Things to Do in Devonport

Small but rewarding gallery in the civic centre, showing changing works by local and Tasmanian artists. The building itself is a 1930s art deco former library.

🕐 Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm

💡 Pop into the gift shop for affordable prints and ceramics by Tasmanian makers. Free guided tour if you ask at the desk on a quiet weekday.

Small museum and outdoor rock art site on Mersey Bluff, run by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. Inside shows shell necklaces, stone tools and stories of the Palawa people.

🕐 Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 10am-2pm, closed Sun

💡 The walking track behind the centre leads to a viewing platform overlooking the coast. Allow 20 minutes for the loop. No photography of the rock engravings inside.

A compact but well-kept botanical garden with a fernery, cactus house and a small lake with ducks. Good for a quiet stroll or a picnic on the lawns.

🕐 Daily 7am-dusk

💡 The Japanese garden section behind the main greenhouse is usually empty. Bring bird seed – the ducks and black swans come right up to the water's edge.

A long stretch of dark sand beach with the red-and-white striped lighthouse at the southern end. Good views across Bass Strait and back to the city.

🕐 Always open

💡 Walk south from the lighthouse at low tide to find small rockpools with sea anemones and crabs. Best light is early morning for photos.

Heritage railway with a museum of vintage locomotives and carriages. The 5km return trip along the Don River costs a few dollars per adult.

🕐 Thu-Mon 9am-4pm, closed Tue-Wed

💡 Buy a combined ticket for the train ride and museum entry – it's cheaper. Weekday mornings are quietest; weekends can have volunteer-run specials.