The Bendigo line

The Bendigo line is the great weekender: Woodend, Kyneton, Castlemaine and Bendigo in sequence, each one a station within strolling distance of the main street.

Kyneton's Piper Street and Castlemaine's mill precinct have quietly become two of the best eating strips in the state, while Bendigo pairs sandstone banks and the Golden Dragon Museum with a gallery that punches far above a regional city.

• Piper Street, Kyneton — bluestone dining and providores

  A single bluestone street doing some of regional Victoria's best cooking, with providores for picnic supplies and a walk of under a kilometre from the platform.

• Castlemaine Art Museum and the Mill precinct

  A deco art museum and a converted woollen mill full of makers, vintage traders and a weekend market — Castlemaine's whole weekend on foot.

• Bendigo Art Gallery and the Golden Dragon Museum

  Bendigo punches far above its size with blockbuster exhibitions and the world's longest imperial dragon, both in the walkable centre.

• Mount Macedon and Hanging Rock from Woodend

  Woodend puts you at the foot of Hanging Rock and the Macedon Ranges, where the mist over the paddocks at dawn is worth the early train.