Presiding over an oak-studded park adjacent to Salamanca Pl, Tasmania’s sandstone Parliament House (1840) was originally a customs house. There’s a tunnel under Murray St from Parliament House to the Customs House pub opposite: the official line is that no one knows what it was used for, but we'd hazard a guess… Free 1½-hour tours run when parliament isn't sitting (call for availability).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Hobart attractions

1. Salamanca Place

0.12 MILES

This picturesque row of three- and four-storey sandstone warehouses is a classic example of Australian colonial architecture. Dating back to the whaling…

2. Hobart Real Tennis Club

0.14 MILES

Dating from 1875, this is one of only three such tennis courts in the southern hemisphere (the others are in Melbourne and Ballarat). Real (or ‘Royal’)…

3. Franklin Square

0.15 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…

4. St David's Cathedral

0.16 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…

5. Salamanca Arts Centre

0.18 MILES

The nonprofit Salamanca Arts Centre has been here since 1977 and occupies seven Salamanca warehouses. It's home to dozens of arts organisations and…

6. 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…

7. Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum

0.19 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…

8. Town Hall

0.2 MILES

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…