Discover Townsville City

Townsville City brings together city views, river scenery, botanical gardens and culture. Castle Hill offers 360-degree views across Townsville, the Coral Sea and Magnetic Island. There are also plenty of ideas for outings together, from swimming at Riverway to garden walks, art and local history. When choosing where to stay, you can decide which sides of Townsville are of particular interest for your trip.

Views and trails around Castle Hill

For those who want to experience Townsville from above, Castle Hill has a lookout with sweeping panoramic views. The city, the Coral Sea and Magnetic Island are all within view. A new walking trail connecting Castle Hill to the central business district was completed in 2021. Its views and a trail linking it to the city centre make the hill a destination in its own right when planning your trip. The completion date refers to 2021; no trail length or walking time is specified.

River, water and botanical gardens

Riverway is located in Thuringowa Central on the banks of the Ross River. Visitors can swim in the lagoons and walk along the river. If you’d like to include water and a stroll in your trip, you’ll find two different options in one place. The Palmetum is a 17-hectare botanical garden with one of the world’s largest and most diverse public palm collections. Anderson Gardens covers 25 hectares and is home to the World Cycad Collection. The signposted Anderson Botanic Garden Circuit is 1,554 metres long and covers 1,942 steps. These specific garden features can help you choose outings, without every experience needing to be the same.

Queens Gardens is also worth a visit for garden enthusiasts: it is Townsville’s oldest botanical garden and is heritage-listed. The Anderson Gardens Conservatory offers a free experience for people of all ages and abilities. If you enjoy choosing between different nature-themed activities when planning outings together, you can explore palms, cycads and the history of a heritage-listed garden.

Art and history in Townsville

Jezzine Barracks is a 15-hectare heritage precinct commemorating the military and Indigenous heritage of the Kissing Point headland. The precinct features 34 specially commissioned public artworks. The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery hosts exhibitions by local, national and international artists. The North Queensland Ceramic Awards is a biennial showcase featuring established and emerging artists. Art enthusiasts can include different ways of experiencing art in their trip: public art in the heritage precinct and exhibitions in a gallery.

The Townsville Museum preserves and presents the city’s history from the early 1860s onwards. Its collection includes artefacts, photographs and building plans of former Townsville buildings, some of which are no longer part of the cityscape. The Queensland Museum Tropics can be reached on foot, by car and by public transport. “Discover Tropical Queensland” lets visitors explore the environments of North Queensland—from the deepest parts of the ocean to the highest rainforests.

The Ocean Siren stands on land along The Strand waterfront. The four-metre illuminated sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor is inspired by Takoda Johnson, a young girl from the Wulgurukaba people, and serves as a warning about the threat that ocean warming poses to the Great Barrier Reef. The Coral Greenhouse and Ocean Sentinels at John Brewer Reef in the Great Barrier Reef are also nearby; they can be reached by boat from Townsville. These offer different art and nature themes to choose from, from the work on the waterfront to the projects on the reef.

For another perspective on the surrounding area, you can also discover Rollingstone. Other destinations to compare include Balonne Shire, Bundaberg Regional, Ipswich City, Lockyer Valley Regional, Fraser Coast Regional, Rockhampton Regional and Gold Coast City.

For the broader travel overview: Queensland.