Visit Launceston>>

Launceston is 200 km from Hobart and 80 km from Devonport where the car ferry docks. Located in the Tamar River Valley, it is situated at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers, as they meet to form the Tamar. It was founded in 1805, making it Australia’s third oldest city, and it developed during the 1830s as a whaling port and market centre.

With a population of around 100,000 it is now the largest population and commercial centre in northern Tasmania and the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart. It has many well-preserved Victorian and Georgian buildings and has the largest collection of 19th century buildings in Australia. Getting around is easy as most things are within walking distance, and the streets are arranged in a grid pattern.

Launceston has a charming ambience with its old buildings and many beautiful parks, public squares and reserves. It has the feel of a large country town as there are no high rise buildings. The tallest building, the Myer building in the Brisbane Street Mall, is 19 metres at its highest point.

Princes Square has a bronze fountain that was bought at the 1858 Paris Exhibition, while the City Park near the city centre has an elegant fountain, a bandstand and an enclosure for Japanese Macaque monkeys which are a gift from a sister-city in Japan. The GPO clock chimes every quarter hour in a building that dates back to the 1880s.

One of the most famous attractions is the breathtaking Cataract Gorge on the South Esk, which is an easy 10 minutes walk from the city. There are two walking tracks, one on each side of the gorge, and there is a chairlift across the basin which takes about 6 minutes. Of the overall length of 457 metres from station to station, the 308 metre central span between the pylons is claimed to be the longest single span chairlift in the world.

Further upstream is one of the world's first hydroelectric stations, built in 1895. Launceston was the first city in the southern hemisphere to be lit by electricity generated from water power, and it was in continuous operation for 60 years.

This charming and friendly city has some quality museums, art gallery and craft galleries and is a great place for a discovery holiday.

Visit Launceston>>