The topography varies, from the floodplain of Specimen Vale from Golden Point Hill (after which the suburb was named).

Golden Point is notable as the location (atop Golden Point Hill) of the Sovereign Hill Historic Park, which depicts the area around Main Street; the Observation lookout from which the Ballarat skyline can be viewed and the Ballarat Gold Museum.

With the establishment of the township of Ballarat West, Main Street went into steep decline in the 1860s and 1870s before being almost completely decimated by a disastrous fire.

In 1970, Sovereign Hill Historic Park was constructed, with the aim of recreating the original Golden Point settlement, although set on the hill rather than the original valley, it features many of the early timber buildings which once lined the Main Street, Golden Point in the 1850s, along with many aspects of life and industry from that era.

Golden Point has a number of restaurants, including Italian, Chinese and Indian cuisines, as well as accommodation, convention and function venues which capitalise on the proximity of Sovereign Hill.