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Things to do in Sorrento
Painters have come to this end of the peninsula for well over a century, drawn by the light on the water and the pale stone, and the tradition is still alive on Ocean Beach Road. Within a few hundred metres you can move from contemporary painting to sculpture, ceramics and design.
Last updated October 2026
Manyung Gallery Sorrento, Contemporary Sorrento and Artisans Alley, all sit along the main street,. Make an afternoon of it, and leave room for a coffee in between.
Fourteen sites between Sorrento and Portsea show reproductions of paintings at the very spots their artists set up their easels, from Heidelberg School painters including Arthur Streeton to Arthur Boyd and later artists who summered here. Four of the sites are on Millionaires Walk.
Each autumn, writers and readers fill The Continental, the Couta Boat Club, the RSL and rooms across Sorrento and Portsea for four days of talks, lunches and conversations. The next festival runs from 29 April to 2 May 2027.
Pt. Leo Estate’s sculpture park, set among vines above Western Port, and the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery in Mornington make a good day out for anyone who wants more.
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Getting here
Drive from Melbourne in about 90 minutes, cross on the ferry from Queenscliff, or take the train to Frankston and bus route 788 down the peninsula. Once you arrive, the visitor information centre on the foreshore has maps and local advice. Find where to stay, and read more about getting here and around.
