Darwin

Darwin sits at Australia's northern tip like a laid-back tropical outpost that somehow became a cosmopolitan city. This is where crocodiles cruise through mangroves minutes from craft cocktail bars, where Asian street food vendors set up next to Aboriginal art galleries, and where the sunset over Darwin Harbour turns the sky into liquid gold every single night.

The city rebuilds itself every few decades — cyclones have a way of keeping Darwin humble — but that constant renewal gives it an energy you won't find anywhere else in Australia. Here's a place where backpackers planning Kakadu adventures drink beer alongside mining executives just back from the Pilbara, where you can spot saltwater crocodiles on Adelaide River in the morning and catch live music at the Deckchair Cinema under the stars that same evening.