Moss Hotel

Worth getting out of bed for

If you’ve opted for a balcony-toting room, sit out and watch the world go by on sociable Salamanca Square; if you’ve opted for a tub-toting room, run a bath and treat yourself to the Treatment Set by Addition Studio in your minibar. The Australian native clay mask, body scrub and bath soak make for blissful soaping and sudsing. Back on dry land, wander around the hotel admiring the specially commissioned photography by Derek Henderson, who spent a week in Tasmania capturing uniquely Tassie things that most visitors don’t get to see.

Don’t miss lively Salamanca Market, which takes over the picturesque waterfront on Saturdays. This award-winning shindig runs from 8.30am until 3pm, starring more than 300 stalls selling arts, crafts, jewellery, fresh food and produce, collectables and homewares. Visit the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Australia’s second-oldest museum, established in 1846 by the Royal Society of Tasmania. Thanks to a recent 30-million-dollar revamp, the museum has added sparkle, including more than 2,000 square metres of new public and exhibition spaces, a visitor hub and a new Courtyard Café. It’s practically illegal to come to Hobart and not visit MONA, the island’s dazzling and provocative Museum of New and Old Art, which houses David Walsh’s $110m private collection of art and antiquities, and hosts a busy exhibitions programme. MONA’s lures include the Moorilla winery, Source Restaurant, bars, a café, Smith-approved accommodation pavilions and more (including Moo Brew, an off-site brewery). Whisky-lovers can raise a glass at Sullivans Cove Distillery, which proudly handmakes its high-end single malt using traditional methods and 100-per-cent-Tassie ingredients. In warm weather, go for a refreshing dip at sandy Long Beach; on cooler days, stick to strolling (but take your camera).

Local restaurants

Enjoy breakfast or lunch amid the locals at popular Dandy Lane, which wards off hunger in style with treats such as caramel-apple French toast, bacon and eggs Benny and corned-beef toasties. Housed in a handsome historic warehouse, family-run Maldini dishes up trattoria-style Italian cuisine starring Tasmanian produce; the stellar wine list also deserves a high-five. Malik on Elizabeth Street serves Med flavours in a modern Tassie setting; indecisive diners will appreciate the four-plate tasting menu with matching wines. Fashionable Franklin has an impressive setting – an old Ford showroom within Hobart’s historic Mercury Newspaper Building – and a forward-thinking philosophy. Modern Tasmanian cuisine is served up in this industrial-style space, whose not-so-secret weapon is a 10-tonne, wood-fired Scotch oven.
 

Local bars

Championing cold-climate wines and spirits, Institut Polaire on Murray Street is styled with modern minimalist flair, all ice-white walls, snowy marble and dove-grey leather. This is the home of Süd Polaire gin and Domaine Simha wine, so stick around for a tasting experience. Cocktail lovers will enjoy a tipple or two at Asia-inspired Suzie Luck’s Canteen & Cocktail Bar, which serves punchy drinks and flavoursome snacks in a cool, colour-pop space on Salamanca Square.