Hobart Sightseeing

Pack plenty of camera film, memory sticks, batteries and so on for your trip to Hobart, as the chances are you will be taking plenty of photographs. The city is packed with interesting sights, some of natural origin and others that the locals have had a hand in shaping or developing. If sightseeing is a priority for you, you can be sure that Hobart will not disappoint.

Battery Point
Situated behind Salamanca Market, Battery Point is an aesthetically pleasing location with a good selection of eye-catching architectural treasures. Visitors will enjoy the views of the golden sandstone buildings which occupy the area as well as the old fashioned and traditional ambience which presides.

Mount Field National Park
This is one of the oldest parks on the island and also one of its most popular on account of the variety of eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing sights that are available. Take one of the bushland walks and see scenic little lakes and waterfalls amid a rich array of indigenous greenery. The walk which takes in Russell Falls is a short one, but also one of the most pleasing to the eye.
Website: www.parks.tas.gov.au/natparks/mtfield/index.html.

Mount Wellington
This spectacular mountain provides the backdrop to Hobart and can be seen quite easily from most parts of the city. To get a better appreciation of its grandeur and the natural beauty on its slopes, visitors should consider taking a trip to the mountain where you can follow any one of the many walking trails that are available. If you take the bus as far as the terminus at Fern Tree, it’s possible to make the trip to the summit and back in around five to six hours.

Parliament House Gardens
Located close to the famous Salamanca place, Parliament House Gardens is the ideal spot at which to escape the concrete jungle and enjoy some pleasing natural sights provided by the well tended lawns and gardens, shady trees and plant and flower displays. Some of the magnificent oak trees that occupy dominant locations across the park are over 150 years old.

Richmond
A visit to this small village within the Hobart Metropolitan Area is like taking a step back in time as many of the streets and their buildings have changed little in appearance in over 100 years. Expect cobbled streets and cottages, and manors with slate roofs and old-fashioned brickwork. There is also an accurately scaled model of Old Hobart Town depicting it as it was in the 1920s. The model is large enough to walk around and you can spend an hour perusing its streets and buildings with their intricate attention to detail.

Salamanca Place
Few who visit Hobart pass up the chance to visit this popular and historic part of the city. Once a business centre for wealthy merchants, Salamanca place has now reinvented itself as a home for the city’s creative community. The original warehouses that fell into various states of disrepair have been repaired and refurbished. Visitors will love the arty ambience of the place provided by its unique selection of galleries, restaurants and cafés. On Saturday mornings, the area is host to the ever-popular Salamanca Market.

Tasman Bridge
Often seen on picture postcards of the city, the Tasman Bridge is one of Hobart’s best-known landmarks. The bridge is of the long-span variety and provides vehicular access between opposing points on the Derwent River estuary, effectively connecting the city centre with the eastern suburbs. The bridge has been a dominant feature on the city’s skyline since it opened on 17 August 1964.

Tasmanian Transport Museum
The history of travel and transportation in Tasmania is well documented at this excellent museum run by volunteers with a passion for the subject. Visitors can step back in time to an age when passenger train services were the island’s chief form of public transportation. Old train vehicles and related paraphernalia are on display at this fascinating tribute to local heritage. Phone: +61 3 6272 7721; website: www.railtasmania.com/ttms/.

Get off the beaten track. There are loads of places outside of Hobart’s main urban area that are well worth making daytrips to, especially if you have a hire car at your disposal. Launceston with its Penny Royal World attraction, the east coast with its gorgeous scenery, Richmond with its miniaturised Old Hobart Town display and Sheffield with its fascinating murals are just a few of the destinations within easy distance of downtown Hobart.

Get the low down on Australia’s oldest ‘tinny’ maker. A ‘tinny’ is a slang expression for canned beer, and the Cascade Brewery in Hobart has been brewing beer for tinned and draft consumption since 1824. Now owned by the Foster’s Group, the brewery still produces all the old favourites in the Cascade range and visitors can see some of the various stages of production during the guided tour that’s available of the facility. Samples are offered during the tour, which is sure to please avid beer fans.

Shop at the famous Salamanca Market. The largest market of its kind in Australia, the Salamanca Market at Salamanca place attracts thousands of visitors every weekend. The market is open on Saturdays and features a large and varied selection of traders. Visitors looking for edible goods or handmade art and craft items will find an abundance of choices.

Take a ghost tour of the Penitentiary Chapel Historic Site. The Penitentiary Chapel Historic Site has many a spectral tale associated with it, and visitors wanting to enjoy a good old fashioned creepy experience should join a knowledgeable guide on a lamp-lit tour of the spookiest parts of the various buildings including the Atmospheric Chapel, ‘Birdcage Walk’ tunnels and the two 1860s courtrooms. Guides give a background on the spooks alleged to haunt each of the rooms visited.

Take the Cadbury Cruise. An absolute must for chocoholics, the Cadbury Cruise is a tour operated by the Brooke Street Cruise Company in conjunction with the same company that brought the world popular edible treats like Dairy Milk, Fruit and Nut and Whole Nut. Visitors are treated to a four-hour long experience which involves a scenic boat trip along the Derwent River to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Once inside the factory, tour participants are offered a history of chocolate making in Australia, during which there are plenty of opportunities to sample some of Cadbury’s most famous sweet delights.