- Duration
- ~3 hours, ~2.5 km on foot (≈ 3 h 3 min: moving and stop time only)
- Who it suits
- Everyone
- Transport
- walk
- Start
- Salamanca Place
- Finish
- Franklin Wharf & Constitution Dock
- Pace
- relaxed pace
- Best time
- Saturday morning: Salamanca Market runs 8:30am–3pm, and the harbour light is softest before noon
- Budget per adult
- Free: you pay only for coffee and fish and chipsPrices as of: July 2026; transport and zoo prices October 2026
Getting there
On foot from the waterfront. To shortcut on another day: Metro has made buses free for Tasmanians until 30 June 2027, with no fare or GreenCard required on board; the rules don't say anything about visitors.
Stops in order
The text version of the route: stops, time at each and the legs between them. Times are estimates, without queues, traffic or swims.
1. Salamanca Place~45 min at the stop
A row of 1830s sandstone warehouses from the whaling era, now filled with galleries, bars and restaurants.
Worth knowing: The sandstone warehouses were built in the 1830s and 1840s for Hobart's port. The Saturday market has used the square since 1972.
Tip: On Saturdays the Salamanca Market takes over the whole row: about 300 stalls, 8:30am–3pm.
Open on the map ↗↓ walk · 4 min
2. Kelly's Steps~10 min at the stop
A stone stair cut into the cliff in 1839 by whaling captain James Kelly as his shortcut from the wharves up to Battery Point.
Tip: The steps are steep and short. Climb them and turn into the Battery Point streets, away from the market.
Open on the map ↗↓ walk · 4 min
3. Arthur Circus, Battery Point~15 min at the stop
A circular green ringed by tiny 1840s cottages: the most photographed corner of Hobart's oldest quarter.
Worth knowing: The circus is a rare ring of Georgian cottages around an oval green, laid out in the 1840s for officers and officials at Battery Point.
Tip: The cottages are lived-in: admire from the green, not over the fences.
Open on the map ↗↓ walk · 4 min
4. Hampden Road~40 min at the stop
Battery Point's main street: Georgian houses, antique shops and old bakeries: the right spot for a coffee stop.
Tip: A residential street. Look at the houses from the footpath. Jackman & McRoss is the bakery at 57 Hampden Road: get the scallop pie and keep walking.
Open on the map ↗↓ walk · 8 min
5. Brooke Street Pier~20 min at the stop
A floating glass pier stocked with Tasmanian produce: and the departure point for the MONA ferry.
Tip: The pier is the MONA ferry and the view of the water. Even without a ferry ticket, walk to the end of the pier.
Open on the map ↗↓ walk · 3 min
6. Franklin Wharf & Constitution Dock~30 min at the stop
The working harbour where the Sydney–Hobart yachts finish each New Year; floating fish-and-chips punts line the dock.
Worth knowing: Constitution Dock is the finish of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, first sailed in 1945.
Tip: End the walk with fish and chips straight off a floating punt: a Hobart institution.
Open on the map ↗
Before you go
- Route times are estimates: walking, driving and a sensible pause at each stop. Add queues, traffic and swims yourself.
- Prices, timetables and trail status change. Check the venue's official site and the state transport app before you go.
- On beaches, swim only between the red and yellow flags. Use sun protection even when it is cloudy.