Holidays In Australia: The best things to do in Brisbane

For many people, Brisbane is the perfect base for a holiday on the beaches of the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast. But it’s worth spending a few days in Queensland’s capital, as there’s so much to see and do.

There are 22 kilometers between Sydney and Brisbane – by Australian standards, it’s more of a stone’s throw. If you don’t want to travel the distance by car, you can book a flight for relatively little money (from around 20 euros) and then it only takes an hour and a half. And many do, because Brisbane is pretty much halfway between the Gold and Sunshine Coasts – both important holiday destinations with dream beaches and less than an hour’s drive from Brisbane.

About 2.2 million people live in Brisbane, which is the third largest city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne. That Brisbane was originally a penal colony, founded a short distance away in 1824 and existing until 1842, is almost forgotten today. The capital of the state of Queensland owes its name to Sir Thomas Brisbane, a governor of the state of New South Wales in south-eastern Australia.

The location in Moreton Bay on the Pacific Ocean, the pleasant climate and the proximity to the dream beaches have given Brisbane a reputation as a liveable city. The city is also an important university location (three universities).

Overview: The best attractions in Brisbane

• Central Business District
• Fortitude Valley
• Beaches on the South Bank
• Storybridge
• Important churches and other buildings
• Brisbane: Tips for onward travel
• Map: Location of Brisbane
• Current weather in Brisbane

The best attractions in Brisbane

Central Business District

Of interest are the Central Business District, Fortitude Valley and the South Bank. The business district, called CBD for short (Australians love abbreviations) and also known as “The City”, is the heart of the city. The area is on the north bank of the Brisbane River in the city centre. It is famous for its many shops, restaurants and parks such as the Brisbane City Botanic Garden and venues such as the Riverstage, which regularly hosts concerts.

At the edge of the garden, close to the river, runs the Botanic Garden Bikeway, a bike path that might make you forget you’re in the middle of the big city. It’s easy to find your way around this neighborhood, where streets are named after members of the royal family. Rule of thumb: streets with male names go north-south, those with female names east-west.

Fortitude Valley

Fortitude Valley (“The Valley”), named after the ship SS Fortitude that brought Scottish immigrants to what is now Brisbane in 1849, borders The City to the north. The district is a meeting place for everyone who loves nightclubs, bars, restaurants and music. Chinatown Mall on Duncan Street has Chinese supermarkets and restaurants.

Beaches on the South Bank

The South Bank is located across from “The City” on the Brisbane River (accessible via the Victoria Bridge or, for pedestrians and cyclists, via the Kurilpa Bridge). This is a 17-hectare area with parks that hosted the 1988 World Expo. There are restaurants, shops and a promenade, the popular Streets Beach with glorious white sand, the 60 meter high Wheel of Brisbane which is a must-ride. In addition, event areas have been set up for a wide variety of festivals. And see art at the Queensland Cultural Center with the Gallery of Modern Art. Next door you can learn a lot about the history of the city in the Queensland Museum. Another city history museum is located on the eastern edge of King George Square in the City area.

Storybridge

The Story Bridge is the second most famous bridge in Australia after the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The Story Bridge, which opened in 1940 and is a faithful replica of the Pont Jacques Cartier in Montreal, Canada, is 1072 meters long. At night, the Story Bridge is colorfully illuminated.

Important churches and other buildings

The contrasts in Brisbane are attractive. Here the skyline with skyscrapers, there the single-family houses. State-of-the-art here, historic there. Several churches stand in the middle of the skyscrapers, including St. John’s Cathedral, construction of which began in 1885 and was only completed in 2008. St. Stephen’s Cathedral (completed in 1922) is also worth seeing. There are no really old buildings in Brisbane. The oldest is the Old Windmill Observatory from 1824 – it now serves as a weather station. Address: 4000 Spring Hill QLD, accessible from Wickham Terrace.

Brisbane: Tips for onward travel

The port and airport are located at the mouth of the Brisbane River into the sea – very conveniently located if you want to travel further towards the Gold Coast (81 kilometers on the Pacific Highway M1) or Sunshine Coast (95 kilometers on the Pacific Highway). It’s about 130 kilometers to Noosa and about 360 kilometers to Fraser Island. If you want to go to the Great Barrier Reef, you should take a plane from Brisbane to Cairns (flight time: 2.25 hours), because the two cities are almost 1700 kilometers apart. Or you can fly to Airlie Beach (1.5 hours, distance from Brisbane: 1113 kilometers), from where you can also get to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands.