Launceston, elegant, laid back....

Launceston is an elegantly laid back city that sits at the junction of the North and South Esk Rivers.

From here the broad Tamar River valley opens north to Bass Strait 50 kilometres (31 miles) away.

Just 45 minutes flying time from Melbourne , and 95 minutes from Sydney , Launceston is a major gateway to Tasmania and is only 198 kilometres (123 miles) or 2.5 hours’ drive north of Hobart.

Australia's third oldest city is a city of contrasts, where modern marinas meet graceful Victorian streetscapes and parks and you’re seldom without a view of the Tamar River or surrounding valley.

Launceston has all the charm and pace of a regional centre, but with facilities you'd expect from a much larger city, minus the queues or traffic.

The city is compact and it’s pretty with colourful Victorian and Edwardian homes lining the hillsides along the river banks.

With a population of just 98,000 the city has a strong sense of identity, and has one of the best regional galleries in Australia, the Queen Victoria Museum at Inveresk, along with art and craft galleries and quality restaurants.

Like most Tasmanian towns it’s easy to explore and nature is right nearby, Cataract Gorge, with its Victorian parklands, complete with peacocks, has steep, rugged cliffs and wild areas that attract climbers and it’s within easy walking distance of the city centre.

Indeed, one of the best ways to get a sense of Launceston is to walk it.

Pick up a copy of the Launceston Heritage Walks Souvenir Map ($2) from the downtown Travel & Information Centre that links all the main attractions.

Join a guided walk, take the ghost tour or historic tour of the city, or perhaps one of the 'Gorgeous Walks' in the famous Cataract Gorge Reserve (a piece of wilderness just minutes from the City Centre) is more your style.

As you walk you'll discover intriguing little shops tucked into arcades, and café dining spilling onto tree-lined streets and malls.

Launceston is a good base for exploring the vineyards of the Tamar Valley, and you can visit boutique cool climate wineries that line both river banks.

From here you can also explore national parks such as Narawntapu (known for wildlife spotting) and Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair, or the historic colonial villages of Evandale and Longford with their grand old farms and mansions.

Launceston’s weather is temperate like most of Tasmania, averaging a comfortable 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) during the summer and a cool 6 degrees Celsius (42 degrees Fahrenheit) on winter days, much like the south of France.

Launceston is an ideal base to explore the many natural and historic attractions of the Tamar (the Valley of the Senses) without fuss or frenzy.

A wine lover and foodie's paradise, it's made for losing yourself in exploration, romance and adventure, by land, air, river or sea.

Situated in Australia’s Northern Tasmania, and, as I said, just a quick flight from Melbourne or Sydney, Launceston’s Tamar Valley is a 'sensational' place to visit, either for a short break or a major holiday.

In spring you’ll smell Tasmania’s cool, fresh, clean air as apple orchards blossom, wild daffodils burst through green pastures, and lambs are born and fattened.

See striking Tasmanian Waratah in Ben Lomond National Park, 1500m above sea level, coastal drifts of wild flowers at Narawntapu National Park, and lavender fields in between.

Get to know the locals, they’re well known for their friendliness.

The Tamar Valley has everything you’ll need within easy limits.

Relax, be stimulated, or energised, your choice.

It’s all here and so near that a three day break will feel more like a three week holiday.

Visit a day spa, learn how to fly fish, search for a bargain antique, cheer on Hawthorn ( an AFL side) at their home away from home, wander around the museums and art galleries, breathe the fresh air, take a river tour, a short walk (or a long one), or just wine and dine in a relaxed frame of mind.

Your heart and lungs will thank you for it.

Crossing Bass Strait strips off the stress, it’s a ribbon of ocean that reminds you you’re now on island time.

Switch off, wind down, catch the breeze, have time to sigh, maybe dream about a sea or tree change, sometimes just ‘a change’ does the trick.

Big cities can easily lose a sense of the seasons but as a regional centre Launceston remains firmly connected to the wealth of its agricultural, river valley and marine communities.

This means Launceston not only has everything other Australian cities have to offer, including live theatre, dance, shopping, AFL football and symphony concerts, all without the queues, but it also has uniquely local festivals and events, many of national repute, reflecting the ebb and flow of regional life in a temperate climate.

So, get seasonal!

Count on beautiful fresh rains in spring, our free rain water will cost you good money in the best London restaurants, hot sun on your back in summer, the luscious golds and reds of a deciduous autumn, and a dusting of snow in our beautifully crisp winter.

And, like Scotland in the northern hemisphere, Tassie's twilight is infamous.

Here you can enjoy sauntering through much longer days than the rest of Australia, and toasting our endlessly stretched sunsets.

Plan your visit by the calendar or have four different short breaks, in spring, summer, autumn or winter.

Tasmania's distinct seasons are on full show in the Tamar Valley.

Closer to the Equator than to Antarctica the city of Launceston is sited on the equivalent latitude to Barcelona and San Francisco in the northern hemisphere.

If you reckon there's something about the light in those cities, there's definitely something about "Lonnie's", the clarity of a diamond, the sheer glint of cut glass, yet soft as it drapes over hillsides.

Yes, it's an artist’s delight.

The ratio of artists living in Tasmania is thought to be greater than any other Australian state, and the annual John Glover Art Prize is northern Tasmania's prestige art event.

If your passion is design, don't miss Australia’s only museum collection of contemporary wood design at the Design Centre.

The Tasmanian Wood Design Collection brings together the beauty of the state's natural timber resources and the design skills of its fine craftspeople, a showcase for everyday elegance.

So, too, is the National Automobile Museum which houses a collection of motor vehicles and motorcycles from the 1900s to the 1990s.

A short walk from the centre of town is the renowned Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) at the historic railway yards of Inveresk.

Here you’ll discover the fascinating story of Tasmania's past and superb collections of Australian Colonial Art, Contemporary Craft & Design, and Tasmanian Natural Sciences.

Nearby, Launceston Tramway Museum pays homage to Launceston’s early tramway system.

The QVMAG's Planetarium, at the museum’s separate Royal Park site, with its displays of the southern night sky is one of only a handful in Australia and pays homage to Grote Reber, the world's first radio astronomer who lived and died in Tasmania.

The nearby North West of Tasmania is renowned for having the cleanest, purest air in the world which means you can see the Milky Way as clear as.

Winding 40km north from Launceston to Bass Strait, the Tamar River’s quiet waters are navigable for its entire length, while its sheltered shores are a perfect environment for many species of water birds.

At Tamar Island, 8km from Launceston, the boardwalk lets you stroll over the wetlands without damaging it and see the birds in their own habitat.

Notley Gorge has deep fern glades, dense rainforest and waterfalls.

The world’s smallest penguins, Fairy penguins, nest in the coastal scrub farther north at Low Head, and Australian fur seals breed on Tenth Island.

The Tamar has a rich heritage, the historic buildings of Beaconsfield recall the boom days of gold mining, while just beyond George Town, at Low Head, Australia’s oldest continuously operating pilot station still guides ships into the river.

Today, although the Beaconsfield gold mine still operates, perhaps the Tamar Valley’s brightest gold is a swirl of delicious chardonnay, while some of tomorrow’s rich heritage rests in cellars, as precious bottles of pinot and cabernet age gracefully.

The Tamar, part of the Tamar Valley Wine Route, is Tasmania’s most productive and best established wine region.

Vines grow in tidy lines on gentle, sloping hills while soft autumn sunshine ripens the grapes, adding unique cool climate complexities of flavour to these widely acclaimed wines.

Nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Tamar Valley region, Launceston Lakes adjoins native bushland.

Here you can spot wallabies, wombats, echidnas and other Australian fauna in the wild.

The sounds of native birds welcoming the new day will greet visitors enjoying their early morning fishing.

After staying overnight in the comfort of your city motel, you can easily make the half hour trip up to the lakes after breakfast.

Unlike many other Tasmanian fishing experiences, you don't have to "rough it" in out of the way and hard to find places.

A trip to Launceston Lakes for your fly or lure fishing is a great holiday experience, for the busy traveller or tourist.

Never too far from city comforts, you are still far enough away to enjoy the delights and hospitality of Tassie country life.

If you’re a fisherman (or woman), you will only fully enjoy your Tasmanian holiday when you have fished at Launceston Lakes.

Tasmania although only just over 200 years old to white settlement has had more than its fair share of violent and torturous deaths, not to mention those caused by heartache and pain.

This is all due to Tasmania's convict past, bringing everything from petty thieves to rapists and murderers.

Launceston city, in the early days, housed migrating new settlers wanting to make a new start and convicts that were being pardoned for their crimes.

Many a household of high status in Launceston used convicts that were still serving their punishment as servants, and, as such, some were treated with such contempt as to lead to abuse, rape and murder.

This is where the Launceston City Ghost Tours began.

The stories told here are real eye openers and surprisingly some are not even known to the locals.

Believers and sceptics alike that have been on the tour have had some form of experience and photos taken have shown some form of unexplained figures or light.

The Ghost Tour guides are skilled but it’s definately not for children under 10.

There have been times when upset children have to leave the tour and certainly children unattended by an adult are not permitted.

Are these stories fact or fiction?

Are you a believer or a sceptic?

Take the tour and decide for yourself.

As I said, Launceston, elegant, laid back.....haunted?...........enjoy!

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