5. Ripplon Lea Estate
National Heritage listed Rippon Lea Estate emulates 19th-century suburban high life. Completed in 1868, the property was built for Frederik Sargood, who lived there with his wife and nine children, plus seven maids, seven gardeners, a butler, a coachman and a groom. Wind your way through the more than 20 rooms in the estate, the picturesque lake and waterfall and the largest fernery in the Southern Hemisphere, a nod to Sargood's love of ferns.
6. Labassa Mansion
Labassa's thirty-five rooms each shine with gilt-embossed wallpapers, mahogany timber and ornate stained glass. Outside, the Victorian-era mansion's Corinthian columns, arcaded verandas, classical decoration and inset Italian marble panels attracted Melbourne's elite during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Hollywood's first Australian silent film star.
7. Villa Alba
In the 1880s, Melbourne's leading art decorating firm The Paterson Bros were selected to decorate Villa Alba, a lavish Italianate mansion in Kew. They enlisted other artists to do much of the work. Try and identify the artists by the small initials hidden among the mansion's decorated ceilings and friezes, before exploring the heritage late-Victorian garden.
8. Werribee Park and Mansion
The Chirnside family were influential pastoralists, who built and owned Werribee Park and Mansion from 1877. Discover one of Melbourne's grandest estates; sit for a picnic by the lake, escape to the grotto or immerse yourself in a kaleidoscope of colour in the Victoria State Rose Garden. If you dare, join a Werribee Park Paranormal Investigation Tour at the Chirnside's original Bluestone homestead, located behind the grand mansion, for a ghost tour.