The CBD is very compressed and can be easily explored on foot. If you are after some shopping spree make sure you will pay a visit to the famous Queen Street Mall. It is a nice place, closed to cars, which makes a walk enjoyable. The CBD itelf is surrounded by meandering Brisbane River. One of the banks was transformed to the City Botanical Garden. It is an excellent place to rest from the heat of the day and relax in wonderful green surroundings. From there you can see, across the river, the clifs of Kangaroo Point and a distant landmark – the Story Bridge.
Some of the other places worth visiting can be found on the South Bank of the river. This area is a lovely parkland which boarders some of the most popular cultural venues of the city such as Queensland Performing Arts Center or Exhibition Halls. However, the best part is an artificial beach and a pool situated right in the middle of South Bank Parklands. It is a great place for a lazy afternoon. The swim in the lagoon will reward you with fantastic views of CBD towering across the river. You can find heaps of places to eat or enjoy a drink around there too.
If you are in town for a while or you just need to stock up your supplies, it would be a great idea to visit West End saturday market. It is a great place for foodies and also a good spot to buy cheap, organic, freash veg and fruit. It is very popular with locals and there is a good reason for it.
Another place not to be missed is Mount Coot-tha. At the bottom of the hill you will find a specious botanical garden where you can admire the collection of both native and foreign tropical plants. But what is really spactacular is the view from the top of the mountain! You can see the entire city just like from aboard the plane. There is a restaurant and a cafe at the top as well. You can choose to drive up there, take a bus or enjoy a hike through the forest. We would recommend the third option!
In the western suburbs you can find the amazing Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This place is world’s oldest and largest koala sanctuary. It this location you can get up close to native wildlife, hand feed kangaroos, or lorikeets, see a cossowary or even have a photo of you taken holding a koala. You can participate in a variety of activities and enjoy shows and talks performed by the staff. The sooner in the morning you get here the better as kangaroos sleep through most of the day. If you want to walk among them and find these creatures eager to have a meal it would be the best for you to visit before 11 am. Some of the animals walk freely and the others are hold in rather small cages which is a litlle sad. Afterall nothing makes you as happy as spotting a widlife in its natural habiat.
To sum up you should know that Brisbane is situated roughly an hour drive from superb beaches of Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. That it is busy and metropolitan but not so overwhelming and crowded. With that said, it must be ovious by now that it is a perfect getaway to start your ultimate trip up the Eastern Coast, just like we did!
