Landmarks in Queensland

Queensland's landmarks wear sunscreen. This is the state of the Great Barrier Reef, the Gold Coast skyline and Brisbane's riverside — a collection weighted towards natural wonders, coastal icons and outdoor attractions rather than sandstone history. Brisbane City and South Brisbane anchor the catalogue with the Story Bridge, South Bank Parklands, the Wheel of Brisbane and the city's galleries and lookouts, all ranked by visitor ratings on our city pages.

Head north and the landmark character shifts to the tropics. Cairns City is the gateway to the reef and the Daintree, with its Esplanade, lagoon and departure-point attractions. Townsville and North Ward look out to Magnetic Island, while the Sunshine Coast towns — Mooloolaba, Buddina and their neighbours — mix beaches, lookouts and coastal walks. The Gold Coast contributes Surfers Paradise and Main Beach, where the landmarks are the skyline itself, the surf and the theme-park corridor that has defined Australian family holidays for decades.

Queensland also excels at the eccentric: the state's highways are famous for their "big things" — the Big Pineapple, the Big Banana's northern cousins and oversized fruit, crustaceans and cattle that turn fuel stops into photo opportunities. They sit in our catalogue beside historic sites, war memorials and botanic gardens, all ranked by the same visitor data.

For planning, Queensland rewards a north-south itinerary: Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the south, the Sunshine Coast in the middle, and Cairns as the tropical finale. Start with the state's ranked best-of list, browse the cities below, or filter by category — beaches-and-coast, lookouts and attractions are where Queensland shines brightest.