Bowral is calling – here are two festivals worth the trip to the Southern Highlands

• Horizontal Festival 2025 will take place in Bowral, Southern Highlands in October.
• A celebration of food, wine, art and music, visitors will be guided by their senses.
• Launching on the long weekend in early October, it coincides with Tulip Time Festival.

Sandwiched between Canberra and Sydney (it’s 90 minutes southwest of the Harbour City), Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands.

During the last long weekend, at the start of June, I travelled down to Bowral for a getaway from the city. It was beautiful. Both for the autumnal shades of red and orange, and the towns cafés, boutiques and antique stores. The city’s exciting but you never really realise how much you need a breath of fresh country air until you get out there.

For a soul-feeding getaway, it was perfect, and the next public holiday weekend in October sounds even better.

Two festivals will entertain visitors and locals during the upcoming Labour Day holiday weekend.

Bowral will be transformed by colour again, only this time in spring shades, as Tulip Time Festival—one of the oldest flower festivals in Australia—returns. But there’s competition this year, as Horizontal Festival prepares to make its debut.

An immersive celebration of food, wine, music and art (okay, you’ve got our attention), the inaugural festival will be held at Centennial Vineyards on Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5. Combining live music, art installations, workshops and masterclasses and, of course, tastings, this isn’t your average food and wine festival. It’s concert meets art show, meets food festival.

Sounds like our kind of long weekend celebrations. Here’s everything we know about the new festival, and what else you can do during a stay in Bowral this spring.

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What to expect at Horizontal Festival

Set in Centennial Vineyard, the only five-star winery in the Southern Highlands, Horizontal Festival will bring together the best of New South Wales’s food, wine, beer and cocktails. Over the course of two days, festivalgoers will be able to try the best produce the state has to offer (and there’s a lot).

Acclaimed Australian chef, Mark Best (who recently took over at Infinity), is leading the program and hosting masterclasses at the festival. Speaking at the launch event, Best commented on the fact that we “don’t often go much beyond our own village high street” in Sydney.

I came here [to Sydney] and at 21 I had my first cappuccino, had my first Kalamata olive, had my first taste of balsamic vinegar from Bayswater Brasserie and, from that same place, had my first freshly shucked oyster. Often I yearn for those days where I had all those firsts and absolute revelations… the good news is that through our incredible producers and winemakers, that discover is still happening. And one of the ways [that can continue] is through this wonderful festival.

— Mark Best

In his four masterclasses, Best will celebrate five local NSW “hero” producers, share the secrets of creating the uniquely Australian menu at Infinity by Mark Best, and present a sampler dish for audiences to enjoy. Simon Evans of Bangalay Dining and Mindy Woods from Karkalla (The World’s 50 Best Restaurants) are the other headline chefs leading immersive and interactive sessions.

The rest of the program consists of:

• Wine and cocktail masterclasses: Sarah McDougall will lead two wine tasting sessions and two cocktail masterclasses each day. Wine lovers will sample and compare five NSW wines alongside cheese, and the longevity of three “classic” cocktails will be the focus of the latter sessions.
• Live performances and music: each of the festival’s five zones will have its own musical identity. Whether it’s classical ensembles, jazz or DJ sets, the soundtracks are curated to enhance the experience of each zone.
• Immersive art: festival-goers can get hands-on advice from chefs and artisans, and admire art installations along the way too.
• Premium experiences: pre-booked platinum experiences and packages will grant access to exclusive tastings and VIP areas.

In short, Horizontal is aiming for something bigger that a food fest. It’s a weekend-long immersion where food, drink, music and art come together against the backdrop of Bowral’s best-known vineyard.

Tulip Time Festival 2025

If you missed the cherry blossoms in Auburn and can’t wait until jacaranda season, you’re in luck. More than 80,000 tulips will bloom in Corbett Gardens in just a few weeks time.

The gardens, in the centre of Bowral, make one of the region’s oldest and most beautiful parks which dates back to 1911. It’s the centrepiece of the Spring Garden Festival with over 75,000 massed tulips on display and 15,000 annuals, creating fields of blooms and spectacular floral patterns. There are also market stalls, art installations, live music and roving performers.

Tulip Time Festival will be held from Friday, September 12 until Monday, October 6. So its closing weekend coincides completely with Horizontal Festival. Which means there’s Double the reason to visit Bowral!

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FAQs

When and where is Horizontal Festival 2025?

The inaugural Horizontal Festival will be held during the first weekend in October, from Saturday, October 4 until Sunday, October 5. There are two sessions, either daytime from midday until 4pm, or evening from 5:30pm until 9:30pm — there’s no restrictions; festivalgoers can attend both sessions.

Tickets are available to book at horizontalfestival.com.au. General admission starts at $59 per person and Platinum packages are available for $149 per person.

When and where is Tulip Time Festival 2025?

This year’s impressive tulip festival will take place from Friday, September 12 until Monday, October 6, 2025. The gardens are open 9:30am-4:30pm every day during the festival with extended hours each Saturday from 9:30am-6pm.

How to get to Bowral from Sydney

The fastest way to get to Bowral would be by driving; take the M31 southwest out of the city before taking the turning at Aylmerton for Mittagong, the next town along. It will take around 90 minutes to drive to Bowral. You can hire a car with the likes of Go Get, Hertz and SIXTZ, if visiting from overseas.

If travelling by public transport, trains are available from Central Station. Take the 631, 633 or 635 to Canberra and alight at Bowral Station. The Southern Highlands Line (SHL) runs directly to Bowral Station (two hours), or take the T8 from Central to Campbelltown before switching to the SHL (140 minutes).