Cairns Regional: Trails, Gardens and Culture

Gardens, a forested mountain range, local history and contemporary art give Cairns Regional its varied character. In Cairns, options range from guided tours focusing on plants and animals to museums, galleries and live performances. Walks and a circuit with scenic views are also part of what’s on offer.

Explore Gardens and Landscapes

Flecker Gardens are open daily from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, weather permitting. Sunbus stops on Collins Avenue directly outside the gardens. Cairns Botanic Gardens offers free guided tours focusing on its plants and animals.

Mt Whitfield Conservation Park is a 300-hectare forested upland area featuring rainforest, eucalypt vegetation and grassland. The 1.3-kilometre Red Arrow circuit runs through the park and is used by walkers and runners. It offers views across Trinity Inlet, the Coral Sea and the city of Cairns. A guided garden visit and a circuit through different types of vegetation offer two distinct ways to experience nature.

Local History, Art and Performances

Cairns Museum in the heart of the city has four permanent galleries and one temporary gallery. They cover Cairns’ history, from its Indigenous landscape to its role as a tourist gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Exhibitions, school programs and community displays share local history. For more than 60 years, the Cairns Historical Society and the museum have preserved stories, photographs and objects relating to the region’s social history.

Cairns Art Gallery is housed in three distinctive heritage-listed buildings: the Public Curators Building, the historic Court House and the former Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers. Its exhibitions feature historical and contemporary art by leading regional, national and international artists. For a different perspective on art and events, visit Tanks Arts Centre, an outdoor venue that uses three tanks as exhibition and event spaces.

UMI Arts and Bulmba-ja also offer experiences with their own distinctive focus. Each year, UMI Arts Gallery hosts five exhibitions featuring artworks and crafts by its member artists. Bulmba-ja offers a diverse year-round program of exhibitions and events, showcasing the distinctive stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. At Cairns Performing Arts Centre, you can enjoy theatre, music, dance, contemporary circus, opera, film and comedy. The centre is open for performances most evenings, with matinees during the day.

Esplanade, Walking Tours and Special Experiences

Cairns Esplanade has a lagoon, beach volleyball courts and fitness stations. It also offers eight free Active Living fitness classes suitable for all fitness levels. There are three free-entry playgrounds along the waterfront. Cairns Esplanade Heritage Walk is a one-hour walk along the Esplanade. Cairns CBD Heritage City Walk, by contrast, passes historic buildings and sites, including the former post office and courthouse, Hide's Corner, the School of Arts and the Palace Theatre.

Cairns Aquarium recreates ten ecosystems and 71 habitats from North Queensland. The Double Discovery Tour includes a visit to Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and a behind-the-scenes tour. Availability may vary; check if you want to plan the tour in advance. Carnival on Collins, an annual Father's Day street celebration, is held near Tanks Arts Centre and Cairns Botanic Gardens. Check the event dates for your year of travel before planning your visit.

The Wider Region

Beyond individual destinations in Cairns, the Cairns region’s landscape is also an important point of reference: to the west and north, it is framed by the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics rainforest. This lets you consider city visits and nature experiences side by side when planning your trip, without treating different places and experiences as interchangeable.

Discover more destinations: Kanimbla, Isaac Regional, Gold Coast City, Carpentaria Shire, Bundaberg Regional, Goondiwindi Regional, North Burnett Regional, Sunshine Coast Regional

View the main travel overview: Queensland.