Tasmania's main attractions are outdoors. The Overland Track from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair is the great six-day walk; the alpine plateau, glacier-carved lakes and dolerite peaks make it one of Australia's classic hikes. Shorter wilderness experiences include Freycinet National Park (the Wineglass Bay walk), Bay of Fires on the east coast (white-sand beaches and orange-lichened granite), and Mount Field with its waterfalls and tall swamp gum forests.
In and around Hobart, MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) is the standout — a provocative private museum built underground into sandstone cliffs, reachable by a fast catamaran from the central pier. The 1830s convict ruins at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula are about 90 minutes from Hobart and remain the best-preserved convict site in Australia. Mount Wellington rises 1,270m directly behind the city, with a road and walking tracks to the summit.
For wildlife, Maria Island and Bonorong Sanctuary near Hobart are the easiest places to see Tasmanian devils, wombats and pademelons. Cradle Mountain has reliable wombat and platypus sightings at dawn and dusk. The whisky scene around Hobart and the Tamar Valley wineries north of Launceston make for excellent slow-paced day trips.