Cheap flights to Hobart will not be needed by those sportsmen and women who take part in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, but the rest of us, touching down at Hobart International, will be just as welcome at Constitution Dock where, for several days around Christmas and New Year's, the yachts and their crews celebrate. The arrival of the yachts is a high point of the Hobart Summer Festival, ten days of food, wine, arts and entertainment. The most delicious part of the festival is the Taste of Tasmania, which consists of more than 70 stalls setting out the very best of the state's eateries and wineries.
Hobart is heaven for the seafood lover. The must-eats are blue-eye trevalla, scallops, crayfish and, of course, oysters and mussels. The wineries of the Derwent, Coal River and Huon Valleys specialise in the finest pinots, chardonnays, sauvignon blancs and rieslings. Then, there are the soft fruits and berries from the orchards of South Tasmania.
Every Saturday, these products are on sale at the Salamanca Market. The bustling market stalls stand against the handsome Georgian warehouses that date back to the 1830s. These are just one example of Hobart's rich heritage.
Founded as a penal colony, there are several grand buildings. There's nowhere better to savour the architecture than around the dock and Battery Point, which is reached from the Salamanca Market by Kelly's Steps. For sumptuous views and, perhaps, to work off the goodies from the Salamanca Market, Mount Wellington, standing 1271 metres above Hobart, is just 20km or so from the city.
