Hobart is an intriguing blend of heritage and lifestyle, scenery and vibrant culture.
It is a city defined by the river and sea - take a harbour cruise, or drive to the summit of Mt Nelson or Mt Wellington, and you’ll understand the town’s maritime focus. Hobart is 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, an occasional frosting of snow on Mt Wellington, bush tracks and birdsong.
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. 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, where the Governor’s cows graze as they always have in their city-centre paddock.
