Warrnambool's Botanic Gardens were designed by William Guilfoyle in 1879 — the same landscape architect responsible for Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens — and they show his characteristic hand: wide curving paths that obscure how small the space actually is, rare specimen trees chosen for form as much as botany, and a central lily pond with a working fernery beside it. The band rotunda at the centre is used for summer concerts.
The gardens are free, beautifully maintained, and make a good morning walk. A number of the original plantings from the 1880s survive, including some impressive Norfolk Island pines and Canary Island palms. The gardens are well-placed near the town centre, a few blocks back from the foreshore.