"Point Lonsdale" Point Lonsdale by leffe3

Five kilometres from Queenscliff, Point Lonsdale is the closest open sea beach to Melbourne. In spite of this, it is not a particularly developed spot - a wooden pier much beloved by fishermen within the security of a sheltered bay, a short strip of shops and (good) cafes and restaurants, a sheltered beach and an open-sea beach, plus the lighthouse.

Not a lot, but this personally is one of my favourite coastal spots in Victoria (possibly due to the fact it was my first Australian coastal experience). The relative calm of the sheltered beach (parkland separates it from the road and the strip of shops), the opportunity to walk 10 minutes or so through natural coastal bushland to reach the lighthouse and the sea beach, the unspoilt nature of the beach itself - no facilities - the crashing waves of the Tasman Sea.

It's appealing in its simplicity. And as Torquay, just a few kilometres further west has become the easiest beach to reach from Melbourne, development in Point Lonsdale is likely to remain low-key.