Salamanca Market
Tasmania's most-visited attraction: 300-plus stallholders every Saturday, and a strict rule that everything sold has to be made, grown or crafted by the seller.
About this market
Salamanca Market started small: 15 to 33 stalls (accounts differ) set up along Salamanca Place in the summer of 1972. By the 1980s it had grown to 150 stalls stretching from the old silos to Montpellier Retreat, and by 2010 it had passed 300, a scale that now makes it Tasmania's single most-visited tourist attraction, ahead of any national park or gallery in the state.
The rule that shapes everything
What actually separates Salamanca from a generic weekend market is a rule the City Council has enforced for decades: every stallholder has to have made, grown, baked or crafted what they're selling. No imported trinkets, no drop-shipped souvenirs. That rule is why the market still feels like individual makers rather than a wholesale bazaar, even at 300-plus stalls deep.
Market at a glance
Food is a genuine strength here, not an afterthought bolted onto a craft market. Scallop pies are close to a required visit, and several of Tasmania's gin and whisky distilleries run stalls or pour tastings. Buskers work the length of the strip most Saturdays, and enough stallholders have been trading here for decades that some are now the second or third generation of the same family running the same stall.
In the 1970s, Tasmania's LGBTIQA+ community leased a stall at Salamanca Market specifically to campaign against the state law that criminalised homosexuality, a law not repealed until 1997, the same year council first allowed stallholders to transfer their trading licence to a new owner.
Getting the timing right
It's Saturday-only, nothing runs midweek, so this isn't a market you can catch on a whim during a Tuesday stopover in Hobart. Cruise ship days bring noticeably heavier crowds along the strip closest to the water; if you'd rather browse than queue, the quieter end runs toward Montpellier Retreat, away from the harbour.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What day is Salamanca Market on?
- Saturday only, from 8:30am to 3pm, along Salamanca Place in Hobart.
- Can stallholders sell anything, or is it curated?
- It's curated in a real sense: every stallholder has to have made, grown, baked or crafted what they're selling. There's no imported trinkets or mass-produced souvenirs allowed.
- Is it worth going if I'm not into crafts?
- The food side is just as strong as the craft side, think scallop pies, Tasmanian gin and whisky producers, and buskers throughout, so it works even for visitors who'd rather eat and wander than shop.