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Travelling on a budget? Hobart has been named the world’s 5th best destination for free fun

These are the best places in Australia for top-quality free-entry tourist attractions

Melissa Woodley
Written by
Melissa Woodley
Travel & News Editor, Time Out Australia
kunanyi / Mount Wellington
Photograph: Samuel Shelley
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Happy hour might dare to disagree, but you really can have some of the best times of your life without spending a cent. While we’d happily empty our wallets to travel the world, we totally get around a few freebies here and there – especially after shelling out the big bucks for flights, accommodation, tours and food

Right when we need it most during this current cozzie livs crisis, the personal finance experts at CashNetUSA have revealed the world’s most popular places for free tourist attractions. We’re pretty stoked to see that Australia’s often overlooked and second-oldest capital city, Hobart, not only topped the list of the best places in Oceania for top-quality, free-entry tourist attractions but also made the global rankings in fifth place. 

Hobart may be tucked all the way down the bottom of Australia, but it’s a destination not to be slept on. The Tasmanian capital is blessed with natural beauty, with the glittering waters of the River Derwent on one side and the rugged peak of kunanyi / Mount Wellington on the other, and there’s plenty to do both outside and inside for zero dollars. Yep, zilch.

Topping our personal list (quite literally) of the best free attractions in Hobart is kunanyi / Mount Wellington, the 1271-metre peak that looms over the city. Pick a clear day for peak visibility and either tackle one of the several summit hikes or get chauffeured up by car. 

Public gardens are beautiful as a rule, especially when they’re free to explore. You can easily spend a day in the 14-hectare Royal Tasmanian Botanic Garden, discovering more than 6,000 species of fauna and settling for a picnic on the lawn with BYO snacks. If history and culture are your jam, learn about the state’s intriguingly brutal convict history and rich First Nations culture at the free-to-enter Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. A stroll at Hobart’s Saturday Salamanca Market or Sunday Farm Gate Market will also cost you zero cents – that is if you can resist the smells wafting over from the food trucks. 

An outdoor market with crowds
Photo: Tourism Tasmania | Salamanca Market

To determine these standings, the researchers looked at more than 1,000 destinations worldwide, ranking each based on the proportion of free attractions with a 4.5-star rating or above and more than 50 reviews on Tripadvisor. Tasmania as a whole also made the global rankings in tenth place, with the Gold Coast at number 14 and the Sunshine Coast tied in 15th place. Additionally, the researchers looked at the destinations with the highest percentage of attractions that are free, with Canberra leading the pack in Australia, followed by Darwin and Tasmania.

Here is a full list of the top 10 destinations in Oceania with the highest-rated free tourist attractions:

  1. Hobart, AUS
  2. Tasmania, AUS
  3. Gold Coast, AUS
  4. Sunshine Coast, AUS
  5. Dunedin, NZ
  6. Brisbane, AUS
  7. Auckland, NZ
  8. Adelaide, AUS
  9. Christchurch, NZ
  10. Wellington, NZ

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