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My favourite area of Hobart is Salamanca Place with its historic Georgian sandstone buildings, warehouses, pubs, and cafes. But most importantly, I love it because it also plays host to the famous Salamanca Market every Saturday morning.
We spent several days in Hobart and having been told by many of our readers commenting on our facebook page that we can’t miss these markets, we made sure we time our stay over a weekend.
And we’re sure glad we did. The Salamanca Markets are some of the most vibrant and exciting markets we have seen in Australia.
The setting between the historic sandstone warehouses facades and the tree lined park painted a nice picture on arrival, and the markets were buzzing.
With over 300 hundred stallholders, Salamanca Market is hugely popular with the locals, thousands attend each Saturday, and it’s a major tourist attraction for visitors.
If you’re thinking of visiting the Salamanca Market but not sure what it’s all about, here is everything you need to know…
About the Salamanca Market
The Salamanca Market began in on the 22nd of January 1972, at the same site on Salamanca Place that it still operates on today.
It’s organized by the Hobart City Council and takes place every Saturday between 8.30am and 3.00pm.
The market has over 300 stalls that occupy the entire length of Salamanca Place, which is in the heart of Hobart’s city centre in the CBD.
Not only is the market a wonderful place to check out, but the waterfront location means you can explore more of Hobart’s CBD and waterways.
On offer was fresh and local produce, locally made products, arts, gift shops, and handicrafts from all over Tasmania, interstate and overseas.
You can also meet the stall owners, who are creators, makers, artisans, designers, farmers, growers, and producers. It’s the ideal place to pick up some home grown produce or handmade crafts as souvenirs to take home.
You can also find artists selling artwork, woodwork, and jewellery.
Our Experience At Salamanca Markets
We zigzagged our way through the crowds with Savannah in her pram, an adventure in itself, and, of course, it was drizzling with rain – don’t come to Tassie without a rain jacket.
We didn’t come to Salamanca Market to buy stuff, mainly because we’re on our indefinite road trip around Oz and our car is already chock-a-block with our possessions, plus we’ve been spoilt for choice over the years in Asia where things are so much CHEAPER.
But we always love a market for its street food, and Salamanca Market is a good place to get your teeth into some freshly harvested Tasmanian produce.
My pick was the salmon sausage served in a freshly baked focaccia bread with zesty lettuce and whole egg mayo from the cool boutique seafood sausage caravan.
Whilst the kids went for a more basic sausage on a roll sizzling nearby on the barbie.
Caz grabbed herself a healthy juice, and after the kids (and dad) demolished their sausages the fresh strawberries, cupcakes and ice cream were enticing.
When comparing to other markets I’ve personally experienced around Oz, overall the variety or quantity of food on offer wasn’t as good as I had at the Mindil Beach Markets in Darwin, or the Wednesday night food market at Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, but your tastes will differ to mine.
However, it was a great place to pick up a hot coffee and some cookies or custard-filled donuts and take it all in.
If you want to find fresh produce to pack up for a picnic while exploring the city of Hobart, you can find some good-quality cheeses and other fruit and vegetables such as mushrooms.
You can also find seafood such as oysters.
And it wouldn’t be a market without live music, and the buskers were out strumming their guitars, or the soaps, preserves, pottery, homewares, flowers and nick knacks.
You can also find some of Tasmania’s world-class gin and whisky producers selling their products here.
Whilst I enjoyed these markets, and the setting is awesome with the harbour front nearby and historic Battery Point, I wouldn’t go out of my way to fly to Hobart just to visit these markets.
But definitely come to Hobart, it’s great, and if you can time your visit over a weekend, add this to your list of things to do.
FAQs About Salamanca Market
Here’s what people usually ask us about visiting Salamanca Market…
How long should I spend at Salamanca Market?
You should allow a couple of hours to walk through the market stalls and check out what’s on sale by the stall holders. If you time your visit for early morning, you can get a coffee and snack and watch some live music. You probably wouldn’t spend more than 3 hours here.
What time is the best time to visit?
Generally people start to come to the market at around 11.00am and it remains busy until 1.00pm. If you want to experience the vibrant atmosphere, come between these times, or if you want to see it when it’s quiet, come early at 8.30am.
What should I bring to the market?
You should bring a carrier bag to carry all the items you buy, as plastic bags are not given by stall holders. You should also bring cash as many stall holders do not accept card.
Is there parking and toilets?
There is a car park and drop off point on Castray Esplanade. There are a few accessible toilets along the street, just ask a member of staff for directions to the nearest one.
More Hobart Travel Tips
Are you planning to stay in Hobart and surrounding areas for a while? Then you may want to read more of our posts on things to do in Hobart and surrounds. Check out the Salamanca Inn, which is around the corner from the markets and a great place to stay, especially for families.
Have you been to Hobart and Salamanca Market? Share any tips in the comments!
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