Hobart

Excellent food.., Especially seafood! Tasmania as a whole is known for its amazing produce. Hobart had some exceptional restaurants to choose from. We started our trip by trying a local favourite and ended it with the famous Mures. In between we tried lots of others such as the Drunken Admiral, which has historical fun seafaring collectables. Some of the tables are even set up in boats.

Largest market in Tasmania

Get lost around the stalls, while you taste the local produce and look at the local crafts. Salamanca Market is the largest, however, lots of newer smaller markets are also popping up in the city, each with their own feel. We also went to the Cascade Brewery and tasted a variety of local cheeses and wines.

Fabulous day trips There are so many outstandingly beautiful places to visit that are close to Hobart. Such day trips include the beautiful Bruney island, Richmond and Port Arthur, to name just a few.

Mona The Museum of Old and New Art, famous the world over, this museum lives up to it hype. Glints of gold antiquities next to modern and contemporary art is genius. Every piece tells its own unique story. What makes the museum even more unique is it is almost completely underground. Owned and created by David Walsh, it is Australia’s largest private collection. It is also home to two wineries and a brewery. You can even now choose to stay here.

Narryna and Runnymead Both of these fine examples of Hobart's colonial past tell their own unique tale of years gone by. Narryna is the smaller of the two, yet due to its location of being in Battery Point, it is possible more people pop in here as they explore the historical surroundings of the area and well known cafes nearby. It is a 1830’s merchant’s town house, housing the country's oldest folk museum. It has fantastic examples of the convict servants quarters. Due to COVID you had to be shown around in your bubble. This actually added to the charm of this visit for me, as the guide answered lots of questions regarding a range of topics, from information about the house's owners to items around the place. They were friendly, welcoming and informative. Runnymead also followed the same protocol of a guided tour, which once again added to the visit. Knocking on the large imposing door to signify your arrival to those inside, it gave a feeling of entering another world of time gone by. This is a wonderfully preserved elegant colonial house built around 1836, by the first lawyer to qualify in the colony, Robert Pitcairn. It later became a whaling captain’s house. It contains a rich collection of materials related to the whaling and maritime interests, as well as artworks and original family possessions.

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

This free museum is often overlooked by visitors, in favour of the more famous Mona. However, I found it fascinating. It is also the second oldest museum in Australia. It provides an excellent way to learn about the history of Tasmania. It contains a mixture of art, earth and life, islands to ice and ningina tunapri (the Tasmanian aboriginals), plus many more items. Both the natural history and the art gallery were fascinating to me and I could have spent longer here.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden The botanIcal gardens in Hobart are one of the best I have had the luxury of viewing. Viewing gardens from China, France Japan and more unusually sub Antartica. If you ever happen to find yourself in Hobart for Xmas, then this is a great spot to be. We had a full on seafood Xmas picnic here and if its sunny, then all the locals come here to soak up the summer's day. It is labelled as Australia’s cool climate garden and has earned the title of Australia’s second oldest Botanical gardens, stretched over 14 hectares, you can relax and explore based on your personal preferences.