2 days in Hobart

Day by day

1. Day 1: MONA – Museum of Old and New Art and Salamanca Market

   MONA – Museum of Old and New Art, Salamanca Market, kunanyi/Mount Wellington and Constitution Dock and the fish punts, then Salamanca Place in the evening.

   1. Morning

      MONA – Museum of Old and New Art

      It sits beside the Moorilla winery and Moo Brew, and the playful approach includes an app instead of wall labels.

   2. Late morning

      Salamanca Market

      It has run since 1972 and is the city's busiest weekly event.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Tasmanian oysters

      Fish punts at Constitution Dock, waterfront restaurants and farm-gate shops on Bruny Island and near the airport at Barilla Bay.

   4. Afternoon

      kunanyi/Mount Wellington

      The dolerite columns of the Organ Pipes line the upper slopes, and walking tracks lead down through alpine heath and eucalypt forest.

   5. Late afternoon

      Constitution Dock and the fish punts

      Fishing boats, the old Customs House and the Mawson's Huts Replica Museum line the surrounding docks.

   6. Evening

      Salamanca Place

      Walk through the arched lanes into the Salamanca Arts Centre courtyard, which most visitors miss.

2. Day 2: Battery Point and Arthur Circus and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

   Battery Point and Arthur Circus, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and Cascade Brewery, then Theatre Royal in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Battery Point and Arthur Circus

      Arthur Circus is a ring of small Georgian cottages around a central green, and Narryna, an 1830s merchant's house, is now a heritage museum.

   2. Late morning

      Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

      Galleries cover Tasmanian Aboriginal culture, colonial art, Antarctic exploration and natural history, including the thylacine.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Scallop pie

      Bakeries across Hobart and Battery Point, and roadside bakeries on the way to Richmond and Port Arthur.

   4. Afternoon

      Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

      Founded in 1818, the gardens on the Queens Domain slope down to the Derwent and include a Japanese garden, convict-built walls, a vegetable patch and the Subantarctic Plant House, which recreates the climate of Macquarie Island with misting and cool air.

   5. Late afternoon

      Cascade Brewery

      The site has a bar and garden, and guided tours explain the brewing process and history.

   6. Evening

      Theatre Royal

      Check the programme before you travel; even a modest touring show is worth it for the historic interior.

Before you go

• MONA – Museum of Old and New Art: Ferry seats and museum entry are best booked online together, especially in summer and during festivals.
• Cascade Brewery: Brewery tours have limited places; book ahead at weekends and in summer.

If it rains

• Swap in Mawson's Huts Replica Museum (Waterfront and CBD): Ask the volunteer guides about the expedition's survival story; it adds a lot to the small space.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 17–22 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9 hours in June to 15.3 hours in December, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. The CBD, waterfront, Salamanca and Battery Point are all within about 15 minutes' walk of each other; expect steep streets around Battery Point.

More or fewer days

• One day in Hobart
• 3 days in Hobart
• 5 days in Hobart

Questions travellers ask