Launceston is a small city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia, population approximately 98,000, located at the juncture of the North Esk, South Esk, and Tamar rivers. It is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart and the eighteenth largest in Australia. Like many Australian cities and towns, it was named after a town in the United Kingdom—in this case, Launceston, Cornwall. (Note, however, that while the Cornish Launceston is pronounced /'l??ns(t)?n/ or /'l??ns(t)?n/, the Australian one is pronounced /'l?ns?st?n/.)

Launceston serves as the commercial hub for the north of the state and, like many parts of Tasmania, is a major tourist centre. Some points of attraction are:

The Cataract Gorge, a natural wonder of Tasmania and only five minutes walk from the city
The City Park, which includes an enclosure for Japanese Macaque monkeys, a gift from the sister-city of Ikeda, Japan
The Tamar River and tributaries
The Tamar Valley, which is home to some of Australia's best vineyards
The Boags Brewery, which produces one of Australia's premium beers.
Aurora Stadium

Ornate fountain in Prince's SquareThe city is home to a large collection of magnificently preserved Victorian architecture.

The Launceston General Hospital is one of 3 major public hospitals in the state. The Launceston Remand Centre serves as the area's detention facility.

Launceston is the hub for the state's medical retrieval service. The Royal Flying Doctor Service is serviced by the state's ambulance service, and doctors from the Launceston General Hospital.

The University of Tasmania has a large campus close to the city, at Newnham. The Australian Maritime College is located on the grounds.

Launceston has a public bus service operated by the Tasmanian government owned company Metro Tasmania. Buses operate on regular time tables and take commuters between city suburbs. Services run from most stops per half hour, Monday to Friday and with fewer services on weekends. However many buses remain only partly filled and the number of commuters, with the exception of school children, is quite low.

Launceston is the hub of five of the state's major highways:

The Midlands Highway, the primary route to Hobart
The Bass Highway, the primary route to Devonport and Burnie
The Tasman Highway, the alternate scenic route to Hobart via Scottsdale and the east coast.
The West Tamar Highway and East Tamar Highway, on either side of the Tamar River.
The city is served by Launceston Airport (IATA code LST), just south-east of the city. There are direct flights to and from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The Tamar river is used for tourist cruises.

Although there is no passenger rail system in Tasmania, the main freight rail route links Launceston with Hobart.

Like many of the larger cities in Australia, Launceston operated a tramway system between 1911 and 1952, which consisted of 29 trams and was first planned in 1909 after observations of efficiently working systems in Melbourne and Adelaide. It was ripped up to make way for cars and buses and a single tramway museum is all that remains.