For a day trip or overnighter within easy reach of the ACT make this up-and-coming town among wineries your first stop.

Forks in the road can take you to the water at Batemans Bay or to the healthy wine scene of Yass. Even driving to Sydney is manageable from Canberra. But for an experience that’s a little closer to the capital, you’d do worse than giving yourself over to the charms of Bungendore. Historically bypassed for larger centres like Goulburn, Queanbeyan, Cooma and Canberra, Bungendore has enjoyed a burst of popularity in recent years with travellers visiting the area for its beautiful heritage-listed buildings and staying for the comfortable atmosphere and collection of boutique local businesses.

STAY Our tip for your lodgings is to check out The Old Stone House bed and breakfast just off Kings Highway. The residence is more than 150 years’ old and its owners have successfully captured an antiquated feel with cast-iron beds and an absence of television sets in the four guest rooms. You’ll get a three-course breakfast cooked downstairs each morning with plenty of time left to explore the house’s pretty gardens or take in the adjacent Bungendore Wood Works Gallery. It should be noted that Old Stone House is not particularly kid-friendly accommodation (although families can book the entire house) and, in fact, Bungendore is generally more suitable for a romantic weekend away, with its many surrounding wineries the cherry on top.

GET THERE Bungendore is a 45-minute drive from central Canberra

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