The best city hikes and walks in Tasmania

The Henry Jones Art Hotel occupies a row of historic sandstone warehouses on Hunter Street dating from the early 1800s, the former site of the IXL jam factory. Henry Jones, the son of convict parents, started working at the factory at age 12 and eventually built one of Tasmania’s largest and most successful businesses before the factory closed in 1979. In 2004, architects transformed the buildings into Australia’s first dedicated art hotel, preserving the original sandstone walls, vaulted timber ceilings and factory machinery as part of the design. Over 400 works by Tasmanian artists are displayed throughout, and the IXL Long Bar, with its backdrop of original jam tins lining the walls, is one of the most distinctive spots in Hobart.

Narryna is a Georgian merchant’s townhouse built between 1835 and 1840 for Captain Andrew Haig, a merchant who traded between Hobart, Asia, and South America. Haig later built warehouses facing Salamanca Place and established a successful trading business before financial difficulties forced him to sell the property in 1842. Today, Narryna is a community museum managed by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, with collections of 19th-century furniture, decorative arts and costume that tell the story of early colonial life in Hobart. The house is surrounded by a beautiful Georgian garden and is open Tuesday to Saturday.

Anglesea Barracks is Australia’s oldest military establishment still in use. Governor Lachlan Macquarie selected the site in 1811, and it has been continuously occupied ever since, with its bicentenary celebrated in December 2011. The precinct includes the Guard House, Military Hospital, two-storey Soldiers’ Barracks, Drill Hall, and Australia’s only surviving nineteenth-century military prison. It’s included on the Commonwealth Heritage List and is regarded as one of Australia’s most significant historical military precincts, home today to the Army Museum of Tasmania.

From here, you can look out over the Derwent River, with yachts anchored on the water and the low hills of the eastern shore stretching across the horizon. The working harbour sits below, with the river widening beyond it toward the hills, giving you a beautiful view across this part of Hobart’s waterfront.

Battery Point is one of Australia’s best-preserved colonial precincts, with a notable concentration of Georgian and Victorian buildings dating from the 19th century. The winding streets are lined with sandstone cottages, mariners’ dwellings, grand merchants’ houses and terrace rows, with St George’s Anglican Church, built between 1836 and 1838, as a prominent landmark designed in part by convict architect James Blackburn. At the centre of it all is Arthur Circus, a ring of historic cottages surrounding a small village green that gives this part of Battery Point the feel of a traditional English village.

Kelly’s Steps are 48 sandstone blocks carved directly into the cliff face created in 1839 by explorer and whaler James Kelly, connecting the warehouses and dockyards of Salamanca Place below with the residential streets of Battery Point above. The stone used to construct the steps came from the same quarry that supplied materials for the neighbouring Salamanca Place warehouses, making them as much a part of the precinct’s history as the buildings themselves. They remain one of Hobart’s most photographed landmarks and a well-worn shortcut between two of its most historic precincts.

Salamanca Square is a sheltered public square built in the mid-1990s in a former quarry behind the historic sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place, making it something of a hidden corner if you’re discovering it for the first time. The square is filled with cafés, restaurants, bars, galleries, and boutique shops, with a fountain in the centre, making it a popular spot to sit and watch the world go by away from the bustle of the waterfront. It also hosts many of Hobart’s cultural events and performances throughout the year.

The Burnie Coastal Pathway runs along the northern Tasmania shoreline, giving you easy access to beaches, headlands, and small parks. You’ll pass spots like West Beach, Red Rock Point, and the mouth of the Emu River. The path is open year‑round, but calm mornings in spring and early summer tend to give you the clearest skies and the most relaxing walks or bike rides along the coastline.