Montville - Europe in Queensland

Montville, a bit of Europe at the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. That's the feeling I felt when we saw the place. It is a charming village, very much a tourist destination, a great getaway place to be at in that part of the world. Montville is in the hinterland, about 450m above sea level and is about an hour north of Brisbane and only 30 minutes from the Sunshine Coast.

Today Montville is known as the creative heart of the Sunshine Coast. It is home to a range of quality art galleries that exhibit and sometimes produce works of interest to all art lovers. There are also pottery studios and craft cottages. I quite like the two frogs sitting by the "pond" enjoying each other's company. In the background is the mainstreet Gallery with paintings, jewelleries and other art works from some of Australia's most original contemporary artists.

Shoppers will find and love the many art and craft shops, gift shops and fashion boutiques that exhibit a staggering range of affordable, locally made items. Not forgetting the restaurants, tea rooms and cafes, both indoor and out, where one can relax and enjoy a wide variety of menus.

The photos below show some of the many craft and gift shops along the Main Street of Montville. Main Street Montville is home to over 100 boutique retail outlets, many housed in historic and unique buildings.

The Bavarian type cottage, the Montville Clock Shop, holds one of the largest collection of clocks, of all types and I do mean Cuckoo Clocks, majestic Grandfather Clocks and the distinct Mantle, Wall or Dutch Clocks, that I have seen in recent times.

At the village square, one would expect to find the Post Office, a Chemist, a (small) supermarket, a speciality shop or two but I did not expect to find a "Husband Seat", ......a seat for the husband waiting for his wife to finish her shopping?

As you can see from the colourful photos, could not resist going into almost every craft and gift shops along Main Street, some even impart words of wisdom. The set of 3 wise owls cost $10, so I thought. I could spend hours at the puzzle and game shop.

For a bite to eat, we decided on Poets Cafe. Established in 1995, Poets Cafe deco and food evokes the feeling of an European cafe but it was its uninterrupted views of the beautiful Sunshine Coast that draw us to it. However, we were not disappointed by it food. I had the burger with nice chunky fries and I washed it down with a cold XXXX (pronounced fourex) Queensland beer.

Some of the natural beauties of Montville.

 

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