One of my two favourite stores at Salamanca, the Maker is full of really beautiful handcrafted…read moreitems. From terrarium kits to winter woollies to stunning dresses to pieces of jewellery, here you will find something unique and worthy of treasuring forever, either as a momento of your holiday in Tasmania (if you're visiting) or a reinforcement of why Tasmania is the best state in Australia (if this is home).

One of the more interesting bookshops here; or in fact on any continent. Quite simply there A LOT…read moreof books here of every topic you can dream of : Australia, Horror, fiction... and random stacks here and there with all sorts of interesting odds and ends in them. Many are used, some are new but if you ask Richard, he'll give you honest answers about books and if he doesn't have it they can order it for you. There are some real treasures tucked away here! You could easily spend all day flipping through pages. Honestly the only other bookstore better is in Portland, Oregon, and it takes up nearly a city block. Follow them on the socials for some interesting insights! A must visit for anyone who likes to read.

The coolest bookstore in town. Hobart's Black Books, except Richard isn't quite as grumpy as…read moreBernard--unless you ask him a stupid question, I suppose... C&S may be small but you can still get lost in amongst the shelves. I don't recommend following them on Facebook, because then when they advertise new books in on there you may snatch up the ones I want before I get a chance to do so.

As I mention in all my reviews of bookstores, I love them. Especially the ones that are locally…read moreowned. Fortunately and unfortunately these are the only types of bookstores still in existence. Oh, I remember the days of Barnes and Nobles and Borders where I would spend hours just looking through and finding things I was looking for and not looking for. We were looking for books about Tasmania flora and fauna and one of our guides on our hike had recommended Fullers. Fullers is a pretty sizeable bookstore with a lot of variety. They have an attached cafe where you can grab something to sip on while you read. We were most interested in the Tasmania section of which they had 3 bookshelves dedicated to. They had Tasmanian cuisine, Tasmanian hikes, Tasmania flora and fauna and much more. I had tried to look for a few of these books on Amazon to avoid having to pack them in my bag but no luck so this is the only place where you're sure to find these books to take home! I brought my giant stack of books to the cashier. After paying for everything, they asked if I wanted them mailed to me. What a wonderful surprise! They said that the owner does this service especially for their overseas customers. Of course I had to add a couple more things to my order just to round things out! This is a great place to stop by if you're in town especially if you're looking for something special about local life to read. Look forward to my next stop here!

Fullers is an incredible bookshop, filled (Fulled?) with incredible things. Every genre is covered…read more(including a "Tasmania" genre, of course), as well as a plentiful stationery section and the all-important book-themed bric-a-brac (think mugs, tea towels, etc). Proudly independent and open seven days a week, this seems to be the place to go for everything reading-related. Once you've made your purchase, you're welcome to get straight into it by settling down for a cup of coffee in Fullers' own Afterword Cafe, located inside the bookshop. I'm so glad I stumbled across this treasure; I have no doubt the girls in here will know me by name very soon.

I don't want to flash my bias here too much - oh what the hey. I'm not a huge fan of chain…read morebookstores. It's tough to find anything older than a year or two in this kind of place, unless it's something that's been a bestseller forever, in which case you've seen it all before. Dymocks is Hobart's fast-food bookstore: you come here when you're looking for something recent and specific, and you leave when you've got it. Decent History section, doleful Writing section. Good range of picture books and an excellent spread of fiction. I suppose it depends on what you look for in a bookstore: if the answer is simply, "something to read", you'll probably hit paydirt here. But if you enjoy the entire experience of a bookstore: the atmosphere, and the discovery of books that are very old, very beautiful or on very particular and unusual topics, Hobart has far better on offer.

1st stop for books in a new town - Dymocks. Worth it, great service!read more

An amazing find on Salamanca Place. If you're a lady who loves funky jewellery, Rebecca Roth is…read morewell worth a visit. And make sure you spare some time, as you could spend an hour in here trying on all the beautiful options. RR specialises in resin jewellery. So the question becomes, how does RR compare to Dinosaur Designs? Very well in my opinion: equivalent in creativity, exceeds in choice and is far less expensive.

The Arts Centre is a vibrant arts community located at Hobart's Salamanca Place, close to the…read morewaterfront and a short walk from the city's central business district. They host artist studios, galleries, venues, retail outlets, arts organisations & public spaces, in historic sandstone warehouses. We wandered through alcoves lined with galleries & shops with locals for live music or see cutting edge visual art & theatre.

SAC is a cultural hub in the heart of tourist-driven Salamanca, and is the only section of…read moreSalamanca I WANT to go when I want to get someone something beautiful. There are a bunch of gorgeous little shops and galleries under SAC's roof, all worth exploring--though if you need recommendations, my hands down favourite is Spacebar, closely followed by the maker and FIND Contemporary Jewellery Collective (please buy me anything from any of these shops and you'll be onto a winner). It would be remiss of me to not mention Bruny Island Cheese Company's little outpost shop here, too, because... well, because cheese. There's even a little cafe and a unique theatre with a natural rock wall at the back of the stage! Definitely spend some time exploring here if you're in the area.

Best source for maps in Hobart. Knowledgable and helpful staff provide personal attention to all…read morecustomers and help one find the best map for the need. Street maps, topographic maps, trail maps, travel and guide books, atlases, globes, historic, you name it, they have it or will get it. Need a map, this is the shop.

In the middle of ongoing renovations, the Cat & Fiddle is still popping out shiny new stores left,…read moreright and centre. With two levels of shopping, the arcade manages to encompass a good block of the CBD, linking Collins St, Murray St, Liverpool St and the Elizabeth mall through its belly. A number of the Cat & Fiddle shops will allow you to walk through from a shopfront on any of these streets to the arcade itself--being a newcomer to Hobart, more than once I've casually sauntered through an unassuming store to find myself in the middle with the fiddle. My favourite of the shiny new stores in the arcade is Tasmania's first T2 shop, on the corner of the shiniest and newest end of the arcade at Collins St. Tasmania's only JB Hi-Fi is downstairs (with another entry from Collins St, a few shopfronts down from T2). There's a huge Priceline (I think this is also accessible from Elizabeth Mall) and a Target (definitely has a second shopfront on Elizabeth Mall), jewellers and shoe shops and clothing and more. The cat & fiddle (which came first, the arcade's name or these guys...?) still remain on the wall, of course, so keep an eye out for them.