Castlemaine Art Museum is the town's strongest reason to stop. It was founded in 1913 and occupies a purpose-built Art Deco gallery on Lyttleton Street, a short walk from the railway station. The collection focuses on Australian art and local historical material, but the programming is livelier than the phrase "regional museum" might suggest.
It is small enough to fit into an hour, yet serious enough to shape the rest of your visit. The building itself is part of the pleasure: clean 1930s lines, high gallery rooms, and a sense that Castlemaine's creative reputation did not appear out of nowhere.