Official Language:
English
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Currency:
Australian Dollar
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Population:
More than 1, 600,000 people call Brisbane home
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Weather:
Climate and current weather information for Brisbane: Climate is sub-tropical and dry. Temperatures in the summer range from the 70s°F/21°C to the 90s°F/32°C.
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Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland and Australia's third largest capital city is located on the River Brisbane near Moreton Bay. Brisbane is an ideal place for an Australian holiday and a popular port of call for many cruise ships. Brisbane was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was the governor of New South Wales at the time of the settlement. Brisbane was originally settled in 1824, however it took over 100 years before several municipalities were incorporated into the city that you now see today. In spite of the slow beginning, Brisbane has been making up for lost time. It is the fourth-largest of Australia's state capitals. Located between the Gold Coast on the south and the Sunshine Coast on the north, the somewhat laid-back Brisbane is home to the magnificent beaches. Stroll through the lush Botanical Gardens, shop in the Queen Street Mall, or enjoy the many cafes and restaurants along the banks of the Brisbane River. The Brisbane City Hall is a modern building, however one would never know it. Built in the English style, it uses local materials with remarkable skill to achieve Old World charm on an impressive scale. And the Customs House, is prominent on the river, and boasts solid Corinthian columns with an imposing green copper dome, magnificently Victorian. To round out your historical overview, the Queensland Maritime Museum offers displays of charts, model ships, engines, and a true water display of the World War II vessels. One of the six provinces that make up Australia. The city lies on the easternmost point of the continent, and is home to 1.3 million people, making it the third largest city in Australia, trailing only Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane is a city best enjoyed outdoors. The weather is perpetually mild, with the exception of the sometimes sultry summer days. There are over 200 miles of bike paths in Brisbane, and the main tourist attractions are a koala sanctuary and a beautiful botanical garden at the base of a mountain. Brisbane's layout is incredibly simple. Streets that run east and west are named after female British royalty, with north and south streets named after the males. You should have no problems finding your way around the symmetrical layout of the city. You'll most likely spend the majority of your time in the City Center, in and around the Queen Street Mall. You'll want to make it out of here to explore the surrounding areas, but even if you never make it out of the city center, you will leave happy.
Cruise ships dock at the Port of Brisbane. There is road access available directly from the port. Local Transportation in BrisbaneBuses and ferries are the best ways to get around Brisbane. Buses depart from King George Square. A city circle bus travels in a loop around the city, stopping at most points of interest in Brisbane. Ferries are operated by CityCats, with most running at least twice an hour. Train travel is another option, as the suburbs are connected to the city in an efficient manner. As always, taxis are an excellent option. You should have no trouble hailing a cab, but if none are available, just call Yellow Cabs (tel. 07/131-924).
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Attractions |
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Brisbane Tourism:
(Queen Street Mall, tel. 07/3221-8411) is a good place to start out. The information center here is invaluable, providing you with maps and brochures, along with suggested itineraries for your stay. For an overview of the city, you might want to consider a city tour. Brisbane Transport (tel. 07/131-230) runs bus tours. Take the City Sights tour, which basically means taking the city circle bus and stopping at destinations as you please. River tours are another popular way to see Brisbane. An inexpensive way to tour the city is to hop on the City Cat ferries. Brisbane's attractions center around animals. The Australian Woodshed (148 Samford Road, tel. 07/3872-1100) is a local favorite. You will have the opportunity to hand feed baby farm animals, or have your picture taken with a koala. A miss-miss part of your visit here is the ram parade, when eight extremely intelligent and highly trained rams perform for you.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary:
Lone Pine is also famous for its beautiful natural landscapes. Walk through lush tropical Australian rainforests and bush woodland areas. You'll have fond memories of meeting Australia's most unique animals. All that natural Australia has to offer is here at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. (Jesmond Road, tel. 07/3378-1366) is another top attraction while in Brisbane. The koalas here are very tame, and the chance to cuddle a koala simply cannot be passed up. Besides koalas, there are kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, emus, and more.
Mount Coot-tha:
offers up panoramic views of the city. The gardens at Mt Coot-tha are the largest tropical and subtropical gardens in Australia incorporating 52 hectares. Located just 4 miles from the city center, the gardens feature plants from around the world. Enjoy a stroll through the Japanese Garden, the Australian Rainforest, the Fragrant Plants and Herb Garden and the Cactus and Bromeliad House.
City Centre:
Follow the golden arrows set into the footpath for a walking tour of Brisbane's remaining early buildings. The best old buildings, notably the Mansions and Harris Terrace, line George St. Also on the same street are the Old Government House and Parliament House, both dating from the 1860s. The Old Windmill & Observatory on Wickham Terrace dates from 1828. It was originally built to grind grain for the early convict colony but, due to a fundamental design error, failed to work properly. It was converted to a signal post and later to a meteorological observatory.
Brisbane Botanic Gardens:
(Mt. Coot-tha Road, tel. 07/3403-2535).This is a great spot for picnic lunches. Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium (tel. 07/3403-2578) is on the garden grounds, and the planetarium recreates Brisbane's night sky. If that doesn't satisfy your scientific curiosity, satiate it at the Queensland Sciencentre (110 George Street, tel. 07/3220-0166). An interactive science museum, it was originally designed for children, but you'll find yourself having as much fun as any ten-year-old. Lone Pine Koala
Sanctuary:
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is home to a wide variety of Australian wildlife, including kangaroos, possums, wombats, emus and lyrebirds. The star attractions are the 130 or so koalas. They're undeniably cute and for a price you can be photographed in their embrace. You can also picnic with kangaroos and take a turn feeding them. Just a half-hour bus ride south from the city centre, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is an easy half-day trip. The sanctuary is set in attractive parklands beside the river. Talks are given on the animals at set times throughout the day.
Markets:
The popular South Bank markets, which feature craft and clothing stalls, are open every Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. Every Sunday, the carnival-style Eagle St Pier markets have 150 stalls featuring glass-blowing, weaving and other crafts. The small Fortitude Valley market, held on Saturdays in Brunswick St Mall, has a diverse array of junk, crafts and clothes.
Mt Coot-tha:
The best place to get a view of the city is from the lookout on Mt Coot-tha, 8km (5mi) from the city centre. On a clear day, you can see the distant line of Moreton and Stradbroke Islands, the Glass House Mountains to the north, the mountains behind the Gold Coast to the south and Brisbane at your feet. There are some good walks around Mt Coot-tha and its foothills, such as the one to JC Slaughter Falls on Simpson's Rd. The Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, at the foot of the mountain, have an enclosed tropical dome, an arid zone, rainforests and a Japanese garden. You'll also find the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, the largest in Australia, here.
The Queensland Cultural Centre:
Established in 1895 and situated within on the South Bank of the Brisbane River since 1982, the Gallery receives national and international acclaim not only for its collections, exhibitions and other programs, but for its dramatic, ambient yet flexible architectural design. Winner of several architectural awards, the design features of the Gallery include gallery spaces ranging from the intimate to the monumental, soaring sky-lit ceilings and magnificent Water Mall running throughout to the Sculpture Courtyard. Queensland Cultural CentreThis superb complex spans two blocks either side of Melbourne St in South Brisbane, just across Victoria Bridge. It houses the Queensland Art Gallery, the Queensland Museum, the State Library and the Performing Arts Complex. The museum has a dinosaur garden and a worthwhile exhibition on whales, while the art gallery has an impressive permanent Australian collection and plenty of temporary exhibits. There are cafés in the Performing Arts Complex, the gallery and library.
South Bank:
South Bank, formerly the site of Expo '88, has been redeveloped and is now one of the city's liveliest areas. Covering 16 hectares (40 acres), its attractions include restaurants and cafes, parklands and bike paths, market stalls and even a sandy swimming beach.
Australian Woolshed:
The Australian Woolshed is an impressive set-up celebrating the 'outback experience'. Beyond a large souvenir shop specialising in Australiana, the Woolshed is a spacious and attractive park with free picnic and barbecue facilities, a small fauna park with koalas (huggable) and kangaroos (feedable), as well as Aussie attractions such as sheep shearing and wool spinning. If that's not enough excitement for you, stick around for the 'ram show'; marvel as eight trained rams get put through their paces by a bunch of canny sheepdogs. The Woolshed is 15km (9mi) northwest of the city centre. You can drive, or catch a train to the nearest station, which is about 800m (870yd) from the 'shed. Many tour companies also include the Woolshed on their itinerary.
Brisbane Forest Park:
The Brisbane Forest Park is a 285 sq km (110 sq mi) reserve of natural bushland in the D'Aguilar Range. The park starts on the outskirts of Brisbane and stretches for more than 50km (30mi) to the north and west. It's a great area for bushwalks, cycling, horse riding, camping and scenic drives.The park has its own information centre and Walkabout Creek, a freshwater study centre where you can see fish, lizards, pythons and turtles at close quarters. There are a number of good walking trails throughout the park, and you can camp here overnight. You really need your own car to get to the best walking trails, so it's worth driving here, or you can get a bus from Brisbane which stops a short walk from the information centre.
North Stradbroke Island:
Most people come to Straddie for the beaches. Brisbane itself has no beaches, and the beaches of its eastern suburbs are rather sad, muddy affairs. North Stradbroke is about 20km (12mi) off the coast from Cleveland, which is about 25km (15mi) south-east of Brisbane's city centre. Straddie is a sand island and, despite some heavy sand-mining, it has plenty of vegetation and beautiful scenery. Outside of school holidays it's also pretty quiet and peaceful.The best beaches are around Point Lookout, at the northeast tip of the island. There are good walks around here and you can often see porpoises, dolphins and manta rays from the headland. You can swim in the freshwater Blue Lake in the centre of the island, or walk along tracks and watch for snakes, goannas, wallabies and birds. To get to Straddie you need to take a bus or train to Cleveland to connect with the ferry - some ferries will take vehicles.
Outdoor Pursuits:
(tel. 07/3397-7779) offers all kinds of activities, including rock climbing at Kangaroo Point, horseback riding, and white-water rafting. Brisbane is a great city for biking, with over 200 miles of bike paths. Brisbane Bicycle Sales and Hire (87 Albert Street, tel. 07/3229-2433) rents bikes and equipment by the hour or by the day.
Shopping:
Shopping Brisbane offers shopping to match that of any good sized town. The Queen Street Mall is an enclosed structure that stretches for city blocks. Street entertainers perform for the shoppers. The Queen Adelaide Building is the place to go for upscale, designer boutiques and souvenir shops. Broadway on the Mall has much to offer with more than 150 shops completely focused on fashion. The Queen Street Mall is your best bet for shopping. Everything you need is nearby. The Myer Centre (tel. 07/3221-4199) is five stories worth of shops and boutiques. If you are looking for jewelry, try Quilpie Opals (68 Queen Street Mall, tel. 07/3221-7369). Most travelers will feel cheated if they travel all the way to Australia and don't come back with something Australian, so get your boomerangs and didgeridoos at Queensland Aboriginal Creations (199 Elizabeth Street, tel. 07/3224-5730). The Eagle Street Pier (1 Eagle Street, tel. 07/3221-4226) is another great spot for accomplishing lots of shopping on a very limited time budget. Paddington Antique Centre Antique hunters should try Paddington Antique (167 Latrobe Terrace, tel. 07/3369-8088).
Queensland Performing Arts Complex:
Theatre buffs can catch a show at the corner of Grey and Melbourne, tel. 07/3840-7100.
Centra Brisbane Jazz and Blues Bar:
Hear some live music located at (Roma Street, tel. 07/3238-2222).
Wonder Bar (339 Brunswick Street, tel. 07/3852-1216) or Margaux's (190 Elizabeth Street, tel. 07/3234-2000). If you're feeling lucky, stop by the Treasury Casino (Queen Street, tel. 07/3306-8888).
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More Information |
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Useful Links About Brisbane:
Brisbane Travel Information
http://www.ourbrisbane.com
http://www.brisbanecitylife.com.au
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