Back to MAIN CITIES

Visit Hobart

Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, was founded in 1803 as a penal colony and was even visited by Charles Darwin in February 1836 as part of the Beagle expedition. It is the second oldest capital city in Australia, Sydney being the first. Hobart has always been a gateway to Antarctica for explorers and whalers.
It is the homeport for both Australian and French Antarctic operations. Tasmania has a wonderful harbour that like Sydney is the focal point of the city with many yachts filling the harbour.
Hobart is a city that mixes the old and the new with beautiful colonial homes and exciting new nightspots.

Hobart Sights

The Royal Botanical Gardens is a popular recreational area that is a short distance from the city centre. It is the second oldest Botanical Gardens in Australia established in 1818 and is located within the Queens Domain. The Gardens hold many historic plant collections and a large number of significant trees, many dating back to the nineteenth century.


The Sub-Antarctic Plant House holds plants from Sub-Antarctic islands that are on display in a climate-controlled environment and it is the world’s only Sub-Antarctic plant house. Mount Wellington, accessible by passing through Fern Tree, which is Tasmania’s highest peak and dominates Hobart’s skyline. At 1,271 meters, it is not uncommon to see the cap of the mountain covered with snow.

Bonorong Wildlife park was established in 1981 as a sanctuary for injured or orphaned wildlife. Bonorong Wildlife park promises to be an up close and personal outing with some animals that you have probably only seen in cartoons, namely the Tasmanian Devil. There are also free-ranging kangaroos that let you walk right up to them and feed them a little snack straight from your hand.

Would you drive a mere 25 minutes to indulge your sweet tooth and let your Willy Wonka fantasy come true? If yes, I can’t believe the answer not being yes, then a visit to the Cadbury Chocolate factory waits for you to sample some of the best chocolates in the world and give you a history of Cadbury and an insight into the largest chocolate factory in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.

Hobart Entertainment

Sydney’s Take 11 days from the 27th of December to the 1st week of January to celebrate the arrival of summer with good food and drink, and you have the main festival of Tasmania, the Hobart Summer Festival. The heart of the festival must be considered the Taste Festival, which is Tasmania‘s largest food and wine festival.

It focuses on promoting Tasmanian produce. If the heart of the Summer Festival is the Taste Festival, than the centerpiece of the festival is the culmination of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.


Starting in Sydney on Boxing Day the race is approximately 630 nautical miles finishing in Hobart Tasmania during the Summer Festival. The first race was in 1945 with nine starters with the wining yacht finishing in six days, 14 hours and 22 minutes. In 2009 there were 99 starters and the winning yacht came in at 2 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

Hobart’s Nightlife

The most poplar place in Hobart when the sun goes down is Salamanca Place. There are many great places to eat and great pubs or nightclubs to have drink at and listen to some great live music. Salamanca Place is also home to the Salamanca Market (every Saturday morning) with over 300 stallholders selling produce and crafts from all over Tasmania.

Sitting beside the Derwert River, 3km from centre city, Wrest Point Hotel and Casino looks out across the harbour, the city, and gives a magnificent view of Mount Wellington.

Opened in 1973 in the suburb of Sandy Bay, Wrest Point Hotel and Casino is a great place to try your hand at lady luck or take in a fantastic meal at one of the five restaurants or sip on a drink with some friends and family at one of their great bars.

Hobart, escape from the big cities

Hobart may not even be on your radar when you think about Australia, but this great city tucked away on the Tasmanian island is a getaway that could not and will not disappoint.
Hobart is a little piece of paradise that is only an hour away, by plane, from Sydney and all the mind thumping problems that come from within the city.

Back to MAIN CITIES

Must-haves to carry around

Back to MAIN CITIES