Touring Townsville

We loved Townsville, in the northern part of Queensland, Australia. Having good friends who live there certainly helped us love this tropical town, but that wasn’t the only reason. Townsville has miles of cycling and walking trails, an excellent selection of bars and restaurants, art and museums! We spent a few weeks touring Townsville and have recommendations if you visit. If you’re sailing Australia’s east coast, it’s likely you will.

Where Is Townsville?

Townsville is as far north as we sailed in Australia before cyclone season. It’s located on the coast in northeastern Queensland, 900 miles north of Brisbane. With a population over 170,000, Townsville is the largest settlement in North Queensland. We found a lot to do and enjoyed our time touring Townsville.

When to Visit Townsville

As it is part of the tropical zone of Australia, Townsville’s climate is warm. We arrived in August, wintertime, the ideal season to visit Townsville. Days are warm in winter, but still comfortable, think low 20s C (70F). We left our boat there for our trip to North America and when we returned in October, springtime in Australia, the days were hot. It gets even hotter in summer into the mid 30sC (90F).

Touring Townsville Must: The Strand

We stayed on Go at the Breakwater Marina in Townsville, and almost daily made our way to the Strand, the adjacent waterfront park. With walking and cycling paths leading past beaches, cafes, and parks, it’s no wonder all of Townsville seems to spend time on The Strand. Our favorite pastime on The Strand is to leisurely cycle along one of the paths, watching the families at the splash pool, stopping for ice cream or a meal.

Don’t miss Juliette’s Gelateria overlooking the sea on The Strand, Landsborough St, Townsville City.

A popular spot to stop along the Strand is the Rock Pool. A Townsville institution, this manmade swimming pool is protected from the elements and wildlife of the ocean, and is a great place to cool off in the hot climate. Many towns in Queensland offer these free and safe swimming spots, built to protect bathers from stingers – dangerous jellyfish that come out in summertime.

When we first arrived in Townsville in mid August, downtown was full of athletes for a worldwide Triathlon event. It turns out The Strand is the epicentre for festivals in Townsville.

Music and Arts Festivals

In October, we found Townsville taken over by the North Australian Festival of the Arts. As the largest community north of the Sunshine Coast, there’s always something to do in Townsville. We missed a lot of that festival, but caught a quality Celtic music performance on the last night.

Townsville Museums

One of the great parts of touring Townsville is the interesting museums. We visited two free museums, the Queensland Museum of the Tropics, and the Army Museum of North Queensland.

Queensland museum of the tropics

This museum features exhibits on local shipwrecks, native animals, and a science centre. It absolutely caters to families and children, but Brian and I enjoyed learning about the Townsville region.

Admission to the Museum of the Tropics is free aside from special displays. The paid exhibit when we visited was about Lego.

Queensland Museum of the Tropics, 70-102 Flinders St, Townsville City

army museum

Another free museum in Townsville, the Army Museum of North Queensland is a history buff’s heaven! The displays feature all sorts of war and army related paraphernalia going back to the 1880s and the Boer War.

It’s interesting seeing the photos from when Townsville was a base for operations in WWII, and the exhibits honoring the soldiers who fought in those battles.

The Army Museum of North Queensland is open to the public three days a week, Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9AM-1PM. Other days they are open exclusively for school groups.

Army Museum of North Queensland, Mitchell Street, Townsville City

Touring Townsville Must: Magnetic Island

Another must do when touring Townsville is visiting Magnetic Island. It is easy to get to by ferry and so beautiful. If you can, spend a few days, but at least do a day trip. Check it out for beaches and wildlife.

Hike the Hill

Castle Hill is the highest peak in Townsville but it’s too small to be classified as a mountain. In Townsville, I learned that a hill must be 1,000 feet (304.8m) to be designated a mountain. Castle Hill is 286m high, so not tall enough. It’s still a pretty tough uphill climb, offering a good workout and some nice views of Townsville and the seaside.

There is a road and a parking lot so non-hikers can also enjoy the views from the top. It’s a popular Townsville activity, and we saw lots of runners as well as hikers tackling the stairs.

Eating out in Townsville

Touring Townsville will probably make you hungry. Good news, this town has a good selection of restaurants. The pubs will serve you parmies and burgers, it is Australia! Townsville’s restaurant scene has a lot of variety, with Indian, sushi, Greek, Thai, pizza and much more to eat. Here are some of our favorites.

AALISHAN

To get the best Indian food in Townsville, just cross the river. South Townsville has some cool bars and restaurants, including Aalishan, introduced to us by our local living friends, Kate and Jay. We shared what felt like half the menu and it was a good night.

Aalishan, 61-63 Palmer St, South Townsville

Amati’s

Amati’s Pizza, in Rambutan Resort, 113/119 Flinders St, Townsville City

longboard

Longboard is a casual spot for food and drink on a dock over the water in Townsville. Think tacos, wings, burgers and the like. It’s a great location to sit and relax over a couple beers or a snack.

Longboard, Strand Park, 80 Gregory St, Townsville City

STRAND SOUVLAKI BAR

With hearty and tasty daily lunch specials, Strand Souvlaki is busy on weekdays. We chose halloumi and lamb skewers to accompany our Greek salads, and were satisfied all afternoon.

Strand Souvlaki Bar, 3/58 The Strand, North Ward, Townsville

terasu

We gorged on some of Townsville’s freshest fish and most delicious sushi at Terasu. Located within the Ardo Hotel on the water, this high end restaurant is still Australian casual. Ardo also has a rooftop bar with great views of Magnetic Island.

Terasu, Ardo main floor, 45 Sir Leslie Thiess Dr, Townsville City

Drinking in Townsville

We were happy to find a few craft beer bars and breweries in Townsville, two of which were walking distance from the marina. The beer selection in Queensland is stacked with lagers and mids, which are lower alcohol but not quite light beers. We’ve heard a couple of different explanations for the popularity of mids: one, that they’re good when it’s hot out and you’re thirsty. The second was more about avoiding DUI charges, so I guess it depends on who you ask.

For us, getting to the bars involved walking or cycling, as they were quite close to the marina. We mainly bounced between two local beer bars.

townsville brewing co

The Townsville Brewery is house in a restored Victorian building, the old post office, and it’s a comfortable relaxed pub with indoor and outdoor seating. We stopped by a few times, and especially enjoyed their happy hour deals.

Townsville Brewing Co, 252 Flinders Street, Townsville

taphouse townsville

The TapHouse offers rotating taps from predominantly Queensland brewers, and we liked trying them. It’s located in a lively restaurant filled laneway off the main street, and is always busy with people trying new beers. You can see why we liked it!

The TapHouse, City Lane, 383 Flinders Street, Townsville City

Street Art

If you walk the main streets, especially Flinders Street and its offshoots, you’ll spot some of Townsville’s colorful street art. I took a few photos of some of the big murals decorating the downtown buildings.

Touring Townsville by Bicycle

Townsville has a lot of cycling paths and we enjoyed cycling there. Besides The Strand and further along the coast, the best trails wend along the riverfront, crossing bridges back and forth.

Many of the trails are multi-use and busy with pedestrians and dog walkers, especially on weekends. We kept a slow pace in those situations, but once we got further from the downtown, the trails were emptier.

The trails take you through lovely parks full of wallabies and local birds, and even a turtle pond at one spot. I love a place with cycling paths and wildlife!

I hope I’ve made you excited to do your own tour of Townsville. Have you been to Townsville? If so, share your recommendations in the comments. We’ll go back before we leave Australia.