Like most beautiful places, Cairns has a thriving arts community.

Start with Cairns Regional Gallery, and Festival Cairns — 40 eclectic art, music and performance events each September.

Tank Art Centre and the Centre of Contemporary Arts (CoCA) are cutting-edge venues. Housed in three transformed oil tanks from World War II, Tank hosts visual art and performance. CoCA has three resident art companies: Just Us Theatre Ensemble (JUTE); KickArts Contemporary Arts; and End Credits Film Club.

Art Gallery Gauvin and Landmark Gallery showcase innovative Queensland and Australian artists. Discover Indigenous art at Ancient Earth Indigenous Art Gallery and Jungara Aboriginal Art Gallery.

For stunning commercial photographs of Australian landscapes, try Peter Lik Gallery and Peter Jarver Wildscape Gallery.

Cairns Civic Theatre is a performance hub, presenting over 100 shows each year — from local amateur ensembles to international extravaganzas. Cairns Little Theatre presents a lively handful of mainstream plays at the Rondo.