Hobart

Hobart => is the capital city of the Australian state of Tasmania. Hobart is very small and intimate (population 250,000) compared to the larger cities on the mainland, reflecting the small size of the state. The metropolitan area stretches north along the Derwent River, crossed by several bridges.

Get in

Hobart city centre is some 15 km from Hobart International Airport (HBA) => near Seven Mile Beach. The following airlines fly to HBA:

• Qantas => flies from Melbourne and Sydney.
• Jetstar => flies from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
• Virgin Blue => flies from Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
• Tasair => flies from Burnie

An airport bus service runs from the airport to Hobart (about $13) or a taxi will cost around $30.

It is a couple of hours drive from Launceston airport (hire cars can be rented either in advance or at the airports), or three to four hours drive from the ferry terminal in Devonport.

Get around

The main method of transport in Hobart is by private car or by public bus. There are no passenger trains in Tasmania.

Kingston, a thriving town about 12 km south of Hobart, suffers traffic problems that are getting worse by the day. The State Opposition (Liberal Party) has pledged to build a $AUD35 million bypass for Kingston to address the traffic problem should it find success at the next State election which must be held in 2006.

See

As an initially convict-built city, first settled in 1803, Hobart has many beautiful historic buildings and precincts, especially in the area around the river.

Landmarks

• Salamanca Market => - a major Saturday morning attraction, for locals and visitors alike. Situated in front of large sandstone warehouses which have been converted into a maze of craftsmen's workshops, giftshops, restaurants and other 'artsy-crafty' shops. These warehouses were mostly built to service 19th century whaling.
• Battery Point, behind Salamanca Market. This area is very old and full of interesting architecture. Many of these buildings are built in the area's golden sandstone, giving the older parts of the city a warm golden glow. Even though it is a very poor building material compared to Sydney sandstone.
• Botanical Gardens.=> Beautiful location about fifteen minutes walk from the city centre. A must see attraction is the sub antarctic garden. Its like walking into a freezer full of plants!

Museums and Art Galleries

• the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery => - donate some money so they can tart up their act. Has one of the best coin collections in any museum
• the Maritime Museum of Tasmania =>, Carnegie Building, cnr Argyle and Davey Streets

Do

• Wrest Point Casino =>, 410 Sandy Bay Road. tel 1800 030 611 (free call Australia only) or 03 6211 1750, mailto:email@wrestpoint.com.au - Australia's first legal casino was built in Hobart, and the complex has been upgraded many times to keep it at a high standard
• Cascade Brewery, 140 Cascade Road. tel (03) 6224 1117 (bookings). Offers beer brewery tours with tastings.
• Cadbury's Chocolate Factory =>, Cadbury Road, Claremont. tel 1800 627 367 (free call within Australia) - Cadbury offers tours to persons over the age of 12. See how chocolate is made, soak in the aromas, have a tasting and buy cheap choccies in the factory shop. Since it is a working factory, you will need to wear enclosed shoes and safe clothing and don't wear jewelry.
• Mount Wellington: => fantastic view from the top of Mount Wellington, take a bus to "Fern Tree" and then walk a steep zig-zag track to the top.

Eat

Hobart has a profusion of eating establishments ranging from the cheap to the luxuriously expensive. Freshly caught seafood is a specialty of the region, and there are several excellent seafood restaurants. Deep-sea Trevalla is unique to Tasmania and must be tried. Tasmanian lobster is also excellent.

• Machine Laundry Cafe, 12 Salamanca Square. tel 03 6224 9922. fax 03 6224 7967. This cafe (which also houses a laundromat, hence the name) is a good place for a filling breakfast of $8-$15. Eggs benedict and banana and ricotta pancakes are recommended.
• Mikaku, 85 Salamanca Place, tel 03 6224 0882. Mikaku is a Japanese restaurant. The fish menu is not very extensive, it's more focussed on deep fried foods and beef. Mains $20.
• Mures Fish Centre =>, Victoria Dock, tel 03 6231 2121, 03 6231 1999 (upper deck) or 03 6231 2121 (lower deck). fax 03 6234 4464 - Mures has two sections: the upper deck is a stylish seafood restaurant (mains $20-$30); the lower deck is a cafeteria style bistro (mains approx $10) and served mainly deep fried fish and the like. Reservations are usually required for the upper deck.

Drink

• Bar Celona, 45 Salamanca Place. ph 03 6224 7557. fax 03 6224 7388. Bar Celona is a combined wine bar and cafe. The decor is open and wood panelled: while it can get a bit noisy, it's a good place to escape some of the much more crowded bars on a busy weekend night, especially if you want to have a nice glass or two of wine.
• Irish Murphy's, 21 Salamanca Place. tel 03 6223 1119. fax 03 6223 1133. email hobart@irishmurphys.com.au. => Irish Murphy's is a busy Irish pub on one of the prime nightlife strips. It has a young crowd dancing to pop hits from their childhood in a fake Irish franchise pub.

Sleep

• Adelphi Court YHA, 17 Stoke Street, New Town. phone 03 6228 4829. fax 03 6278 2047. email yhatas@yhatas.org.au. Prices $22 dorm bed, $56-$62 for a double room and $65-$71 for a single room. http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=74
• Dr Syntax Hotel, 139 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay. phone 03 6223 6258. fax 03 6224 0132. Pub-style accommodation. Prices $45-$70.
• Alexandra on Battery, 3 Sonning Crescent, Sandy Bay. phone 03 6225 2574. fax 03 6225 3522. Prices $80-$90 per night.
• Motel 429, 429 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay. phone 03 6225 2511. fax 03 6225 4354. email sales@motel429.com.au. Prices $99-$113 per night. http://www.motel429.com.au/
• Cottage on Lord, 49 Lord Street, Sandy Bay. phone 03 6224 0823. Prices $255 per night. http://www.cottageonlord.com/

Splurge

• Lenna =>, 20 Runnymede Street, Battery Point, tel +61 3 6232 3900, reservations freecall 1800 030 633 (within Australia), mailto:enquiries@lenna.com.au - one of Hobart's most stylish boutique hotels

Get out

From Hobart, the attractions of southern and central Tasmania are in easy reach, including:

• Port Arthur and the Tasman Peninsula
• Hastings Caves (a long day)
• Ross and Richmond (historic towns)
• the Huon Valley and Huonville
• Mt Field National Park and the Russell Falls
• Seven Mile Beach
• Bruny Island
• Freycinet Peninsula and National Park

This text of this article is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0. It has been slightly modified to fit the general design of this website. The authors of this document are Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, Evan Prodromou, Phil, Wikitravel user Dbabbitt and the following WikiTravel users: Dhum_Dhum, Hypatia, Karen_Johnson, Pjamescowie. The original version of this article can be seen at http://wikitravel.org/en/Hobart.