Where to beat the heat in Ararat and surrounds this week

Given extreme heat can be dangerous, particularly to children and elderly people, we've chosen six places you can visit to keep cool and enjoy the day.

Swimming pools across the Ararat Rural City Council will be open for residents to take a load off and have some fun in the sun.

Ararat Outdoor Swimming Pool will be open from 4pm to 7pm on weekdays, and 1pm to 7pm on the weekends. Those looking to clock up some laps can use the pool from 6am to 9am on weekdays.

Lake Bolac Peter O'Rorke Memorial Swimming Pool will also be operating from 3:30pm 6:30pm on weekdays, and 1pm to 7pm on weekends, while Willaura Outdoor Memorial Pool will be open from 4pm to 7pm on Wednesdays to Fridays, and 1pm to 7pm on weekends.

Willaura Pool is typically closed on Monday and Tuesday unless temperatures are high.

Beat the heat while exploring Australia's largest underground cellar with a tour at Seppelt's winery.

Guided tours of the heritage listed labyrinth known as "The Drives" run daily at 11am, 1pm and 3pm at the Seppelt cellar door in Great Western. Tickets are $22 for adults and free for children under five.

Best's winery in Great Western is also a great spot for free self-guided tours of their hand-dug underground cellars, which run from 10am until 5pm.

From Avatar, to A Man Called Otto, to M3gan, there's no shortage of enthralling and exciting new films to watch.

Grab a drink and a bucket of popcorn and relax at Ararat Astor Cinemas, which has showings every afternoon this week.

Residents and visitors alike can check out Ararat's Green Hill Lake, which has plenty of room for kayaking, canoeing and even floating on tubes.

If you're feeling a little more adventurous though, head on up to Lake Fyans in the Grampians, which is the pick for jet skiing and water skiing, with a sandy beach for swimmers and kayakers.

Nearby Lake Bellfield is another quiet and relaxing spot for some swimming and inflatable fun.

Head on down to Ararat Gallery TAMA and check out the 'Notions of Care' gallery which explores the ways in which art and nature are interlinked.

Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre will also be open from 10am to 3pm from Wednesday, where visitors can stay cool and immerse themselves in the history of the town's first pioneers, with two storeys of interactive exhibitions.

Chill out and get lost in a book at Ararat Library, which is open from 10am to 5:30pm from Monday to Thursday, 10am to 5pm on Friday, and 9am to 12pm on Saturday.