Spend a day in the city itself, then head out: Silverton and the Mundi Mundi Plains are an easy half day, the Living Desert is best at sunset, and Mutawintji and Menindee each need a full day.
1 Argent Street and the heritage centre
The main street is lined with grand nineteenth-century buildings, including the Post Office with its clock tower, the Town Hall façade and historic hotels. The streets are named after minerals and metals, such as Argent, Oxide and Chloride.
Practical: Free. Heritage walks start near the visitor centre.
2 Line of Lode Miners’ Memorial
A rusted-steel memorial on the mullock heap above the city, honouring the hundreds of miners who died here. The lookout gives the best view over Broken Hill.
Practical: Free. Café nearby. Best at sunset.
3 Living Desert Sculptures
Twelve sandstone sculptures created in 1993 by artists from Australia and abroad stand on a hilltop in a nature reserve outside town. At sunset, the plains glow red.
Practical: Entry fee per vehicle or person. About 10 minutes from town.
4 The Palace Hotel
A grand old pub on Argent Street with wide verandas and painted murals inside, famous for its role in the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Practical: Free to visit the bar; rooms available.
5 Silverton
A once-thriving mining town 25 km away, now home to a few dozen people, galleries, the Mad Max 2 Museum and the Silverton Hotel, used in many films and advertisements.
Practical: Sealed road. Allow half a day with the plains.
6 Mundi Mundi Plains Lookout
Just beyond Silverton, the road drops onto a vast, flat plain where you can see the curve of the earth on the horizon. A classic outback view.
Practical: Free. About 30 minutes from Broken Hill.
7 Mutawintji National Park
About 130 km north-east of Broken Hill, this park has red gorges, rock pools and some of the most significant Aboriginal rock engravings and paintings in NSW, managed by the traditional owners.
Practical: Unsealed roads. Allow a full day. Guided tours for the historic site.
8 Menindee Lakes
A chain of lakes on the Darling River (Baaka), about 110 km south-east, with dead river red gums standing in the water and good birdwatching when the lakes are full.
Practical: Allow a full day. Water levels vary greatly.
