The main attractions

Once the domain of the Tasmanian tiger – the sadly extinct dog-like marsupial with stripes on its back and the unoffical emblem of the city – Launceston was settled by the British in 1806, and is the second biggest city in Tasmania after Hobart. Situated on the Tamar estuary, where the North Esk and South Esk rivers meet, it’s a compact and elegant full of Victorian architecture and handsome parks, surrounded by some spectacular scenery.

Cataract Gorge is a 15-minute walk from the centre, a stunning spot where parkland with roaming peacocks gives way to an awe-inspiring valley spanned by a suspension bridge, Launceston’s bushland sloping up from the South Esk. With lookouts providing breathtaking views down the river, it’s perfect for a morning’s walk, with tracks catering to all fitness levels. Those without vertigo – and not unnerved by the fact that an unlocked iron bar lies between you and a hundred-foot drop into the wilderness – can be ascend above it all on the world’s longest chairlift, which whisks you above the trees, black swans and turbulent waters for $15 return.

In the city itself there’s a design centre, showcasing the area’s architects and furniture makers; the Queen Victoria museum and art gallery, with an interesting selection of work including everything from the colonial art including Robert Dowling’s picture Aborigines of Tasmania, to Jenny Gill’s collection of matchboxes; and the Seaport area, great for a bracing stroll or a quayside lunch. It’s very quiet at night though, to the point where if you wander down beside the old Boags brewery you might feel like the last people left on earth.

To get the most out of the area you’ll need a car. With its sumptuous hills and ancient, fern-wreathed oak trees, the scenery of northern Tasmania is very different to the rest of Australia, and deserves wide-ranging exploration. You might even see a Tassie tiger (you won’t).

Segway through the trees

About 20 minutes’ drive from Launceston lies the Hollybank Treetops Adventure and Reserve, where brave souls can get strapped to harnesses and go swinging on zipwires from tree to tree. Devoted cowards and those with more delicate constitutions can take a guided Segway tour through forest trails. It takes about 10 minutes to master a Segway, and soon you’re speeding through eucalyptus groves, fern-filled Dogwood forests and into clearings where you can bomb around to your heart’s content.

Our two guides were friendly and knowledgeable, via an earpiece pointing out areas of interest (the spindly ash trees planted by British settlers wanting a taste of home) and warning of dangers (rocks painted a fluorescent green to alert the unwary and, apparently, snakes). It’s not cheap – $100 apiece – but it’s exhilarating.

Indulge in devil worship

The undisputed highlight of our trip, Trowunna Wildlife Park is situated about 70km west of Launceston, in the middle of wonderfully green and gold landscapes reminiscent of the UK’s Peak District. A giant statue of a Tasmanian devil guards the entrance. Inside, you can see plenty of the real things, marsupials which are only ankle-height but have a lot of attitude – it’s hilarious to see them come defiantly barreling towards you when they spot you coming over to their pen. “They scream and yell but so do a lot of people,” says one of the conservation team, a dedicated bunch headed up by Androo Kelly. The devils eat carrion and it’s a sight to behold when they start tearing up the corpse of what may have once been a rabbit, about five of them taking a limb each and loudly crunching through skin and bone. Here, thanks to the staff’s care, the devils are thankfully free of devil facial tumour disease, a communicable cancer which has devastated the species in the wild.

Besides the devils, Trowunna is like being in the garden of Eden. A gang of kangaroos hang out on the lawn, seemingly unbothered by human presence. You can cuddle a wombat – one woman had flown from Western Australia to do just that. Wallabies stand alert in the undergrowth, and spotted quolls, like mice crossed with leopards, run around in large compounds. The point of the place is conservation; most of the animals end up here after being injured or orphaned, and many are returned to the wild when they have been fully rehabilitated. As the afternoon wanes and the fields are bathed in golden light, it’s a truly magical place.

A doorway to the past

Built in 1838 by former convict, and later brewer and innkeeper Britton Jones, Franklin House is still recognisably a colonial family home, with the accumulated furniture, china, clocks and even a wedding dress once owned by its many former residents. You can’t touch, but with little roped off, you’re welcome to peer at it all as closely as you like, and the place still seems like a home rather than a showpiece will the history bleached out. Downstairs, you can see the old schoolroom built when the house was extended four years after it was built, the stables, the kitchen, and there’s a cosy tea room too.

Behind the house are large gardens to ramble around in, where in the afternoon I visited a woman who was hanging pieces of coloured glass from one of the trees, one of several artistic interventions. Now the headquarters of the National Trust of Australia, at only $10 for an adult visit, it’s a vivid piece of history, and a bargain. Like many of Tasmania’s buildings, it also seems to be a magnet for those interested in (of perhaps morbidly obsessed with) the paranormal. Those people are also well catered to by the ghost tour Launceston hosts.

Local produce

The Tamar valley around Launceston is wine country, and you can get a tour that lasts most of the day with Prestige Leisure. At upwards of $150 it isn’t cheap (though lunch is included), but unless one of your party is willing to stick to mineral water, driving is clearly not an option. There are over 30 wineries in the valley, most of which offer cellar door tastings. We took in half a dozen, all with plenty to recommend them.

Josef Chromy wines offers an oaked Chardonnay so delicious each sip deserves to be accompanied by a trumpet fanfare (their 2011 vintage was declared the best in the world), especially when accompanied by a delicious charcuterie. Vélo, owned by the former Olympic cyclist Michael Wilson and his wife Mary, has a delightful dining room (complete with bespoke light fittings made out of large twigs) and splendid wines, particularly their 2009 Pinot Noir. Mary says that the backbreaking business of building up a vineyard came naturally to her husband – athletes, she points out, “love pain”.

There are the sweeping vistas of Tamar Ridge and Devil’s Corner, named after a treacherous bend in the river, whose 2013 Sauvignon Blanc has hints of passionfruit and is dangerously quaffable. The cellar door of Marion’s Vineyard is a cosy shed full of the owner’s Ralph Steadman-influenced artworks as well as amazing wines, while Goaty Hill is a magnificent spot for lunch. By the afternoon, and the time you get to Holm Oak, another winery, even if your palate is getting a bit jaded, as mine was, you can meet a large pig called Pinot who will play "sit" for apples – and there’s cider as well as yet more fine wine if you’re still in the mood for a tipple.

Local produce is best sampled via the lunch platters offered in many of the local wineries and cafes in the region, such as Lilydale Larder, set up by Sarah Hirst, a former political journalist based in Canberra, and her husband Mark. Their lunch platter groans with local delights from wallaby sausage to smoked salmon and wonderfully delicate cheeses, in a setting that’s idiosyncratic (all exposed wood and raw edges) without seeming too much like a stage set.

Eating and drinking

Launceston is working hard to gain a reputation as a foodie destination, and the three restaurants we had dinner at all impressed. Situated in the old rail yard and not exactly easy to find (follow the old train tracks), once you’re in the Blue Café-Bar the excellent service and polished-concrete industrial chic will sooth any navigation-induced stress. The food is delicious, particular the starters; both my sister’s beef carpaccio with little pieces of fried polenta and my pastel-coloured tuna tartare were beautiful both to see and taste. Starters are around the $24 mark; mains about $30.

The following night we tried the Black Cow, a new steakhouse by the people behind Stillwater, said to be the best restaurant in the region. They certainly know how to cook a macho hunk of protein, but for my money the star of the meal were the dozen local oysters we had presented five ways as a starter, each a mouthful to tell your grandchildren about. The service is fantastic – not overbearing, but so tuned into your requirements that you don’t even have to ask for your coat when you’re finally ready to go. It’s not cheap though – two of us burned cheerfully north of $300 without really trying. Having wine served from conical flask in the name of Breaking Bad chic was also an idea that took some getting used to.

Mud has a prime location on the harbour, and the chef clearly has big ambitions, but not everything comes off – my fried Chinese chicken was saltier than a Queensland croc. It was, however, preceeded by a wonderfully delicate rabbit tortellini, washed down by some of that Vélo Sauvignon Blanc. Starters are around $20-25, mains $35-40 and there’s a good selection of local wines on offer.

Where to stay

We stayed at the Teahouse Apartment, part of the Hatherley Birrell Collection, right in the middle of the city. It's a large open plan flat with an astroturfed back yard you could sit out on, a lemon tree out front, and two double bedrooms, one kingsized and with an en suite bathroom. The lounge room was decorated with Japanese touches including a kimono hung from the wall. Cheese, figs and fruit compote waited in the fridge to be scoffed. The only thing it lacked was, er, drinkable tea for those with simple tastes (me), and the heating was also a bit difficult to control as the Tassie temperature plunged after dark. It costs $385 a night to hire.

Getting there and back

Fly into Launceston airport and the town is a 20-minute drive away, or buses leave every 20 minutes. The city is compact and walkable, with Cataract Gorge in striking distance, but you may need to research the local buses to get into the countryside.

• Guardian Australia travelled with Tourism Tasmania