There's real treasure to be found in the galleries of the goldfields,writes Sam Vincent.
Tim Richards discovers the fine food and history on the streets of the former gold rush town.
ALEXANDER PERRY,born and bred in Castlemaine,went to Melbourne to earn his stripes.
Most of the town is booked out but Andrew Stephens finds a cosy loft for a big country weekend.
Andrew Stephens bunks down in an elegant European-style hotel where the bed leaves a lasting impression.
Susan Gough Henly checks in and gets comfortable at some of the best boutique hotels in country Victoria.
<b>Castlemaine (including Barkers Creek)</b><br><b>Famous and historic goldmining town</b><br>Castlemaine is a name which is probably familiar to most Australians even though relatively few may have visited the former goldmining settlement. The reason being that the town was the original home of Castlemaine XXXX. In fact,it is a town with an interesting history and a number of attractions,including some fine heritage buildings along its wide streets,a very good botanic garden (it is one of the state's oldest) and numerous outstanding private gardens which are revealed biennially during the Festival of Gardens. It also has a surprisingly high profile for the arts,being home to a number of artists and boasting one of Victoria's best provincial art galleries.