Things to Do in Hobart

MONA ferry and museum

The camouflaged ferry slips past zinc works and shuttered apple sheds, techno pulsing on the upper deck. Inside, the air is cool and smells of stone and incense. You spiral down steel stairs into David Walsh's curated fever dream. One moment you're eyeing Egyptian beads, the next you're under a waterfall that spells your name in falling droplets of light.

Kunanyi/Mount Wellington summit at dawn

The road corkscrews through temperate rainforest where myrtle beards drip onto asphalt, then bursts above the cloud line into alpine scree. From the pinnacle you stare straight down Hobart's spine, its grid of rooftops glowing pink while the river stays pewter. Wind carries eucalyptus oil and snow. Fingers numb on the rail even in February.

Salamanca Market on Saturday

Under the colonnades, stallholders shout prices for briny Pacific oysters shucked to order and cups of mulled cider thick with clove. Leather-workers offer belts that smell of tannin and smoke. A kid cranks a barrel organ that drops tinny 1890s tunes onto cobblestones. Between warehouses you glimpse wooden tall-ship masts rocking in Sullivans Cove.

Battery Point heritage wander

Arthur Circus feels like a Cotswold village airlifted south. Pickett fences guard tiny 1840s cottages painted sage, ochre, maritime blue. You hear the clack of cricket balls from the village green. Bread drifts from a wood-fired oven on Hampden Road. Slip down Kelly Steps to the docks where rusted cranes still creak above old IXL jam factory walls.

Dark Mofo winter solstice

The city turns noir for two weeks in June. Red searchlights spear low clouds above the harbour. Bass notes from subterranean gigs rattle drain grates. Locals queue in the frost for a 3 am nude solstice swim. Volunteers hand out cinnamon tea that scald grateful palms. You'll smell burnt sugar from fire shows in the Macquarie Street car park. Throat-singing echoes off brutalist council walls.

Battery Point: heritage cottages and B&Bs where you wake to gull cries and bakery smells

Salamanca waterfront: sandstone warehouses converted into loft apartments above wine bars

North Hobart: restaurant strip, mid-range motels, easy airport bus stop

Sandy Bay: marina views, university vibe, frequent buses into town

CBD grid: business hotels near the docks, handy for Saturday market crawl

South Hobart: quieter residential, good for longer stays with kitchenettes