Like other
cities in
Australia,
Cairns has got excellent shopping - you'll
find anything you
ever need.
There are many large shopping
centres with all kinds of
shops, and there are shops and shopping archades in the
streets of central Cairns.
There are also a few different markets;
and in Cairns -
you can even
shop night time as the shops in the central city (and night markets)
are open until late at
night.
The
Central Streets
There
are plenty of different shops in the streets of central Cairns, between
the Esplanade, Aplin Street, Spence Street and McLeod Street.
Fancy
clothes shops, souvenirs, books, jewellery, shopping archades, the list
goes on. And - they are open until late.
Cairns
Markets
There are a few good markets in Cairns. Rusty's Bazaar is
good and it sells fruits and veggies as well as clothes and jewellery.
Night Markets
on the
Esplanade sells mainly touristic stuff but also has an Asian food
court. Some days there are market stalls on the Esplanade and in
the City Place.
Shopping
at the Central
Cairns Central is the central Cairns shopping centre, and it's
great.
Fashion
clothes shops, gifts, books, Camera House, Australian Geographic, lots
of jewellery outlets, hairdressers, nail extensions, a great food
court,
a Sushi restaurant, cinema and so on.
Shopping
at
The
Pier
The Pier shopping centre is smaller, and gets less crowded since they
stopped the Mud
Markets.
There are
clothes, books, movies,
games, jewellery, hats, bags, and shoes shops, a tourist info centre, a
news agency and internet. Local products markets on Saturdays.
Other
Cairns Shopping Malls There are many other
shopping centres in Cairns - small ones are everywhere but bigger ones
include (apart from Cairns Central) Smithfield (northern
suburbs) and Stocklands
in Earlville (a southern suburb).
There is
alsothe Raintree
in Manunda;
and other smaller ones are scattered a bit everywhere.
Cairns
Markets
There are
a few great Cairns markets.
Markets
are
always fun places to visit and in Cairns
there are at least two in the city centre - Rysty's and Night Markets.
There used to be Mud
Markets
in the Pier shopping centre, but they are not there anymore.
There are also market stalls some days of the week at the City Place next to
Cairns Museum; and in
the park on the
Esplanade, next to the Lagoon.
Cairns
Night
Markets
I always remember coming here
in the old days for lunch or dinner -
they have a food court
with some
very nice Asian food, and while I haven't eaten here
lately, it
still looks just as yummy.
That said, these markets have lost a bit in reputation in later years,
particularly in the souvenir
department.
In any case, it is right on the Esplanade, not far from the Lagoon, and
it's open night time
(from
5pm). There are many other shops in central Cairns that are
always
open night
time. It's not
a bad way
to kill a few evening hours having a
dinner out and scrolling through shops and markets.
Rysty's
Bazaar Markets
If you
like the idea of morning markets better, there is Rusty's Bazaar,
which is open
Fridays (5am
- 6pm), Saturdays (6am
- 3pm) and Sundays (6am - 2pm).
They
sell all sorts of things like jewellery, clothes, arts and crafts. but
I like to visit the fruit and veggie department - they are locally
grown and often cheaper than in supermarkets.
Other Market
Stalls
There are market stalls at the City Place
from
Monday to Friday.
There are
market stalls on the
Esplanade
in
Saturdays, just next to the Lagoon.
And there are market
stalls at the Botanical Gardens on Sundays.
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