Luscious takes a trip: Visiting Hobart, Australia, in style

Hobart, the capital of Australian state, Tasmania, is a small and beautiful city, renowned for incredible food and wine using local produce. Mr Luscious and I have had several very happy visits there over the years, as it’s a quick flight from our home town of Melbourne, across Bass Strait.

For his 50th birthday, Mr Luscious said that he’d like a few days in Hobart to celebrate his half-century milestone. Here’s a look at our itinerary…

 

 

 

Getting there:

Because of work commitments, we took  a mid-afternoon flight from Melbourne to Hobart (about 1 hour). On this trip, we flew with Virgin Australia – we’ve traditionally been loyal to Qantas, but sadly, Qantas management have destroyed the iconic brand in recent years.

Hobart airport is small, so you’re off the plane, collecting your bags and opening the door of your car hire in 15 minutes or less. And the drive from the airport is about 15 minutes, so it’s all very easy.

If you are flying internationally, you will need to fly in to another major city first, such as Melbourne or Sydney, and then take a domestic flight to Hobart.

Or, you can get the Spirit of Tasmania boat from Melbourne, either as a “foot” passenger, or by bringing a car with you – it travels overnight from Port Melbourne to Devonport at the top of Tasmania.

Our trip involved the very heart of Hobart – the central business district, Salamanca Place, Battery Point, South Hobart and North Hobart, as well as a boat cruise to Peppermint Bay and a drive to New Norfolk.

 

Accommodation

We stayed at the Islington Hotel in Davey Street, Hobart. See the post and photos here:

 

Activities in and around Hobart

Why go to Hobart? We love it for the food and wine, scenery and relaxed atmosphere.

But it offers a lot more, especially for outdoorsy types (camping, fishing, hiking…) and there is a thriving arts and culture scene with lots of writers, crafters and artists choosing to move to Tasmania for the supportive arts community.

Tasmania is also the source of significant Australian history, with the convict settlement at Port Arthur and other fascinating spots.

Hobart is also famous for the annual Sydney-to-Melbourne yacht race, and many cultural festivals. Learn more about Tasmanian via the Discover Tasmania and Discover Hobart websites.

As we’ve been to Hobart several times before, we’ve covered most of the main tourist activities, such as a day trip to historic Port Arthur, a drive through the amusing Doo Town. And we’ve been fortunate to stay with a friend who once had a fabulous home in the heart of Battery Point.

 

 

Here are some of the things we did on this trip:

• antique shopping in New Norfolk, about 40 mins drive along the Derwent River from central Hobart – beautiful countryside and an easy drive
• some history with a quick stop at the historic Cascade brewery (we had tea and scones in the cafe and took photos of the heritage building from the gardens, but they also do proper tours if beer is your thing)
• a Peppermint Bay cruise and lunch at The Stackings restaurant
• a delicious Hobart City Food Tour with Gourmania – see the post here:

 

Tomorrow, before we head off to the airport, we’ll be taking:

• a stroll through Salamanca Markets (Saturday morning)
• a tour of some southern Tasmanian wineries, around historic Richmond and Cambridge, including lunch at Frogmore winery (which is conveniently just 10 mins from the airport).

 

 

Food and wine in the Tasmanian capital

As always, we ate some sensational meals. On this occasion, we dined at:

• Islington Kitchen, Islington Hotel, Davey Street
• Garagistes, 103 Murray Street
• Pigeon Hole, 93 Goulburn Street
• The Stackings at Peppermint Bay

But here are some other cafes, restaurants and food stores on our list:

Restaurants

• Solicit, 333 Elizabeth Street
• Piccolo, 323a Elizabeth Street
• Smolt, 2 Salamanca Square

Bakeries, cafes and wine bars

• Jackman and McRoss, 57 Hampden Road
• Ethos Eat Drink, 100 Elizabeth Street
• Ginger Brown, 464 Macquarie Street
• Sweet Envy, 341 Elizabeth Street
• Tricycle, 77 Salamanca Place
• Dev’lish, 137 Macquarie Street
• Environs, 38 Waterloo Crescent

Food stores

• A Common Ground Shop, 77 Salamanca Place
• Hill Street Grocer, 109 Hill Street
• Wursthaus Kitchen, 1 Montpelier Retreat
• The Italian Pantry, 27-29 Federal Street 
• Bottega Rotolo, 141 Bathurst Street

 

 

 

 

You might also like:

• Our travel photo galleries on the Luscious website.
• Our Pinterest boards devoted to luscious locations, luxe travel and travelling in general.

 

Books about Hobart and Tasmania, fiction and non-fiction

• Explore Australia : Hide and Seek Hobart
• Tasmania by Mike Bingham and Joe Shemish
• In Search of Hobart by Peter Timms
• A History of Tasmania by Henry Reynolds
• Tasmania’s Convicts: How Felons Built a Free Society by Alison Alexander
• Lonely Planet Tasmania
• The Rough Guide to Tasmania
• Frommer’s Tasmania Day By Day
• Alpine Tasmania: An illustrated guide to the flora and vegetation by Jamie Kirkpatrick
• Down Home: Revisiting Tasmania by Peter Conrad
• Deep South: Stories from Tasmania by Ralph Crane and Danielle Wood
• In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
• Pockets & Corners: Furry facts and Thylacine Fiction in the Heartlands of Tasmania by Penny Carey-Wells and Diane Perndt 
• In Tasmania by Nicholas Shakespeare

• The Photographer, the Cook, and the Fisherman: Real Stories of Tasmanian Fishing by Richard Bennett, Jill & George Mure

• The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding by Robert Hughes
• Doctor Wooreddy’s Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World by Mudrooroo
• For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke
• English Passengers: A Novel by Matthew Kneale
• The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay
• The Roving Party by Rohan Wilson
• The Hunter by Julia Leigh
• Highways to a War by Christopher J. Koch
• Any novel by Tasmanian author, Richard Flanagan

 

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Cheers, Natasha
www.myLusciousLife.com