Things to do in Hobart

Theatre & Shows

Julian Charrière: Hard Core

Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am AEDT

Berriedale · Check price with organiser

French-Swiss artist Julian Charrière is marking a descent into deep time at Mona. Come and sample sculpture, film, photography and installation from the full breadth of Charrière's elemental output—where stone grinds, iceberg groans, mountain heaves—bridging nature, science, history, industry, myth and morality. Until 29 March 2027

Theatre & Shows

Nicole O'Loughlin | Nature/Nurture

Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am AEDT

Hobart · Free admission

In 'Nature/Nurture', O'Loughlin explores her personal connection to the landscape as a woman and caretaker of her home and studio, and of the living world that surrounds it. She muses on the threat of bird flu as she considers her relationship with the birds and animals that flourish among the creeks and grasses. Through embroidered portraits, she depicts trees with an awareness that their existence has become increasingly fragile and unpredictable. The works themselves are devoid of the traditional substrate of cloth, held together and seemingly floating by thread. Despite the climate anxiety that underpins these topical works, O'Loughlin threads her familiar irony and humour through each piece, marrying weighty ideas with ornate and carefully chosen materials and techniques. As she describes it, she is always "subverting that traditional kind of craft into contemporary culture".

Theatre & Shows

Jane Burton | Nightwood

Sun, 25 Oct, 10:00 am AEDT

Hobart · Free admission

Nightwood' sees Jane Burton draw on the title of Djuna Barnes' 1936 novel, echoing also its atmospheric temperament. The book explores women who resist being read, or fixed in time and place. Characters are described as illegible and unpossessable. A woman's presence stirs something ancestral and pre-human in whoever looks at her. Jane Burton is a nationally recognised Australian artist working in the medium of photography. Her work explores mortality, desire, and isolation and is often darkly ambiguous, enigmatic and provocative. Since graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours), from the School for the Arts, UTAS, she has exhibited her work regularly, holding forty solo exhibitions, including a twenty year survey 'Eye of the Beholder' (2009), at the Glen Eira City Art Gallery, Melbourne. She has twice staged solo projects at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne (1999, 2005), and her work has been included in numerous curated exhibitions and significant museum shows. Burton's work is held in the collections of prominent state funded galleries, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Australia. Two monographs of her photographs have been published by M.33, Melbourne: 'It is Midnight, Dr. _ _', in 2017, and 'Other Stories', in 2011.

Food & Drink

High Tea at The Tasman

Sun, 25 Oct, 10:30 am AEDT

Hobart · From $95

Partake in the timeless rituals of High Tea at The Tasman, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart. Gather in the refined, residential setting of Deco Lounge to celebrate the fresh bounty of Tasmanian produce, local Bellebonne sparkling and handcrafted teas. Available every weekend, discover why this venue is one of The World's 50 Best Hotels 2024.

Theatre & Shows

Antarctica is Melting: photographer David Neilson

Mon, 26 Oct, 12:00 am AEDT

Hobart · Check price with organiser

'Antarctica is Melting' presents a powerful selection of black and white photographs by Australian wilderness photographer David Neilson, drawn from six journeys to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic between 1990 and 2009. Across images of ice, rock, sea and sky, Neilson captures the scale, beauty and atmosphere of one of the world's most remote regions. His photographs are quiet and carefully observed, inviting viewers to slow down and spend time with a landscape many people may never see in person. The exhibition also carries an urgent environmental message. Antarctica is often imagined as untouched, distant and beyond human reach, but Neilson's work reminds us that even this vast region is being reshaped by climate change. The images offer a way to reflect on what is happening in the far south, not through statistics or headlines, but through attention to place, texture, weather and light. For Hobart, Antarctica is not simply a distant continent. It's part of the city's maritime identity, connected through vessels, research, institutions and the working waterfront. In this context, 'Antarctica is Melting' speaks directly to Tasmania's long relationship with the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic region. The exhibition invites visitors to consider Antarctica as both a place of extraordinary beauty and a region whose future is closely tied.

Live Music & Concerts

CJF Presents

Mon, 26 Oct, 12:00 am AEDT

Rosny Park · Check price with organiser

Four internationally acclaimed artists. One unforgettable week. They've played the world's biggest stages. This October, they'll play The Barn. CJF Presents brings internationally acclaimed artists to Lutruwita / Tasmania for a series of intimate performances you'll only experience at Rosny Farm. Across four nights, discover fearless improvisation, powerful spoken word, explosive funk and genre-defying contemporary music from GRAMMY nominees, global collaborators, and some of contemporary music's most exciting live performers. Whether you're seeing a favourite artist up close or discovering someone entirely new, every performance offers something rare: experiencing world-renowned artists up close in one of Australia's best acoustic live music venues. These are performances you won't find anywhere else in Tasmania. Five exclusive shows. Limited capacity. When tickets are gone, they're gone.

Live Music & Concerts

BIGYUKI

Mon, 26 Oct, 6:30 pm AEDT

Rosny Park · Check price with organiser

Innovative, disruptive, and deeply original – BIGYUKI is a magnet for adjectives, but remarkably resistant to labels. Probably best described as one of the most exciting live musicians working anywhere in the world, New York-based Japanese keyboardist, composer, and producer BIGYUKI (JPN/USA) has built a global reputation for creating music that refuses to stay in one place. Blending jazz, soul, hip hop, and electro with fearless improvisation, his performances are immersive, unpredictable, and unlike anything you've experienced before. After establishing himself as one of New York's most sought-after session musicians, BIGYUKI became the collaborator of choice for some of the biggest artists on the planet including Kamasi Washington, Lauryn Hill, Robert Glasper, J. Cole, Bilal and A Tribe Called Quest (he's also appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as part of Jon Batiste's house band). But it's through his own music that BIGYUKI has become one of contemporary music's most compelling voices. Driven by infectious grooves, dazzling musicianship and an unmistakable sonic identity, his trio moves effortlessly between explosive energy and moments of epic restraint. Presented in the intimacy of The Barn, this exclusive, debut Tasmanian performance offers a rare chance to experience one of contemporary music's most innovative artists up close. Come curious. Leave completely blown away.

Theatre & Shows

Becoming Modern: Mid-century Australian Art

Tue, 27 Oct, 10:00 am AEDT

Hobart · Free admission

Becoming Modern is a survey exhibition exploring the emergence of modernism in Australia during the twentieth century. Drawn largely from the Tasmanian State Collection, it features iconic Australian modernists alongside lesser-known works, many of which are exhibited for the first time. This large-scale exhibition brings together paintings, sculpture and works on paper, highlighting figuration, abstraction, and foregrounding works by Tasmanian women artists.

Theatre & Shows

The World of Seashells

Tue, 27 Oct, 10:00 am AEDT

Hobart · Free admission

This exhibition celebrates the natural beauty of seashells and the enduring sense of wonder they inspire. It features a striking selection of specimens from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) Collections, showcasing a wonderful array of shapes, sizes, colours and patterns. Seashells have long captivated the imagination, holding diverse meanings and purposes across cultures and through time. Today, they continue to fascinate and remain embedded in everyday life, appearing in design and popular imagery. Step into The World of Seashells to discover more about these natural treasures –how molluscs have evolved, how shells grow, what their colours and patterns might reveal –or simply marvel at their extraordinary beauty.

Classes & Workshops

Island of Ideas | Reef Futures

Wed, 28 Oct, 6:00 pm AEDT

Sandy Bay · Free admission

More than 95 per cent of Tasmania's giant kelp forests have disappeared as warming waters and invasive sea urchins transform reef ecosystems along our coastline. Marine ecologist Professor Scott Ling has spent decades diving on Tasmania's reefs to understand why productive ecosystems collapse and what it takes for them to recover. Restoring the giant kelp forests in Tasmania has become a key focus of his work in scaling-up solutions to repair reef ecosystems. In this Island of Ideas keynote, Scott will take you inside one of Tasmania's most ambitious marine restoration efforts. From reducing sea urchin numbers and rebuilding rock lobster populations, to 'seaweeding' competing algae and out-planting giant kelp, he will explore how scientists, industry, and communities are working together to help the giant kelp. Can we safeguard remnant giant kelp forests and bring them back where they've been lost in recent decades? And what might their capacity for recovery teach us about resilience in a rapidly changing ocean?

Theatre & Shows

Andrew Goodwin and Lydia Munro Family Muster: Creating Stories

Thu, 29 Oct, 9:00 am AEDT

Hobart · From $475

Family Muster of Andrew Goodwin, convict, Scarborough 1788 and Lydia-Letitia Munro-Munroe, convict, Prince of Wales 1788 who arrived in Hobart in 1808. The Muster is being held at the Old Wool Store Hobart. Speakers include Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart: UNE and Digital History Tasmania; John Short: Historian and author of A different view of Hobart; Goodwin Family Historians: Gabriela Canning, Don Gordon, Kevin Reed, Kimbra Thomas and Michael Monaghan; Public Historian Cathy Dunn and others. Showcase topics of the early history of Hobart 1804 - 1830s.; DNA research; Creating Wealth: Early Hobart Hotels and Boarding Houses; A fight for stolen Briscoe land; Historical Tasmanian Records; Creating Stories: so much more to Family History research than just BDMs records; The Munros of Scotland; Historical early Hobart Records Other activities include visit to St David's Cemetery Hobart and a special tour of the Tasmanian Archives and the Hobart Penitentiary. The Muster "Creating Stories" includes the book launch of Poverty and Wretchedness: Goodwin Family in Hobart 1808–1827 along with the the Taste of Tasmania Banquet Dinner . With family members coming from NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS, WA, ACT and NZ. Other family historians are also welcome and discover the early history of Hobart and Creating Stories.

Live Music & Concerts

Once upon a Mattress and Crazy for You Hobart

Thu, 29 Oct, 7:00 pm AEDT

Hobart · From $35

You will be thoroughly entertained with these classic shows! Once upon a time in a land far away, a kingdom had a rather unusual problem: Queen Aggravain decreed that no couples could marry until her son found a bride. To stop that happening she set impossibly difficult tests for all the Princesses who apply. Enter Princess Winnifred — an unconventional swamp princess who is more than happy to turn the kingdom upside down. Raucous, romantic, full of colourful characters and packed with sidesplitting shenanigans, Once Upon a Mattress puts a hilarious twist on the 'Princess and the Pea' fairy tale. Then, Broadway razzle dazzle hits town as young city slicker Bobby Child is sent to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose on the local theatre. After promptly falling in love with the theatre owner's daughter, he uses cunning, razzmatazz and a case of mistaken identity to save the theatre and win her heart. Crazy For You's memorable Gershwin tunes include "I Got Rhythm" "They Can't Take That Away From Me" "Nice Work if You Can Get It" and "Someone to Watch Over Me". Big theatre. Young stars. An Exitleft musical comedy double bill. Presented by ExitLeft's fabulous Senior performers, these 60 minute Youth Edition adaptations deliver two tasty morsels of classic broadway entertainment for the price of one!

Spas and Retreats

endota Spa Hobart

Hobart

For the ultimate in nurturing and rejuvenation, endota day spa Hobart offers a tranquil escape in the heart of the city for locals and visitors alike. Find the wellbeing experience you’re looking for, from our extensive treatment menu of massages, facials, spa packages and beauty therapies. Endota day spa Hobart is conveniently located on level 1 of the Icon Complex shopping centre in the central business and shopping district. Extend your spa experience by relaxing next door at Johnson & Miller wine bar after your treatment. Release your everyday stresses and enjoy a mini-getaway that’s perfect for you.

Image: This image is licensed to Gifts from Gaia

Spas and Retreats

Gifts from Gaia

Hobart

Find the perfect wellness experience to balance your mind, body, and spirit at Gifts from Gaia. Located just 15 minutes from Hobart, overlooking the picturesque scenery of Storm Bay, it is a tranquil escape that offers a variety of Healing Services, Wellness Workshops, and a Crystal Shop. Visit Gifts from Gaia's website for more detailed information about their offerings. Indulge in a healing and wellness experience like no other at Gifts from Gaia, where you'll be offered an experience that leaves you feeling peaceful and rejuvenated beyond visiting this magical place. Their Healing Services, Wellness Workshops, and Classes are designed to make you feel comfortable from the moment you arrive. Upon entering the serene sanctuary, you will be enveloped by a soothing atmosphere filled with thousands of crystals, calming music, and delightful aromatherapy scents. The environment is designed to release any tension or stress, allow your mind, body, and spirit to surrender fully, and provide a calm and relaxation that will stay with you long after your visit. Gifts from Gaia also features a Crystal Shop, where you can find a diverse range of crystals, new age, esoteric, and wellness products to enhance your spiritual journey. Their shop selection also includes Tasmanian-made products and crystals. So why wait? Book your appointment now and experience the magic for yourself!

Image: Playhouse Theatre

Entertainment Venues

The Playhouse Theatre

Hobart

Performing Arts Theatre. Hobart Tasmania. The Hobart Repertory Theatre Society is one of Hobart's most respected theatre organisations. With seating for 230, The Playhouse Theatre is conveniently located within the central business district of Hobart, close to hotels and great restaurants. An intimate atmosphere providing 'Great entertainment at popular prices'.

Image: Yvette watt

Entertainment Venues

Archaica Schola Art School & Studio

Hobart

Archaica Schola is an art school and studio housed in a naturally lit, penthouse art space in the heart of Hobart's CBD. Offering a variety of art classes for kids and adults in painting, watercolours, ceramics, life drawing and more! They were Tasmania's first Paint 'n' Sip studio, founded in 2019, and remain proudly independent and locally owned.

Galleries, Museums and Collections

Howard Hadley Gallery

Hobart

The Howard Hadley Gallery is a dynamic exhibition and event space. It features temporary exhibitions for guests to explore. Art is interwoven into the history of Hadley’s Orient Hotel, most notably landscape paintings. This gallery is named after Howard Hadley, one of the early landlords who was himself an artist and art collector. Howard and his father were passionate about art and their collection was shown throughout the hotel, including works by prominent landscape artists such as Haughton Forrest. With the introduction of Hadley's Gallery in 2016 and Hadley's Art Prize in 2017, Hadley's Orient Hotel's colourful artistic past has had a fresh coat of paint and creativity.

Spas and Retreats

Hobart Premium Float and Day Spa Wellness Centre

Hobart

In the heart of Hobart, Here you can choose from Floatation & Sauna treatments in combination with hot-stone and herbal massages, chakra healing, organic facials, and a couples package that includes access to an infrared sauna and Hot Rock spa. Need more pampering or detoxing? Check their website for more options including meditation, reflexology, IPL and Laser.

Spas and Retreats

White Sage Aesthetics

Hobart

Nestled in the heart of Hobart, White Sage Aesthetics is a boutique skin and wellness destination offering visitors and locals a place to retreat, restore and reconnect. Known for its warm, welcoming atmosphere and personalised approach, White Sage combines advanced skin therapies with restorative wellness experiences designed to support both skin health and overall wellbeing. Guests can enjoy results focused facials, skin rejuvenation treatments, skin needling, LED light therapy and infrared sauna experiences, all thoughtfully tailored to individual needs. At White Sage, they understand that stress, fatigue and the demands of modern life often show up through the skin. Their approach blends evidence based treatments with genuine care, creating an experience that encourages both visible results and a sense of calm. More than a skin clinic, White Sage is a space where people can pause, exhale and take time for themselves. Every treatment is delivered by a passionate team committed to helping guests feel supported, confident and refreshed. Whether you are visiting Tasmania for a weekend escape or are a local seeking a moment of restoration, White Sage invites you to experience the difference that personalised care can make. Leave feeling rested and deeply cared for.

Entertainment Venues

Fullers Bookshop

Hobart

Fullers Bookshop is located in nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania and is the state's leading independent bookseller. They are located in the heart of the city on Collins Street, and act as a local hub for all things literary with their flourishing events program and their work with schools, libraries and other local institutions. Fullers is home to the cosy Afterword Café where readers can relax with a book and indulge in a steaming cup of coffee and a hearty lunch. Bustling with locals and island visitors alike, you're bound to find a hive of activity.

Image: Five Leaves Left

Shopping and Markets

Fives Leaves Left - Wine & Books

Hobart

Fives Leaves Left is a boutique shop offering a curated selection of lo-fi & natural wines and new & used books. Located in the heart of nipaluna / Hobart surrounded by eateries, wine bars, and a variety of special interest stores, Fives Leaves Left is a must to visit for all wine and book lovers. You will be greeted by friendly and knowledgeable staff who are always ready to offer recommendations based on your individual taste or who will otherwise talk you into taking an adventurous step to try something new.

Galleries, Museums and Collections

Maritime Museum Tasmania

Hobart

As an island state, the sea is significant to all Tasmanians. This museum explores the influence of the sea on the lives of Tasmanians and the strong maritime heritage of the islands. You will find informative displays about aboriginal watercraft, early European explorers and whalers. You can learn how important sailing and steamships were for developing Tasmanian industries that exported the raw materials and products of the islands, such as apples, minerals and timber. The historic Carnegie Building is a fitting home to the museum's collection of ship models, artefacts, paintings and images. Discover the craft and art of shipbuilding through displays of boat builders' tools and historic dinghies. Navigational instruments show how mariners found their way across the seas while archaeological discoveries from shipwrecks around the Tasmanian islands show how challenging, difficult and dangerous the seafarer's life could be.

Spas and Retreats

Nova Holistic Spa

Hobart

Nova Holistic Spa (Nova) is a unique, hidden, wellness haven located in central Hobart, offering a range of cutting-edge wellness services designed to naturally optimise your mind, body and spirit. Their services are specifically chosen because they work at the cellular level to support the body's natural healing processes, energy level, nervous system and everyday functionality, helping you feel and look your healthiest. Nova features Hobart's only outdoor, all-weather therapeutic bathhouse, complete with Hobart's only full-spectrum infrared sauna, ODIN ice bath and magnesium-infused six-person spa, along with Tasmania's only mHBOT (mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy) AirPod and FDA-approved Infrared BioMat. Their offerings also include a wide range of therapeutic massage modalities, bespoke skin health facials, traditional facials, holistic counselling and more. Popular with locals and visitors alike, their friendly, qualified staff are here to guide and support your wellness journey, helping return you to a state of calm and leaving you feeling rejuvenated and deeply rested. Visit Nova Holistic Spa to experience a deeper, more homely and private level of relaxation and recovery.

Image: Hydro Tasmania

Natural Attractions

Lake Binney

Hobart

Find your perfect family escape in Tasmania's Central Highlands, only two hours from Hobart! Nestled in between Bradys Lake and Tungatinah Lagoon sits Lake Binney, offering some of Tasmania's best when it comes to fishing. There are two lakeside campgrounds to choose from, suitable for tents and campervans. Right off the Lyell Highway, you'll find access to the lake for your next boating or paddling adventure! Here in Tasmania, our lakes don't just offer stunning scenery; they're also the powerhouse of our renewable energy… hydropower! Lake Binney is a perfect example, where breathtaking views meet sustainable energy generation. To keep everyone safe, always check Hydro Tasmania's safety signs, as water conditions can change quickly! For more information on sites and visitor safety, visit the hydro website.