Hobart And Surrounds Guides Attractions Events in Tasmania

Battery Point is Hobart’s most historic suburb, and is located a short walk from Salamanca Place and the waterfront via Kelly's Steps. Battery Point retains the character of a Cornish fishing village of the last century. It began life as a home for mariners who worked out of Hobart Town, and is still mainly a residential area. Arthurs Circus is a ring of old cottages surrounding the old village green at the heart of Battery Point. The area has several tearooms and restaurants, fine antique shops and plenty of pubs. See the Colonial Museum, Narranya, which exhibits items from everyday 19th century life, from dresses to parasols and china. St. George's Anglican Church (1836), which sits atop the hill and can be seen from other Hobart suburbs, is located in Battery Point. Many of the homes in Battery Point are classified by the National Trust, which conducts walking tours of the area on Saturday mornings.

A few kilometres upstream of Hobart the ajoining city of Glenorchy, in Tasmania's south, is a family destination with natural and culinary delights.
From chocolate to wine, a ramble along the Derwent foreshore to bush hikes in Wellington Park, you're never far away from fun.
Come and relax, play a round of golf, idle away the days, or visit our markets and art galleries, and have a chat with some of the people that live, work, and play in Glenorchy.

Tasmania’s capital lies in the south-east of the state, near the mouth of the Derwent River at the foot of Mount Wellington.
The 19th century waterfront warehouses for which the city is famous once bustled with whalers, soldiers, petty bureaucrats and opportunist businessmen. Now they house cafes, restaurants and studios and bustle with shoppers and visitors. Polished glass winks in the windows of settlers’ cottages, in nearby Battery Point, and brass doorknobs gleam in the lofty porches of colonial edifices.
Hobart is a city of warm sandstone, bright spinnakers on the water, fish punts at the docks, the slap of halyards on masts, coffee under the striped sun umbrellas of Salamanca where the famous Salamanca Market is held very Saturday.
Square-riggers still put out on the River, tacking among the yachts and fishing boats. Parliament House looks out on its lawns, once the market garden for old Hobart Town, and historic Government House sits serenely in its park on the city’s northern fringe, where the Governor’s cows graze as they always have in their city-centre paddock.
Hobart’s busy arts scene takes in art, craft, music and theatre at Salamanca Arts Centre and the surrounding warehouses.
You can hang out to the sounds of South American flutes, pub rock, street buskers and string quartets, and theatrical performances both classic and contemporary. In galleries and studios, our artists and craftspeople make bold and beautiful statements in pigments, glass, pottery and fabrics.
The city was settled in 1804 by Lieutenant Governor Collins and grew rapidly as the clearing house for British and Irish convicts. Its place on the Derwent River became the perfect protected deepwater harbour, and now every December and January it welcomes weary and exultant contenders from the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Greater Hobart and its surrounding towns of Richmond to the north-east and Kettering, to the south, is an intriguing blend of heritage and lifestyle, scenery and vibrant culture. It’s a city defined by the river and sea. Take a harbour cruise, or drive to the summit of Mount Nelson or Mount Wellington, and you’ll understand our maritime focus - suburbs hug the Derwent River, city buildings cluster around the docks and the estuary broadens into Storm Bay and the distant sea.
Twenty-five kilometres and 100 years from the busy city is the historic town of Richmond - in the narrow cells of the old Richmond Gaol, Tasmania’s convict past seems just a clink of chains away. Close by are the neat vineyards and wineries of the Coal River Valley, home of superb cool-climate wines.
Hobart is an ideal base for your southern Tasmanian journeys - explore farther afield, then return to relax, unwind and rejuvenate.

Rising 1270 metre (around 4000 feet) above Hobart's harbour and the wide Derwent River, Mt Wellington provides a wilderness experience within 20 minutes of the city and is much loved by locals. The 21 kilometre drive to the summit takes you from temperate rainforest to sub-alpine flora and glacial rock formations, ending in panoramic views of Hobart, Bruny Island, South Arm and the Tasman Peninsula. The interpretation centre at the top protects you from the blustering winds and a viewing platform on the western side of the car park looks out to the southern World Heritage Area beyond. Bushwalking trails suit all fitness levels and barbecue and picnic facilities are provided. Mountain activities also include cycling and abseiling.
The Aboriginal name for Mt Wellington is Unghbanyahletta or Poorawetter.
In February 1836 Charles Darwin climbed Mt Wellington during a visit on the HMAS Beagle.

Pontville was sited by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, in 1821, and was an early garrison town, where convicts built the bridge over the Jordon River. During World Wars I and II the area had a major army camp.
The convicts and soldiers are gone now but the historic buildings remain: St Matthew’s Catholic Church and St Mark’s Church of England (designed by convict architect James Blackburn), the Crown Inn (1835), the Sheiling (1819) and other cottages that now offer colonial accommodation.
Pontville, with a population of around 1400, is 27 kilometres (17 miles) north of Hobart, and you can walk along the riverbanks, read the headstones in the old churchyards and admire the pottery and crafts at studios roundabout.

This little town of cobbles, handmade brick and mellow stone on the banks of the Coal River is just a 30-minute drive from Hobart.
With more than 50 19th century buildings, many of them now providing high-quality accommodation, Richmond, with a population of around 800, is a perfect place to learn about Tasmania’s rich heritage.
Walk across Australia’s oldest bridge, built by convict labour between 1823 and 1825. Stand in the cell of the Richmond Gaol (1825), Australia’s oldest goal, for an eerie insight into the hardships of early Van Diemen’s Land convict life. Or wander in the cemetery of Australia’s oldest remaining Catholic Church, St Johns, built in 1836.
Step back in time with a ghost tour by lantern light or a look at original 1820s Hobart Town at the Hobart Town Historical Model Village. Then relax on the banks of the Coal River with a picnic, while feeding the local ducks, or test your sense of direction in the Richmond mazes.
You’ll get the most out of Richmond by wandering its streets on foot. Artists and craftspeople have been drawn to the town for generations, and you’ll find examples of their work in galleries and cafes.
On the way to Richmond to or from Hobart, visit some of the excellent vineyards in the region – sip wine at the cellar door or enjoy an a la carte meal of fresh Tasmanian produce in a stylish winery restaurant.
Richmond was proclaimed a town by Lieutenant Governor Sorell, in 1824. It played an important role as a convict station and military outpost in the early days of the colony. For much of its history it was the main gateway to the east coast and the Tasman Peninsula. If you are travelling to these destinations from Hobart, consider visiting Richmond on your way.
Richmond is 24 kilometres (15 miles) east of Hobart along the B31. Its maximum average daily temperature is 22.5 degrees Celsius (72.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in January and 13 degrees Celsius (55.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in June.