Hotels in Geelong, Australia

A little about Geelong...

Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia. The city is located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south-west of the state's capital, Melbourne, and is covered by the City of Greater Geelong municipality.

The urban area runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with the bay to the east and hills to the west. The climate is temperate, with four distinct seasons. The city is the home to car manufacturer Ford Australia and the Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats.

Geelong is home to a number of pubs, nightclubs and live music venues and has also given birth to a number of notable Australian bands and musicians such as Barry Crocker, Gyan Evans, Magic Dirt, Jeff Lang, and Denis Walter.Geelong also hosts festivals such as the Queenscliff Music Festival, Meredith Music Festival, the Offshore Festival and Poppykettle Festival, and has a number of cultural venues, including the Geelong Performing Arts Centre (commonly known as GPAC), the 1500 seat Costa Hall auditorium, and the Geelong Art Gallery.

The Geelong region attracted over 6,000,000 tourists during 2001. Major tourist attractions include the Waterfront Geelong precinct and Eastern Beach on the shores of Corio Bay, the Ford Discovery Centre and National Wool Museum in the city, and more than 30 historical buildings listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Education: The Geelong College and Geelong Grammar School.

The Gordon Memorial Technical College opened in 1888, and is known today as the Gordon Institute of TAFE.

Transport:
Public transport is provided by local bus routes covering the city centre and most surrounding suburbs. They are operated under the umbrella of the Geelong Transit System, and are contracted to Benders Busways and McHarry's Buslines. Another government transport initiative, Bellarine Transit, is contracted to McHarry's Buslines and provides interurban services between Geelong and the towns of Torquay, Barwon Heads, Ocean Grove and the Bellarine Peninsula. V/Line services link Geelong with Ballarat, Daylesford, Bendigo, Apollo Bay, the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles and Warrnambool.

The Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay, and is the sixth largest seaport in Australia by tonnage. Major commodities include crude oil and petroleum products, export grain and woodchips, alumina imports, and fertiliser. The Bellarine Peninsula has been linked to the Mornington Peninsula since 1987, by the Searoad ferry, which runs every hour using two roll-on/roll-off ferries.

Avalon Airport is located approximately 15 kilometres to the north-east of the city of Geelong. It was established in 1953 to cater for the production of military aircraft. It was also used for the repair of commercial aircraft, and for pilot training. Avalon Airport has also been home to low cost airline Jetstar Airways since 2004.Flights to Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth use the airport.

Geelong also has many kilometres of bicycle trails covering the shores of Corio Bay and the Barwon River parklands, in addition to the Bellarine Rail Trail.