Hobart

There are art museums, and then there is MONA. Carved into the cliffs of the Berriedale peninsula, Hobart’s subterranean masterpiece is less a gallery and more an ‘experience machine’. Founded by professional gambler and art collector David Walsh, the Museum of Old and New Art defies traditional curation with a provocative, often confrontational journey through mortality, sex, and the human condition. From the moment you descend the spiral staircase into the cavernous, triangle-lit void, you realize this isn’t your standard cultural outing. The centerpiece? Sidney Nolan’s vast, snake-like ‘Snake’ installation and the infamous ‘Cloaca Professional’—a machine that digests food and turns it into feces—ensure that art lovers, provocateurs, and casual tourists alike leave feeling profoundly moved, or at the very least, wonderfully scandalized. A premier site for art as a counter-cultural statement.

Rising 1,271 metres behind Hobart, kunanyi/Mount Wellington is the city’s ever-present sentinel, its dolerite columns—known as the Organ Pipes—etched by ice and time. A sealed road spirals through temperate rainforest and sub-alpine heath to the summit, where a boardwalk leads to a sheltered lookout offering a 360-degree panorama: the Derwent estuary glittering to the south, the Tasman Peninsula’s rugged spine to the east, and the Central Highlands fading into blue infinity. In winter, snow dusts the upper slopes; in summer, wildflowers carpet the alpine meadows. The mountain holds deep significance for the Muwinina people, and interpretive signs along the Pinnacle Road share that living culture. Whether you drive, cycle the grueling ascent, or hike the Zig Zag Track from Fern Tree, the view from the top is Hobart’s defining postcard.

Every Saturday morning, the historic sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place transform into Tasmania’s most vibrant and beloved open-air market. Since 1972, this bustling bazaar has drawn locals and visitors alike to wander beneath the canopy of London plane trees, sampling artisan cheeses, freshly shucked oysters, and handcrafted leather goods. The market is a sensory feast: the aroma of wood-fired pizza mingles with the scent of native botanicals, while live buskers provide a soundtrack against the backdrop of Georgian architecture. With over 300 stallholders, it is a showcase of the island’s creative spirit—from bespoke jewelry forged from Huon pine to small-batch spirits distilled from local barley. More than just a shopping destination, Salamanca Market is a weekly ritual that captures the essence of Hobart’s community-driven, slow-food culture.