Launceston is the second-largest city in Tasmania and provides a base to explore the northern part of the state. The city was settled in 1805 and has a population of 87,645 (2021), making it Australia's fifth-largest inland city.

• Tourism website

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Map of Launceston

The best way to get around Launceston is by car. Taxis are available, but may add up to be expensive; try to get a transfer when you are moving from the airport to your hotel. Car rentals are available for reasonable rates. There is also a Metro bus service which goes all through the town.

Bicycle is a reasonable way to get around Launceston and out the Gorge. Traffic is fairly quiet in town, and there is a good network of bike paths.

• Launceston City Park - includes an enclosure housing a large number of Macaque monkeys
• Historic houses and buildings including Macquarie House, Franklin House, Entally House, Clarendon House and the 'Old Umbrella Shop'.
• Tamar Valley - wine-growing area
• National Motor Museum
• -41.42426146.988161 Tasmania Zoo, 1166 Ecclestone Rd, Riverside, ☏ +61 3 6396 6100. 100 species of animals. (updated Feb 2018)
• -41.428445147.1404742 Queen Victoria Museum, 2 Invermay Road, ☏ +61 3 6323 3777. Extensive museum featuring exhibitions of colonial art, contemporary craft and design, Tasmanian history and natural sciences, a working planetarium, and displays related to Launceston's industrial environment and railway workshops. (updated Aug 2024)

Cataract Gorge

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Cataract Gorge is 1 km from the centre of Launceston. There is paid parking at the entrance to the park, either all day or by the hour.

• There are many walking tracks which skirt the side of the gorge, and cross it at a suspension bridge and a low level bridge.
• You can swim in the gorge. The water can be quite cold, and there is a current, but with care you should be fine. There are constructed entrances to the water, and access is free. There is also an unheated swimming pool, and access to that is also free.
• You can see the gardens and pergolas, and the peacocks walking around.
• You can play on the playgrounds.
• You can take a chairlift across the gorge, and walk back, or vice-versa, although going both ways on the chairlift is about the same price as a one way ticket.
• There is a cafe on each side of the gorge, serving ice-creams, coffee, snacks, etc.

• Cruise the Tamar River
• Tour the surrounding wineries of the Tamar Valley
• -41.43268147.1377581 Boag's brewery, 39 William St, ☏ +61 3 63326300. Tours leave weekdays (from 9AM; closed on public holidays) from the Boag's Centre for Beer Lovers located in the Tamar Hotel in the heart of Launceston. Bookings and fully enclosed footwear are essential.  
• Yoga in the park open classes by local yoga teacher in Launceston parks on weekend mornings. Saturday morning in City Park before the harvest markets and on Sunday mornings in Riverbend Park www.werethee.com.au donation based/bookings not required.
• Launceston Ghost Tour, 14 Brisbane St, ☏ +61 421 819 373. Starts 8:30PM nightly at the Royal Oak. Fun night walking around one of Australia's oldest cities. Unearth the eerie side of Launceston in the 19th century. Fascinating for history buffs. Bookings required. $24/person or $20 with a voucher from the local hotels. 
• -41.425833147.1388892 York Park (known commercially as University of Tasmania Stadium, formerly Aurora Stadium), 2 Invermay Rd, Invermay, ☏ +61 3 6323 3383. Tasmania's largest sporting venue with a maximum capacity of 21,000. Watch a game of Aussie Rules or cricket. (updated Feb 2018)
• Launceston self-guided walking tour along historic Cameron Street. See Launceston Historical Society's Page for more details.

• Tasmanian Wool Products: Waverley Woolen Mills, The Sheep's Back (George St)
• The Tasmanian Devil as soft toys, hand-puppets etc
• -41.432399147.142941 Design Centre Tasmania, Cnr Brisbane St and Tamar St, City Park, ☏ +61 3 6331 5506. Australia's only museum collection of contemporary wood design, they run exhibitions and tours of crafts, design and art, nationally and internationally. A not-for-profit organisation with a mission to support and sustain design. 

Launceston has several "olde worlde" UK style pubs, including The Cock and Bull and Irish Murphy's. In the city centre there are pubs on many of the street intersections.

There are many motels, hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments offering accommodation in the area.

• -41.4419147.13311 Art Hotel on York (The Old Bakery Inn), 270-280 York St (corner of York & Margaret Streets), ☏ +61 3 6331 7900. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. 100-year-old converted bakery combined with the neighbouring townhouses from the same era. Rooms are simple but clean and well looked after. Plenty of parking on site. $125/night. 
• The Sebel Launceston, Corner St John & William Streets, ☏ +61 3 6333 7555, reservations@thesebellaunceston.com.au. This Launceston hotel is within walking distance to the city centre, Launceston’s seaport and Cataract Gorge. 
• -41.43347147.145922 Waratah on York, 12 York St, ☏ +61 3 6331 3300, bookings@waratahonyork.com.au. Hotel (updated Jan 2020)

Routes via Launceston

Devonport ← Westbury ←	W  S	→ Perth → Hobart
END ←	W A3 NE	→ Scottsdale → St Helens
Greens Beach ← Beaconsfield ← Grindelwald ←	NW A7 SE	→ END
George Town ← Hillwood ←	N A8 S	→ END
END ←	W C401 E	→ C432 jcn to Ben Lomond National Park → Mathinna

The historic town of George Town and Low Head lighthouse are a one-hour drive to the north along the Tamar River.

• Perth and Longford are historic towns 20 km south via the freeway
• Devonport and Deloraine can make a scenic round trip, following the west Tamar, along the northern coast, and before looping south.
• St Helens is a coastal town on the Eastern Coast.
• Scottsdale lavender farm
• George Town is an historic settlement north on the eastern Tamar.
• Ben Lomond National Park is a skiing/hiking area in northeast Tasmania.