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Let's make 2025 your biggest travel year yet with one simple goal: tick more places off your travel bucket list than ever before...
Tasmania's second largest city, Launceston, has half the population of Hobart but punches well above its weight when it comes to restaurants, wineries and touring options.
Launceston is a walkable city filled with Victorian street-scapes, designer homeware shops, art galleries, urban dining and quirky bars and cafés. There's a spectacular scenic gorge to walk, food trails to follow and vineyards boasting premium local wine and gourmet menus, all within minutes of the heart of the city.
Thursday
Day: Check in for your direct flight to Launceston with Jetstar. Arrive early to allow plenty of time to browse the Domestic Terminal shops and sit down for lunch or a pre-flight snack at Glasshouse Bar.
Afternoon: Pick up hire car and drive 20 minutes to check in to Peppers Silo Hotel (89 Lindsay Street, Invermay). Four 35 metre-high grain silos, built on the edge of the River Tamar in the 1960's, have been given a $25 million transformation to become the sophisticated nine-storey hotel. There are 108 guest rooms, 52 of them inside the thick concrete walls of the former silos which are no barrier to streaming with fast WiFi and 1GB free internet and Chromecast available to all guests. With views stretching towards Cataract Gorge, the hotel is the first stage of an extensive rejuvenation for a former industrial area.
9pm: It's not far to go to enjoy a nightcap. Woody's Bar, named after the hotel's construction manager, is an oasis of cocktails, beers and fine local spirits on level one of the silos.
Friday
8.30am: Less than 10 minutes' drive away on the other side of the river Stillwater (2 Bridge Road, Launceston), built in the 1830s as a flour mill, provides a warm rustic dining charm with a contemporary menu across breakfast, lunch and dinner. The seasonally-inspired breakfast menu includes gems such as thick-cut ham from local Mount Gnomon Farm topped with hollandaise and vinegar and a rye waffle adorned with cold smoked Huon salmon and mustard crème fraiche. Delicious fuel-loading to burn off while waling through Cataract Gorge. Tours depart from the old ticket booth, a short walk from Stillwater up the hill over Kings Bridge.
10.30am: Lace up your walking shoes to take on a self-guided nature walking tour of Cataract Gorge. The walk is about two to three hours long, through spectacular reserve, close to the city. A swimming pool at First Basin is a favourable spot for locals, but it's a different type of local - exotically plumed peacocks - that have the run of the Victorian garden on the shady south side of the gorge. For an alternative view, the chairlift glides 547 metres over the huge natural basin, believed to be the longest single chairlift span in the world.
12pm: Hot local chef Matt Adams creates the flavour-filled menu at Timbre Kitchen with the assistance of hot coals and smoke. Located alongside Velo Wines vineyard and cellar door (755 West Tamar Highway, Legana), Timbre Kitchen is deservedly well-loved by locals. Although the menu is a moveable feast, comfort food such as wood oven-grilled cheese with granny Jean's mustard pickle is a staple.
2pm: Spend the afternoon browsing through Launceston's quirky CBD where old Victorian-style shop fronts mix with seriously tempting homewares, art galleries and food emporiums. Must-stops are the National Trust Old Umbrella Shop; Goulay's Sweet Shop to try a classic Launceston acid drop lolly; Design Centre Tasmania and the Waverly Woollen Mills Factory Outlet.
7pm: After a session at the Peppers Silo gym, it's time to tackle another meal. Grain of the Silos is the onsite restaurant which has a strong focus on supporting local farmers and producers under guidance from food director and celebrity chef Massimo Mele. Head chef Thomas Pirker has created a remarkable selection of dishes matched with an equally impressive wine list featuring award-winning local wines carefully curated by Tasmanian wine educator Curly Haslam-Coates. Our meal began with a snack of raw salmon on a wasabi leaf and a pulled pork croquette, followed by tender, crisp fried potato gnocchi with mushrooms and shavings of fresh truffle, and ethically-raised Scottsdale pork chops with sweet, tender meat and crisp crackling.
Saturday
8.30am: It's the place you plan to go to and the place where you make plans say the locals about their popular Saturday morning Harvest Market (71 Cimitiere Street, Launceston). It is also a spot to eat while browsing the stalls. Take a bespoke Taste. Walk. Talk tour with Brock Kerslake to meet stall holders and be guided through the many tastes on offer, then continue on a gourmet walking tour through the streets of Launceston stopping for treats along the way at local producers and providores.
1pm: Tamar Wine Route has many gems but for champagne lovers a visit to the rammed earth cellar door at Clover Hill (60 Clover Hill Road, Lebrina), 40 minutes' drive from Launceston, is hard to beat. The relaxed vibe of their cellar door is complemented by expansive views over rolling green hills on the 66-hectare property overlooking Bass Strait. Indulge in some wine pairing with the small but exciting menu featuring black pudding from local butcher Casalinga with red quinoa, pickled berries and cocoa crumb, crumbed brie and black sesame smoked tofu.
8pm: Save time for at least one drink at Geronimo Aperitivo Bar & Restaurant (186 Charles Street, Launceston) before diving into the traditional European-inspired share plates and wood-fired pizza selection.
10pm: Kick back at Saint John Craft Beer Bar (133 St John Street, Launceston) and try to choose an ale from 14 on tap and a range of international, Australian and Tasmanian bottled craft beers.
Sunday
10am: Sleep in (this is holidays after all) and walk off your onsite breakfast with a wander through Launceston City Park and the Japanese Macaque Monkey enclosure.
11am: Check out from Peppers Silo and drive to Josef Chromy Wines (370 Relbia Road, Relbia) less than 20 minutes south of Launceston and listed as one of the Top 10 Cellar Doors in Australia. All the wines are estate grown and the restaurant overlooks the vineyard, a perfect pit stop for a long and leisurely lunch.
3pm: Drive to Evandale, just 10 minutes further south and pretty as a picture. It is one of the best preserved historic towns in Australia with some buildings dating back to 1809. Wander the streets, browse the shops and galleries, stop for late afternoon refreshment in the cosy Clarendon Arms. It's just a six-minute drive to the airport from here.
Evening: Return your hire car, ahead of when Jetstar bag drop opens at Launceston Airport.
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