The Empire Hotel

The Empire Hotel stands on Orr Street — Queenstown’s historic main street — in a remarkably preserved heritage streetscape that speaks to the town’s boom-era past. The hotel dates to 1901 and is National Trust listed, its most celebrated feature a Tasmanian Blackwood staircase crafted in England from local timber and shipped back to the west coast. Couples have been married on it.

The large traditional dining room accommodates receptions with an open fireplace and a grandeur that’s hard to manufacture. Over 20 accommodation rooms make it easy for guests to stay on-site, and the full-service bar draws from Tasmanian wines, spirits, and beers.

Queenstown itself sits at the edge of Tasmania’s World Heritage Wilderness Area, surrounded by dramatic hills stripped bare by a century of copper mining and smelting. It’s a place unlike anywhere else in Australia — raw, vivid, and increasingly embraced as a destination in its own right.