Cairns has come a long way from its origins as a settlement serving miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield! Today it's a rapidly expanding city, primarily reliant on the sugar trade and tourists attracted by its tropical climate and proximity to many attractions. It is the fourth most popular destination for international tourists in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

Cairns attractions rank as some of the most original and exciting in Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is less than an hour away by boat, for those wanting to experience a tropical rainforest, the Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation are within easy reach 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Cairns, and Cooktown, Cape York Peninsula, and the Atherton Tableland are easily explored from Cairns. Cairns has an outstanding number of world-class tour specialists, offering a wide range of day (or longer) tours to the region's most popular destinations such as Kuranda, the Barrier Reef, and the World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation.

Cairns has a thriving nightlife that caters to just about every taste! The city has nightclubs and sophisticated places for dining, or you can visit the Cairns Night Markets, which showcase local and indigenous artworks, tourism trinkets and good food.

CAIRNS was pegged out over the site of a sea-slug fishing camp when gold was found to the north in 1876, though it was the Atherton Tablelands' tin and timber resources that established the town and kept it ahead of its nearby rival, Port Douglas. The harbour is the focus of the north's fish and prawn concerns, and tourism began modestly when marlin fishing became popular after World War II. But with the "discovery" of the reef in the 1970s and the appeal of the local climate, tourism snowballed, and high-profile development has now replaced what everyone originally came to Cairns to enjoy: a beautiful, unspoiled, lazy tropical atmosphere .

For many visitors primed by hype, the city falls far short of expectations. However, if you can accept the tourist industry's shocking glibness and the fact that you're unlikely to escape the crowds, you'll find a great deal on offer and easy access to the surrounding area - the Atherton Tablelands, Cape York and, naturally, the Great Barrier Reef and islands. Used as a base to explore these regions, Cairns can be fun, as long as you accept its limitations

Cairns' strength is in doing, not seeing: there are few monuments, natural or otherwise. This is partly because the Cape York goldfields were too far away and profits were channelled through Cooktown, and partly because Cairns was remote, lacking a rail link with Townsville until 1924; people came here to exploit resources, not to settle. Your best introduction to the region's heritage is at the Cairns Historical Museum , at the junction of Shields and Lake streets, which uses photos and some interesting exhibits to cover maritime history, the Tjapukai and Bama Aborigines from the tablelands, and Chinese involvement in the city and Palmer goldfields.

Destination Guides > Australasia & South Pacific > Australia > Queensland > Tropical Queensland and the Reef > Tropics: Rockhampton to Cape York > Cairns

At City Place , the pedestrian mall around the museum, you'll find Cairns' souvenir-shopping centre, with a rash of cafés, and shops selling didgeridoos, T-shirts, paintings and cuddly koalas. Local performers do their best at the small sound shell here from time to time, and there are often more professional offerings in the evenings. Between Grafton and Sheridan Streets, towards Spence Street, Rusty's Bazaar markets (Fri evening, Sat & Sun morning) sell a great range of local produce from crafts to herbs, fruit and veg, coffee and fish. Moving from the mall area down towards Trinity Wharf, the shops become more upmarket, though they're still selling essentially the same things; an increasing number of signs target the many Japanese visitors. Trinity Wharf itself is a dormant collection of offices and cruise terminals , but you might find solace in the bar above the bus station, which overlooks the yachts and trawlers moored in Trinity Inlet. The Barrier Reef Hotel , opposite, is the last of the original rough-and-ready bars, recently given a face-lift; if you're after local colour, this is where you'll find it.

The glass-domed casino faces The Pier , a flashy shopping complex, where many tour and cruise operators have booking offices ready to tempt you with brochures and videos of their activities. An aquarium here has regular feeding shows and big tanks full of hulking reef fish such as maori wrasse, sharks and potato cod, but somehow lacks punch.

Through the day and into the night, the Esplanade is packed with people cruising between accommodation, shops and restaurants. Grabbing an early-morning coffee here, you'll witness a quintessentially Australian scene: fig trees framing the waterfront, a couple of trawlers and seaplanes bobbing at anchor in the harbour, and drunks languishing on the benches. Joggers jog, and others promenade along the edge at low tide and watch birds feeding in the shallows - there's an identification chart in the park. Though originally fringed in mangroves and mud flats, developers have, after years of wrangles, created an artificial beach down near the Pier. The night market, which runs right through from the Esplanade to Abbott Street, has a mix of fast-food courts, trendy tack and good-quality souvenirs, and a good location near plenty of bars.

Just around the corner from the Esplanade on Shields Street, Cairns Regional Art Gallery is worth a look if Cairns' crasser commercial side is beginning to grate; exhibitions include both local artists' work and travelling shows. While you're down this way, drop into Gallery Tikowi next door - though actually a shop, it's virtually a museum of New Guinea and eastern Indonesian crafts and well worth a visit.

Heading out of the centre, the city's natural attractions include the Botanic Gardens and the adjacent Mount Whitfield Environmental Park on Collins Avenue, off the highway near the airport. Ringed by suburbia, the rainforest is dense enough for wallabies, and a raised boardwalk track through the wonderfully cool and tranquil atmosphere makes a fine escape from the city. Also worth a look are the mangrove walks on the airport road, which, from boardwalks and hides, give you a chance to see the different varieties of mangrove trees, mudskippers and red-clawed, asymmetric fiddler crabs. Take some repellent or else give the flies a free lunch

Around Cairns

There's a fair amount to see and do around Cairns , most of it reached by turning off the highway north of town. Take one of the various roads west to Redlynch , and follow the signs to Crystal Cascades (Wongalee Falls), a narrow forest gorge gushing with rapids, small waterfalls and swimming opportunities less than 15km from the city. It's somewhere to picnic rather than explore; you should leave nothing valuable in your car, and heed warnings about the large, pale-green, heart-shaped leaves of the stinging tree (also known locally as "Dead man's itch"), common on the sides of the paths here; the stories may seem apocryphal but if stung you'll believe them all. Backtracking through Kamerunga, you can drive into the Barron Gorge as far as the power station and then walk through the forests to Kuranda .

About 10km north of Cairns, the township of Smithfield marks the starting point for the Kennedy Highway's ascent to Kuranda on the Atherton Tablelands. Shortly before, a large complex on the roadside houses both the Kuranda Skyrail cable-car terminus and the Tjapukai Aboriginal Centre. The centre's hefty admission price isn't bad value, as it includes entry to boomerang and didgeridoo displays, a fine museum, and three separate theatre shows featuring Dreamtime tales and dancing; it's not eye-opening stuff, but is a good introduction to Aboriginal culture.

Cairns' variously developed beaches start 20km north of town (with regular Sunbus connections from the Transit Mall): Palm Cove has a full-scale resort, while Trinity and Yorkeys Knob attract campers and day-tripper crowds with a van park, shops and watersports gear for rent. If you want to escape for a few days, however, get out to Ellis Beach , thirty minutes north on the way to Port Douglas, the last stop on Sunbus. You couldn't ask for a finer place to camp, with tent sites and cabin accommodation at Ellis Beach Caravan Park.

Visitor Information Centre
Open 7 Days
51 The Esplanade
Cairns Qld 4870
Ph: (61) 7 4051 3588
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Cairns Beach Resort * SPECIAL VALUE*

The Cairns Beach Resort is located amid tropically landscaped gardens at Holloways Beach in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. This property is surrounded by golden sandy beaches, cafes, restaurants and shops.

The hotel's gardens contain a gazebo that houses barbecue grills. Tables and chairs, used for dining or relaxation, dot the grounds. Internet access is available at the property's kiosk. A saltwater pool provides recreation, and a complimentary tour desk arranges excursions to local attractions. Additional hotel amenities include covered parking and laundry services. DVD players may be rented at the hotel's front desk.

Cairns Beach Resort offers 73 one-bedroom apartments equipped with living/dining areas, kitchens, washers and dryers, and private bathrooms with tub/shower combinations. All accommodations feature balconies. Windows open to invite tropical breezes. Guestroom décor includes tiled floors, high ceilings and pastel color schemes. Computer connections, televisions and telephones are featured in all rooms.

Area Attractions
Restaurants and Cafes
Kuranda Markets
The Reef Casino
Outer Barrier Reef Cruises
Daintree Rainforest

Bay Village Tropical Retreat * SPECIAL VALUE*
Nestled amongst an acre of lush tropical gardens in the very heart of Cairns , you will enjoy the superb location and comfort of our family owned boutiqu e hotel... more...

Hilton Cairns * SPECIAL VALUE*
Situated in the downtown area, the seven-storey Hilton Cairns is a modern waterfront hotel set overlooking the Coral Sea at the Trinity Inlet. more...