Cooktown, Australia

A fascinating frontier town in Queensland’s tropical north, Cooktown was Australia’s first non-indigenous settlement. The excellent James Cook Historical Museum details Cook’s voyages and the town’s colorful multi-ethnic past, including its gold rush days. Cooktown was the port through which precious cargo from the Palmer River goldfields was funneled in the late 19th century – not surprisingly, it has more than its fair share of historic watering holes.