Bathurst is the oldest inland European settlement in Australia, a Central West city about 200 kilometres west of Sydney. It has the broad streets, cold winters, and solid public buildings of a wealthy nineteenth-century country town, but its modern identity is tied just as strongly to motor racing.
Mount Panorama rises on the edge of town, and for much of the year you can drive the famous circuit at ordinary road speed. At its foot, the National Motor Racing Museum explains why Bathurst is almost sacred ground for Australian racing fans.
The city is not only about cars. The Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum has one of the country's strongest regional museum collections, while Abercrombie House and Ben Chifley's House tell two very different stories about inland wealth and political plainness. If you are crossing the Blue Mountains with a spare day, Bathurst has enough substance to be more than a fuel stop.