Top Things to do in Parkes
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6 Things to Do in Parkes That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Parkes, Australia including CSIRO Parkes Observatory, Clarkes Point Reserve, The Henry Parkes Centre, Parkes Radio Telescope, Memorial Hill Lookout, Parkes Aviation Museum - HARS.
Restaurants in Parkes
1. CSIRO Parkes Observatory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 597 reviews
Reviewed By OldWiseDude - Melbourne
A well set up visitor centre with excellent facilities including theatre presentations and a cafe, this is a great place to visit. Heaps of interesting information, from Australia's involvement in the Apollo Missions through the continual evolution and upgrade of systems and the many contributions of the CSIRO. Take the time to check out the "listening dishes" and if you're just hanging about for a while you should hear and see the dish move!
2. Clarkes Point Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 24 reviews
Reviewed By BiteSizeTraveller - Sydney, Australia
We had just dined at the Woolwich Pier Hotel and decided to take a stroll through Clarkes Point Reserve to walk off our food.
This is a great spot to come to take in the views and there was hardly anyone here when we came. There are plenty of benches to take a seat, whilst the open grass areas makes it a great place to come for a picnic. There are also BBQs which you can use.
The Deckhouse is also situated here, another place to come for drinks and food. We also wandered around by the pier and saw where they used to repair ships. There is plenty of plaques up which you can read about the local area's history.
Overall a good place to come for a leisurely walk, picnic or BBQ.
3. The Henry Parkes Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 117 reviews
The Henry Parkes Centre is a one stop shop for all your travel needs and a cultural experience all at the one location! Home to the Parkes Visitor Information Centre and 4 museums including the King's Castle Elvis Exhibit, Parkes Motor Museum, Henry Parkes history museum and Antique Machinery collection. One admission provides access to all museums.
Reviewed By pandd1946 - Batemans Bay, Australia
We visited the Parkes Visitor Information Centre which combines the Elvis Museum, Car Museum, Moat Cottage and the Henry Parkes Museum, all on one site. There does not seem to be separate individual review sites for these attractions so we will combine them into this review. Firstly you have the Visitor Information Centre where staff are available for questions regarding the Parkes area, then you have the Elvis Museum and Car Museum which you can enter at a small fee from inside the Information Centre. The Elvis Museum, from our point of view, was a bit lacklustre on the day we visited and the displays could be presented in a more professional manner. However the items on display were great to see for Elvis fans such as ourselves. Then you have the car museum with a great variety of vintage cars and bikes on display. It is certainly worth seeing. In the outside precinct of the complex there is the separate Moat Cottage where you can view a video about Henry Parkes. The "piece de resistance" of the complex which is situated in another building on site is the Henry Parkes Museum which you can enter for a small fee. This is manned by volunteers. This is something to see to appreciate the wonderful Exhibitions of nostalgic ware, plus in the outside section of the museum is a huge array of old vintage tractors, trucks, farm implements and an old historic train carriage and lots more. Leave yourself plenty of time to inspect all the exhibits on show here. It is really fascinating to see all the old farming equipment on display. If you are lucky when visiting the Museum, one of the male volunteers is an accomplished singer and you might hear one of his numbers while viewing the items in the museum. It is well worth a visit to the Parkes Visitor Information Centre complex.
4. Parkes Radio Telescope
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 33 reviews
Reviewed By Greg A - Sydney, Australia
I've been there before, but this time took some interstate tourists to "The Dish" for their first visit. As always, extremely interesting, and they loved it. The half-hour 3D film presentation is worth every cent of the small charge, although the audio on the first 10 minute film was low level, and the narrative was lost in the background music - difficult to hear and absorb all the information. Poor audio production. This needs to be fixed. The following 2 x 10 minute films were at a suitably higher volume, and the 3D experience excellent. The cafe was brilliant, with superb coffee and scones. Overall, a top attraction to visit...recommended.
5. Memorial Hill Lookout
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 29 reviews
Reviewed By _pclane - Muswellbrook, Australia
Wonderful tribute for our wartime men and women. Stunning memorial to see. Easy to get to, a very peaceful and reflective place to visit. The view was spectacular,360 degrees of Parkes.There were places to sit and enjoy the quietness, it was a lovely spot
6. Parkes Aviation Museum - HARS
Overall Ratings
5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By Maria W - Sydney, Australia
Great place to visit, to see old and not so old planes a lot has been done in the last months thanks to great help. That help is gone so don't know how much will be done.
