Launceston

Situated at the head of the beautiful Tamar Valley wine growing region, few places in the world can match Launceston's natural and historic charm.

 

We enjoy an enviable way of life that is at once relaxing and invigorating, a lifestyle centred around a climate similar to the south of France, the great outdoors, a vibrant events calendar and arts scene and our world-renowned local food and wine,

 

Founded in 1806, Launceston is the nation's third-oldest city with a fascinating history traced in its beautiful old buildings and streetscapes dating from early Colonial and convict times to Georgian and Victorian eras. Today these buildings are much valued by the community and admired by visitors, housing fashionable restaurants, cafes, banks, boutiques and high-tech businesses.   

 

The city is situated where two rivers meet to become the Tamar on its way to the sea, and is famous for its ancient ravine cut into the hills by the South Esk River. This, Cataract Gorge, has been a major focus for Launceston's leisure time since the city's earliest days and is just a 15 minute walk from the city. You can stroll among the peacocks and rhododendrons in the Gorge Cliff Grounds and cross the river to the summer open-air swimming pool on the world's longest single-span chairlift (or take the suspension bridge). Eateries are situated on both sides of the Gorge and there are also many walking trails to explore.

 

From the Kings Bridge end of the Gorge, you can walk past the boardwalk cafes and wine bars of modern Seaport, to the cultural precinct at Inveresk. Here you'll find Tasmania's home of AFL, the Aurora Stadium, as well as the impressive Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and the University's Academy of the Arts and award-winning School of Architecture.

 

Greater Launceston has a population of around 100,000. The city has the charm and pace of a regional centre and the facilities of a much larger city, but without the crowding, traffic, litter and crime (we're the safest region in the safest state in Australia). Perhaps this is why the locals are well-known for being relaxed and friendly.