Hotels in Albury, Australia

A little about Albury...

Albury is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is also a Local Government Area, administered by Albury City Council. Albury is the second major city of the Riverina and the second largest inland city in New South Wales, behind Wagga Wagga. In 2006 the urban centre of Albury was home to a population of 43,787. It is approximately 550 km from the state capital Sydney, but only 325 km from the Victorian capital Melbourne. It is separated by the Murray from its twin city in Victoria, Wodonga. Together the two cities form an urban area with a population of 82,974.

Transport: Albury railway station is on the main Sydney-Melbourne railway line. Originally New South Wales and Victoria had different railway gauges, which meant that all travellers in either direction had to change trains at Albury. To accommodate this, a very long railway platform was needed; the covered platform is one of the longest in Australia. The station is still served by two different rail gauges; the broad gauge VLine trains from Melbourne as well as the standard gauge Countrylink XPT services which run twice daily.

Tourism: The region surrounding Albury provides a wide variety of tourist attractions, including the wineries of Rutherglen, the historic goldfields towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah, the Hume Weir, boating and fishing on the many rivers and lakes (activities very popular with the locals), the forests of the Great Dividing Range and slightly further afield are many of Australia's snowfields. Albury itself, however, is not a major tourist destination. The paddle steamer Cumberoona runs tours along the Murray during the summer months (depending on river levels), and Monument Hill (home to the city's War Memorial) provides a good view of the city. Wonga Wetlands, 2.5 km west of the city and adjacent to the River Murray is a key feature of Albury's use of treated wastewater and consistes of a series of lagoons and billabongs. Wonga Wetlands features more than 150 species of birdlife and the Aquatic Environment Education Centre.

Education: Albury is home to one of the five campuses of Charles Sturt University.

Albury has a growing local scene of rock music bands and fans. The Youth Cafe is a supporter of local acts providing resources for young musicians and performers to be recognised. The Sodens Australia Hotel also regularly hosts local and touring national bands. A major youth music event, the Border Music Camp held at Scot's School, attracts people from as far as Sydney. Groovin The Moo Music Festival visits every November providing Albury with notable acts such as Hilltop Hoods, Urthboy and Midnight Juggernauts.