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What’s On in Hobart This Weekend (23–24 May 2026)
Our guide to what's on in Hobart this weekend will give you plenty of reasons to leave the house.
This weekend in Hobart, 23rd to 24th May 2026, is calling for market bags, gallery detours, ferry rides and one very good warming drink between stops. Saturday starts strong with Salamanca Market, Tasmanian Produce Market and free live music on the MONA Lawns, before the city slips into short films, theatre and late-autumn art. Sunday slows the pace with Farm Gate Market, Yacuruna at MONA, the anticipation of the Fungi Festival up in Launceston, and enough cosy corners to turn a simple coffee into the better part of the afternoon.
Layer up, follow your appetite and let this editor-approved list shape a Hobart weekend worth leaving the house for.
Table of Contents
Editor’s Picks
Farm Gate Market
When Sunday morning rolls around, Hobart’s Farm Gate Market (affectionately known as Farmy) buzzes with energy, and it’s not too hard to see why Lonely Planet has crowned it a must-visit travel trend. This is your one-stop shop for fresh local produce in abundance. Local purveyors line the street, with stalls overflowing with fresh fruit and veg, artisanal baked goods, and small-batch spirits. Start your morning at Farmy’s Grub Hub with breakfast from one of the many food trucks before diving into this sensory playground of Tasmanian goodness. This is no ordinary market; it’s an experience that captures the soul of slow, local travel.
Where: Bathurst Street, Hobart
When: Sundays, 8:30am–1pm
Cost: Free
Best For: Markets; Food lovers; Food & drink lovers; Locals; Visitors
Need to Know: Arrive early for the best produce and popular breakfast stalls.
Eat & Drink
Lēoht After Dark
Lēoht is turning the candlelight on in its 170-year-old Battery Point cottage, opening Friday and Saturday nights from 5pm for drinks, snacks and dinner. The menu comes armed for winter: oysters with wild fennel mignonette, olive oil flatbread with goat curd, venison kielbasa, kingfish crudo, wallaby tartare and a saffron-tomato brodetto thick with mussels, calamari, kingfish and sourdough for mopping. Hobart after dark just got cleverer.
Where: 46A Hampden Road, Battery Point
When: Fridays and Saturdays, from 5pm
Cost: Varies
Best For: Food & drink lovers; Locals; Visitors
Need to Know: Happy hour from 5-6pm brings $5 Peroni and $10 Clover Hill sparkling rosé.
Arts & Culture
Turn MONA into a whole afternoon
This is how you give a Hobart afternoon a little more voltage. Across the weekend, MONA Lawns is rolling out three free live sets worth building your ferry plans around: WolfeFolk on Friday with Emily Wolfe’s expressive violin and folk-rooted vocals; Flower Extract on Saturday with a local hit of surf-psych-rock; and Yacuruna on Sunday with cumbia, bossa, bolero and the old and new sounds of Latin America. Start with the art, drift onto the lawns, order a drink and let MONA turn the afternoon into something stranger, sunnier and far more interesting than your average weekend plan.
Where: Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Berriedale
When: Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May, 1-3pm
Cost: Free
Best For: Music and art lovers
Shopping & Markets
Drive south for Willie Smith’s Artisan Market
A short drive out of town can change the whole mood of a weekend, and Willie Smith’s Apple Shed is exactly that detour. Each Saturday, the Artisan Market brings local makers, growers and good-looking treats to Grove, with cider flowing and the Huon Valley doing what it does best.
Where: 2064 Huon Highway, Grove
When: Saturdays, 10am–3pm
Cost: Free
Best For: Markets; Food lovers; Group catch-ups; Visitors; Locals
Visit the Salamanca Market
Take a stroll through Hobart’s iconic Salamanca Market, a quintessential weekend activity for families, couples or a fun outing with friends. Celebrating over 50 years, this long-adored market boasts more than 300 stalls featuring an array of local goods, from unique records and handcrafted woodwork to the exquisite Leatherwood honey and artisanal whisky.
Perfectly situated for a Saturday well spent, you can seamlessly wander from one stall to the next, sampling goodies and savouring a cup of coffee. We’re eyeing up the delectable Lady Hester sourdough donuts on hand.
Where: Salamanca Place, Hobart
When: Saturdays, 8:30am–3pm
Cost: Free
Best For: Markets; Food lovers; Group catch-ups; Visitors; Locals
Outdoors & Active
Fungi the Festival
From 29th May to 7th June 2026, Fungi the Festival sends Launceston into full mushroom mode: forest forays, truffle hunts, grow-your-own workshops, fungi feasts, films, talks, art and a town-wide tasting trail across cafes, restaurants and bars. Start at Harvest Market for growers and wild-fungi displays, head to Du Cane for talks, screenings, and mushroom pizza, or travel to Deloraine for truffle dogs and winter soil drama. Strange, clever and truly Tasmanian, it’s one of the best things to do in Launceston this winter.
Where: Launceston and surrounds
When: 29th May to 7th June
Cost: Various
Best For: Walking tours; Cultural experiences; Outdoor enthusiasts; Fungi enthusiasts
Need to Know: Wear practical shoes.
Free Things To Do
Take a Self-Guided Heritage Walk
Tasmania’s heritage towns reward those who wander on foot. In Richmond, Battery Point and Ross, self-guided walks unfold past sandstone cottages, old pubs, convict-built bridges and quiet streets where history sits close to the surface. There’s no ticket required, just time and curiosity. Stop often, read the plaques, follow side streets, and let the rhythm slow. These walks are rich in atmosphere and detail, offering a layered sense of place that feels intimate, unhurried and deeply Tasmanian.
Where: Richmond, Battery Point, Ross
When: Anytime
Cost: Free
Best For: Walking tours; Cultural experiences; Outdoor enthusiasts; Budget-friendly; Visitors
Need to Know: Wear comfortable shoes and allow extra time to explore side streets and historic landmarks at your own pace.
Coming Soon
Dark Mofo
A celebration of winter, Dark Mofo features large-scale art installations, live performances, provocative exhibitions, and winter feasts. It’s a uniquely atmospheric festival rooted in Hobart and is back again this June with a packed schedule of events, including the highly anticipated nude solstice swim.
Where: Various locations across Hobart
When: Thursday 11th June to Monday 22nd June
Cost: A selection of free and ticketed events
Best For: Festivals; Art lovers; Cultural experiences; Food & drink lovers; Weekend plans
Need to Know: The Nude Solstice Swim typically takes place at sunrise on the winter solstice — registration is required to participate.
What’s On in Hobart This Weekend: FAQs
Keep the weekend budget intact with Saturday at Salamanca Market and Sunday at Farm Gate Market, both ideal for coffee, browsing and Tasmanian-made treats. For fresh air, wander the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens as autumn colour deepens, then take a self-guided heritage walk through Battery Point, Richmond or Ross instead.
Hobart’s market scene is in full swing, with Salamanca Market running on Saturday and Farm Gate Market taking over Bathurst Street on Sunday morning. Both offer a strong mix of local produce, handmade goods and ready-to-eat treats, making them ideal for a relaxed weekend wander.
This weekend, Hobart’s food-and-drink scene is stacked: Urban Wine Walk takes over Salamanca on Saturday, High Tea at The Tasman brings polished afternoon indulgence, Lottie Phillips pairs Mother’s Day flowers with ice cream sundaes at WORK, and Mona Lawns adds free live music, drinks and weekend atmosphere by the water.
With kids in Hobart this weekend, keep it easy: take the ferry to Mona for art, lawns and free live music, wander TMAG for a free museum hit, stretch little legs at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, or make Saturday morning a Salamanca Market snack-and-stroll mission.
This weekend’s cultural line-up has an easy Hobart rhythm: free live music on Mona Lawns from Friday to Sunday, Salamanca Market’s art, craft and maker stalls on Saturday, plus Paper Jam Zine Fair and Tassie Indie Author Book Fair for a more literary, local-creative hit.
Make Saturday the big one: Salamanca Market, Urban Wine Walk and Lottie Phillips’ flowers-and-sundaes pop-up. Keep Sunday slower for Mother’s Day with High Tea at The Tasman, Botanical Gardens or The Harry Edwards Trio at Mona.
Did you love our round-up of what’s on in Hobart this weekend? You’ll enjoy our foodie guides to Hobart, with the best bars and restaurants to explore around the city.
