There are many quality seafood restaurants: in Hobart the waterfront streets and piers are the centre of the city's culinary scene. North Hobart offers more diversity with multicultural restaurants and cosmopolitan cafes.

Regional specialities:
• Some of the best seafood in the world is available in Tasmania, including Angasi oysters, rock lobster, crayfish, scallops, Atlantic salmon, blue-lip mussels, rainbow trout, wild and farmed abalone and ocean trout.
• Tasmania is full of award-winning cheeses, such as those from the King Island Cheese Company.
• Goat, quail and venison are the area's speciality meats.
• Tasmania grows 60% of Australia's apple exports.

Regional drinks:
• Pinot noir wine. Pirie is the flagship sparkling wine produced by Pipers Brook Vineyard.
• Tasmania produces two popular and good-quality lagers: Boags and Cascade.

There are casinos in Hobart and Launceston. Hobart's waterfront area, Salamanca Place, is the home of many night-time haunts in its old stone warehouses. Small, traditional-style pubs, open all day and into the small hours of the morning, are a special feature here. Hobart boasts Australia's oldest theatre, the Theatre Royal, and the city's concert hall is the home of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, generally considered to be one of Australia's best orchestras.

Tasmanian shops selling local crafts and gourmet produce are probably your best buys. Salamanca Place is a good spot to start in Hobart and there's a market on the weekends. The central business district hosts the usual chain shops and department stores.