Duck your head into the fabulously lavish lobby of Hobart's stately Town Hall. It was built in 1864–66 in a style based on Rome’s famous Palazzo Farnese. You can also check out the main boardroom if it's not being used; ask at reception. The front door is on Macquarie St.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Hobart attractions

1. Maritime Museum of Tasmania

0.04 MILES

Highlighting shipwrecks, boat building, whaling and Hobart’s unbreakable bond with the sea, the Maritime Museum of Tasmania (out the back of the town hall…

2. Franklin Square

0.06 MILES

Encircling a statue of Sir John Franklin, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (aka Tasmania) from 1837–43, Franklin Sq is one of central Hobart's…

3. Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum

0.08 MILES

This excellent waterfront installation is a model of one of the huts in which Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition team, which set sail…

4. Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery

0.1 MILES

Incorporating Tasmania's oldest surviving public building, the Commissariat Store (1808), TMAG features Aboriginal and colonial relics and an excellent…

5. St David's Cathedral

0.15 MILES

Hobart's city-centre cathedral (1823) looks a tad austere, but inside the mood is serene and architecturally uplifting. Duck inside and regain your…

6. Waterfront

0.16 MILES

Hobartians flock to the city’s waterfront like seagulls to chips. Centred on Victoria Dock (a working fishing harbour) and Constitution Dock (full of…

7. Hadley's Gallery

0.19 MILES

An installation sponsored by the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery is the Hadley's Gallery at Hadley's Orient Hotel. Inside is a fascinating display of 29…

8. Theatre Royal

0.2 MILES

Hobart’s prestigious (and very precious) Theatre Royal has been host to bombastic thespians since 1837, and despite a major fire in 1984, it remains…