Sorrento Foreshore

Sorrento Foreshore is a beach area on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria stretching along a gentle bay. The crescent-shaped waterfront has broad lawns, shelters, trees, and shallow water ideal for swimming, with a pier extending into the water and rocky outcrops at both ends.

Sorrento was Victoria's first European settlement when Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins arrived in 1803 at Eastern Sister. The town grew as a coastal community with late 1800s buildings, including limestone hotels from 1875 that remain central to the place today.

The name Sorrento reflects connections to Southern European coastal towns and how settlers shaped the area. Visitors experience this relaxed seaside culture when they sit at cafes watching boats pass, gather in parks for picnics, or spend afternoons watching ferries arrive and depart.

The drive from Melbourne takes about an hour and a half, with ample parking along the foreshore and near the main beach area. Public toilets, showers, and water stations are available, and during summer months a local lifesaving patrol provides safety for swimmers and beachgoers.

A visit to the old railway platform recalls when a steam tram ran from Melbourne bringing visitors between 1890 and 1921. These remnants along with monuments at Eastern Sister and Point King tell of the area's early European history in understated ways.