--- description: Find out why Gold Coast, Australia is on TIME’s 2021 list of the World’s 100 Greatest Places. title: Gold Coast, Australia: The World’s 100 Greatest Places of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15f320e8df5fd5aa/698a1e094ee2625154319714/worlds-greatest-places-2021-001-Gold-Coast-Australia.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 20, 2021 # Gold Coast, Australia Surfers’ playground by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Home of The Arts precinct in Gold Coast, Australia. Home of The Arts precinct in Gold Coast, Australia.Courtesy Brett Boardman Australia’s sixth largest city, Gold Coast, hugs the country’s eastern coastline: think perennially warm water, some of the world’s best surf and a reputation for glitz and glamour. Its trendiness continues this year with many additions. In Palm Beach, The Mysa Motel is a newly opened (and nearly 100% solar-powered) seven-room property, bursting with retro upcycled details like vintage breeze blocks. For those in search of responsible pampering, Gwinganna, the luxurious health retreat co-owned by Hugh Jackman, offers wellness seminars and organic food, and was voted World’s Best Eco Spa at the World Spa Awards last year. The city’s cultural credentials are also getting a serious upgrade: the HOTA Home of the Arts precinct has reopened after a redevelopment and now boasts a $46 million gallery alongside its outdoor stage, two cinemas, a rooftop bar, parklands and a swimming lagoon. _—Melissa Fagan_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2021/6079238/gold-coast-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2021/6079238/gold-coast-australia/"},"headline":"Gold Coast, Australia","datePublished":"2021-07-20T10:35:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:51:02.115Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2021/6079238/gold-coast-australia/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","World's Greatest Places"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15f320e8df5fd5aa/698a1e094ee2625154319714/worlds-greatest-places-2021-001-Gold-Coast-Australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15f320e8df5fd5aa/698a1e094ee2625154319714/worlds-greatest-places-2021-001-Gold-Coast-Australia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2021/6079238/gold-coast-australia/","name":"Gold Coast, Australia"}}]}] ```