Is Gold Rush Town not a direction as well ?
2 Answers
1 hour 40 minutes from Melbourne to Ballarat. In addition to Sovereign Hill being a paid tourist attraction, there is Wendouree Lake which you can take a stroll around, it's a free park.
The Goldfields are at Ballarat, 120km west of Melbourne. If you continue on from the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, rather than heading straight back to Melbourne, you can head to Halls Gap, play in the Grampians National Park and then head east back to Melbourne, passing through the Ballarat Goldfields.