Visiting Cairns, Australia: Top Sights on Foot

Cairns is a tropical port city on Queensland’s northeast coast, famous for its easy access to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. With a laid‑back waterfront vibe, historic landmarks and a gateway to two UNESCO World Heritage sites, it offers a mix of urban convenience and natural adventure. Neywo provides a free audio guide for Cairns with narration in 11 languages covering 6 places, so you can explore at your own pace.

Sights to See in Cairns

St Monica’s Old Cathedral

Just a short walk from the bustling centre, St Monica’s Old Cathedral is a handsome brick building that served as the city’s Catholic cathedral from 1927 until a newer cathedral replaced it. Designed by Lawrence and Lordan and erected by local builder Michael Garvey, it now houses offices for the Diocese of Cairns and the local parish after being added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 1 July 1997.

St Monica’s War Memorial Cathedral

Located at 183 Abbott Street, St Monica’s War Memorial Cathedral is the current seat of the Bishop of Cairns, Joe Caddy. Built between 1967 and 1968 to a design by Ian Ferrier, the cathedral honours those who served in war and was entered into the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 August 1998.

Wet Tropics of Queensland

Stretching from Townsville to Cooktown, the Wet Tropics form a World Heritage‑listed rainforest covering roughly 8,940 square kilometres. Though it is only a tiny fraction of Australia’s land area, it shelters about half of the nation’s plant and animal species and contains the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families on Earth. Inscribed by UNESCO in 1988 and added to Australia’s National Heritage List in 2007, the forest is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Haycock Island

Haycock Island lies in Trinity Bay, a few hundred metres southeast of Double Island and about twenty kilometres north of Cairns. Its steep, tilted rock layers have earned it the nickname “Scout’s Hat,” a shape created by an ancient tectonic uplift. Although the island has no fresh water or permanent residents, it provides an important nesting haven for Bridled Terns.

Cairns Airport

Situated seven kilometres north of the central business district in the suburb of Aeroglen, Cairns Airport is Australia’s seventh busiest airport, handling around 4.8 million passengers in 2023/24. It serves as a hub for flights to major Australian cities, regional communities in Far North Queensland and numerous international destinations across the Asia‑Pacific region, with direct links to ten international and twenty‑seven domestic airports. The airport also hosts the Royal Flying Doctor Service and search‑and‑rescue helicopters and is owned by the Queensland Government under a 99‑year lease to JPMorgan Asset Management.

Cairns

Founded in 1876 as a port for gold exports, the city was named after William Wellington Cairns, Queensland’s first governor. During World War II Cairns acted as a staging ground for Allied forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Today it is a major tourist destination celebrated for access to two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. From Cairns you can reach the reef in under an hour by boat, while the Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation lie about 130 kilometres to the north, offering rainforest experiences and a gateway to Cooktown, Cape York Peninsula and the Atherton Tableland. The city has also developed several smaller theme parks that make the most of its natural surroundings.

Explore Cairns with Neywo

Neywo’s free audio guide lets you discover Cairns without a group or a schedule. As you approach each of the six narrated places, the app tells the story of that spot in your chosen language, available in 11 options. Simply download the app, follow the map, and let the commentary play automatically when you arrive—giving you the flexibility to linger or move on at your own pace.

For further reading, you can explore the wider Queensland region, learn more about Australia as a whole, or check out nearby destinations such as Palm Cove and Brisbane.