Townsville is North Queensland's largest city and one of the main gateways to the Great Barrier Reef. It sits on the coast beneath the granite bulk of Castle Hill, with Magnetic Island — a national-park island with koalas, bays, and walking trails — visible just offshore and reachable by a 20-minute ferry.
The city has a compact, walkable CBD anchored by Flinders Street, lined with heritage buildings from the colonial era. Reef HQ Aquarium is the world's largest living coral reef aquarium, useful if the weather is not cooperating for a reef trip. The Queensland Museum Tropics covers the natural and cultural history of the wet tropics. The Strand is a long palm-lined waterfront promenade with a swimming lagoon and good cafes.
Townsville averages over 300 days of sunshine a year, making it one of the driest spots on the tropical Queensland coast. The city is also home to a large military base and James Cook University, which gives it a slightly more varied population than other regional centres.