A modern public library wrapped around the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts — a private collection of colonial Tasmanian art, antique furniture, and rare books bequeathed in 1965 by the lawyer-collector Henry Allport. The Allport Library reading room on the first floor is gorgeous: cedar shelves, Persian carpets, a working fireplace, and walls hung with John Glover and Conrad Martens watercolours. Anyone can walk in and sit down to read.
The library also hosts the Crowther Collection, a controversial Tasmanian Aboriginal collection now under repatriation discussion, and a regular programme of changing exhibitions in the ground-floor galleries. Free wifi, friendly staff, and a quiet place to escape a rainy afternoon in the city.