; instead, join a Barossa Valley wine tour. 

Address: Explore wineries by location here

Opening hours: Most wineries open daily from around 10am to 4pm

Price: Range from free tastings to luxury cellar door experiences

You’ll fall deep into a lavender haze after visiting this dreamy flower farm, which is the largest of its kind in South Australia. Over the last 30 years, Lyndoch has grown almost 100 varieties of lavender in shades ranging from lilac, violet and pink to white, blue and green. Wander through the lush, purple fields, pausing to touch and smell the blooms, and then relax in the sun with a scoop of Lyndoch’s famous lavender ice cream. Pick up some scented souvenirs to remember your travels, including teas, jams, body mists and essential oils.

Time Out tip: The best time to visit Lyndoch is during peak lavender season from September to January. However, the farm grows various species of lavender, so there's always something in bloom. 

Address: Hoffnungsthal Rd and Tweedies Gully Rd, Lyndoch

Opening hours: Daily 10am-4.30pm

Price: Free entry, self-guided tours for $2, guided tours for $7.50

You don’t need to be a lycra-loving, hardcore cyclist to appreciate the joys of riding around the Barossa, with the beginner-friendly Barossa Trail winding through some of the region’s most picturesque countryside. Stretching from Angaston to Gawler, the 40-kilometre sealed path is ideal for exploring the Barossa’s rich heritage, while sampling its fabulous food and wine scene at your own pace. You can ride as little or as much of the path as you like, with the trail passing through the Barossa’s three main townships of Nuriootpa, Tununda and Lyndoch. Just no drinking and riding!

Time Out tip: Our favourite time to ride is late spring (September to November), when the fruit trees and flowers start blossoming, and the vines begin budding. 

Address: Start at Washington Street, Angaston

Opening hours: 24 hours

Price: Free

Sure, you could explore the Barossa by car, but why take the roads most travelled when you don’t need to take any roads at all? See the rolling hills and sprawling vines from a bird’s eye view on a dawn hot air balloon ride with Barossa Valley Ballooning. Add on a Champagne breakfast and you’re all set for a stellar day. 

Time Out tip: Mornings in the Barossa can be chilly, so layer up and wear closed-toe shoes.

Address: Meet at Novotel Barossa Valley Resort, Golf Links Road, Rowland Flat, Barossa Valley

Opening hours: Daily, starts from 4.30am to 6am

Prices: $395 for adults, $320 for children aged six to 12

Forget about wine cellars – Barossa’s got its very own ‘cheesecellar’. Chief cheesemaker (and qualified winemaker) Victoria McClurg has two decades’ worth of experience crafting these dairy delights, and you can watch the process via a live stream playing in the cellar. From crumbly feta and squeaky halloumi to creamy camembert and aged La Dame, each cheese is made from scratch using Barossa-sourced cow’s milk and South Australian goat’s milk. Pop by for tasting plates or to stock up on goodies for your next dinner party back home.

Time Out tip: Sample the award-winning hard, aged La Dame. Made from goat's milk, it has an unusually crumbly texture and fruity flavour. 

Address: 67B Murray St, Angaston 

Opening hours: Wed-Mon 10am-4pm

Price: Tasting experience for $24.50

Secluded in the western Barossa backblocks, Seppeltsfield feels less like a winery and more like a historic wine village. Getting here is half the fun. From Tanunda or Nuriootpa, take Seppeltsfield Road – a meandering drive through the vines along a roadway lined with surreal colonnades of date palms, planted in the 1930s. En route, pay your respects at the Greek-inspired hilltop Seppelt Family Mausoleum, built in 1927. When you eventually roll into the cellar door, don’t miss a lick of tawny port, Seppeltsfield’s flagship product. Tastings kick off at $15, ramping up through ‘Taste Your Birth Year’ experiences and tours of the Centennial Cellars, home to Seppeltsfield’s barrels of 100-year-old tawny. Give yourself at least an afternoon to soak it all up.

Time Out tip: Prefer exploring on two wheels? Pedal your way through Barossa along the shared bike path that starts at Rolf Binder Wines, continues through Whistler Wines’ vineyards, crosses Seppeltsfield Road and ends at Stonewell Road Visitor Information Bay.

Address: Drive along the road to Seppeltsfield Wines (730 Seppeltsfield Road)

Opening hours: Seppeltsfield Wines opens daily from 10.30am-5pm

Housed in Seppeltsfield’s historic 1850s stone building, JamFactory Barossa is the first regional extension of Adelaide’s beloved contemporary craft and design hub. Here, you can immerse yourself in locally-themed exhibitions, watch the artists in action – whether it be glass blowers, ceramicists, milliners or bladesmiths – and pick up a beautiful memento from the gift shop.

Time Out tip: Bookend your art adventure with a luxurious lunch at the award-winning Fino restaurant just next door.

Address: Inside Seppeltsfield estate (730 Seppeltsfield Rd)

Opening hours: Daily 11am to 5pm

Price: Free entry

For some seriously sober fun, follow your nose to the Barossa base of all-natural skin and body care brand, Vasse Virgin. This is the perfect place for some serious self-care retail therapy, offering soaps, scrubs, perfumes and olive oils galore. Hosted in a special studio in Seppeltsfield estate, Vasse Virgin also runs natural perfumery and lip balm workshops where you can craft a personalised scent or scrub to take home. 

Time Out tip: Visiting WA? Vasse Virgin also has a soap factory and retail store near Margaret River.

Address: Inside Seppeltsfield estate (730 Seppeltsfield Rd)

Opening hours: Daily 10.30am to 5pm

Price: $100 for lip balm or natural perfumery workshop

Surrounded by lavender fields and rolling hills, The Louise is the number one place to stay in the Barossa. Step inside your private suite and it's not hard to see why: the 15 villas at this newly renovated stone lodge feature king beds with luxury linens, walk-in robes, marbled ensuite bathrooms with two-person spa baths, gas log fireplaces and private terraces with their own outdoor rain showers.

Time Out tip: Splurge on dinner at one of Australia's finest regional dining destinations, Appellation. Dishes sway with the seasons and are paired with the Barossa's finest wines.

Address: 375 Seppeltsfield Road, Stonewell Rd

Opening hours: 24 hours

Price: From $1,150 per night

Have your (chocolate) cake and eat it too at the Barossa’s award-winning chocolate factory, cellar door, café and gelateria. The cacao gods here specialise in sustainably sourced couverture milk, dark, white and ruby chocolate, with more than 250 products to tempt you. Watch the chocolatiers craft every freckle, frog, bar and praline by hand through 14-metre viewing windows, then treat yourself to a signature wine and chocolate pairing experience at the cellar door.

Time Out tip: Do yourself a serious favour and take home a box of their award-winning whisky truffles or toffee apple pralines (if you can resist cracking into them before you get home).

Address: 64 Burings Rd, Tanunda

Opening hours: Daily 10am-5pm

Price: Chocolate pairing experiences from $18, chocolate workshops from $35

If you know even just a little about South Australia, you’d know there are few bigger food personalities than Maggie Beer. And once you see what this culinary icon has created on her farm in the heart of the Barossa Valley, you’ll understand what all the fuss is about. There’s the store to shop for foodie things and flagship products, including Maggie’s famous verjuice and small-batch jams made with fruits from the orchard. Then there’s the acclaimed Eatery serving freshly baked tarts, cheese platters and wines from Pheasant Farm. Here, you can also get hands-on in workshops, making everything from fresh pasta and ferments to floral bouquets. If you want to take your time and soak up more of the fresh country air, you can stay among the orchards at Maggie’s refurbished farmhouse, pick herbs from her garden, and, after all the inspiration, get cooking in a pretty special country kitchen.

Time Out tip: Four-legged friends are very welcome to join you at the farm for lunch.  

Address: 50 Pheasant Farm Rd, Nuriootpa 

Opening hours: Daily 10am-4.30pm

Price: Wine and cheese experience for $42, or five-course feast at The Farm Eatery for $110

With its lush rolling vineyards, charming stone churches and inviting cellar doors, the Barossa feels like a scene straight out of a painting. You can soak up the region’s natural beauty from Mengler Hill, named after one of the region’s pioneering winemakers. While you’re there, wander down to the Sculpture Park, featuring 16 weird and wonderful works by local and international artists.

Time Out tip: For the perfect end to your day, find a grassy patch for a sunset picnic.

Address: Menglers Hill Rd, Bethany

Opening hours: 24 hours

Price: Free

Venison sausage, kangaroo and salt bush pie, French crepes with Davidson’s Plum whipped cream – that’s just a sample of the menu at Barossa Farmers Market. Located within the Vintners' sheds every Saturday morning, this market gathering connects local farmers, food artisans and budding businesses with weekend-hungry investors. With an ethos of sustainability and authenticity, returning and newly-minted customers can indulge in a worry-free shopping and eating experience from more than fifty vendors. Lend your ears to the passion pitches of lively stallholders as Barossa Farmers Market showcases the devotion and creativity of local food and agricultural businesses.

Time Out tip: Stop by the Barossa Farmers Market Shed for a brekkie roll, cooked by local community groups raising money for local charities.

Address: 740 Stockwell Rd, Angaston, SA

Opening hours: Saturday 7.30am-11.30am

Price: Free

Good enough for Daniel Ricciardo? Good enough for us mere mortals, too. Actually, St Hugo is more than good enough. And you don’t have to be a hot-blooded Formula One driver to enjoy yourself here. St Hugo remains an essential Barossa winery, offering a slick, contemporary cellar door experience grounded in Barossa bloodlines. Tasting experiences start at $20, elevating to a spectacular Garden to Table lunch for $275. With a Champagne in hand, you’ll be guided through the vineyards to their onsite kitchen garden, before enjoying a seasonal multi-course menu perfectly paired with wines. 

Time Out tip: While in the area, it's also worth stopping by St Hallet and Rockford Wines – both just a five-minute drive away.

Address: 2141 Barossa Valley Way, Rowland Flat

Opening hours: Friday to Monday 10.30am-4pm

Price: Tastings from $20, Garden to Table Experience for $275

Back in 1868, the Barossa Valley struck gold with the discovery of its first gleaming nugget. Within a week of its discovery, around 2,000 people flooded to the area, with the population doubling in the following weeks. You can step back in time and discover the gold mining history of the Barossa Goldfields on this self-guided walk in Para Wirra Conservation Park. The Barossa Goldfield Trail is made up of three loop trails: the 1.4 kilometre Victoria Hill Circuit, 4.8 kilometre Phoenix Circuit and 5.8 kilometre Lady Pearce Circuit, which includes parts of the other two loops. As you wander through the wilderness, you’ll pass remnants of old mines, tunnels, shafts, battery sites and settlements, with fun facts about geology and mining techniques signposted along the way.

Time Out tip: Print a copy of the Barossa Goldfield walking guide, which highlights all the key landmarks.

Address: Start at the car park on Allendale Road near Bowdens Cottage (Para Wirra Rd, Barossa Goldfields)

Opening hours: 24 hours

Price: Free