This excellent aquarium displays living coral ecosystems and an array of exotic creatures associated with coral, such as sea horses, clown fish and butterfly fish as well as nasties like the stonefish and box jellyfish. Housed in the same building is the Pearling Exhibition, which deals with the history of the pearling industry and has informative audiovisual displays.

Recommended is the 'Coral Reef by Night' show and seafood buffet, held at the Aquarium at 19:00 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday where you can observe the marine life, then eat it. You may wish to re-confirm bookings on the relevant day as shows can sometimes be cancelled at short notice

Thai, Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Greek and Portuguese meals and snacks are all available at this busy night market just out of town. There are cake stalls, fruit-salad bars, handicraft stalls, and sometimes entertainment in the form of a band or street theatre.

People begin arriving at Mindil Beach market around dusk on Thursday and Sunday nights during the dry season. They bring tables, chairs, rugs, grog and kids and settle under the coconut palms to watch the sunset and decide which of the tantalising food-stall aromas has the greatest allure.

A highlight of this bright, well-presented museum at Fannie Bay is its collection of Aboriginal art. It's particularly strong on bark paintings from Arnhem Land and pukumani burial poles from the Tiwi islands. Other essentials include the Cyclone Tracy display, the vast Maritime Gallery and the natural history exhibits including a huge stuffed crocodile.

There's also a good collection of artefacts from the Pacific and Southeast Asia, including Indonesian ikat (woven cloth), gamelan instruments and a sea gypsies' prahu (floating home) from Sabah, Malaysia.