One of the most popular destinations in Australia, Cairns lies on the far north coast of Queensland. It started off as a beachhead amidst mangrove forests and swamps that still border the city to the north and south.

Cairns was surveyed and settled by Europeans in 1876 and named after William Wellington Cairns, the then governor of the state of Queensland. Cairns was first given the status of a town in 1885 before it became a full fledged city in 1923. Cairns is the regional center for dairy, lumber, and sugar production. It is also a major port through which Australia exports sugar, timber and agricultural produce.

Fine beaches and a beautiful coastline were amongst its early attractions. Nowadays, not only does its sun soaked climate attract lots of visitors in the winter, it is also functions as the mainland city and take off point for most of the adventure trips to the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, the mass influx of tourists has made Cairns very overcrowded and visitors to the city will find all the good, relatively unpopulated beaches some way out the city.

For state and visitor information, see Queensland.
For detailed country information, see Australia.