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Brisbane, Australia, top 10 things to do (Wimup travel guide)
▶ Video · Best of Brisbane
Video guide · 14:58
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Top 10OceaniaAustralia

Top 10 Things To Do in Brisbane

Country
Australia
Best months
Mar · Apr · May · Oct
Population
1.38
Language
English
Budget / day
A$150–290
Quick answer

Give Brisbane three days and spend two of them on the water. The river is the spine of the city: ride a CityCat for 50 cents, walk the Kangaroo Point cliffs to the green bridge that opened in December 2024, then cross to South Bank for a free gallery and a free swim. Day three belongs to a koala sanctuary, a lookout on Mount Coot-tha, or a ferry out to the sand islands in Moreton Bay.

Best of Brisbane

▶ Video guide Open the film page (14:58) →

Brisbane is a subtropical river city that spent the last decade rebuilding its own waterfront, and it shows. The Story Bridge has a climb, Howard Smith Wharves underneath it has a brewery, and a 460 metre pedestrian bridge lands you at Kangaroo Point. Winter is dry and 21°C, and the whole transport network costs 50 cents a trip.

The 10 best things to do in Brisbane

Walk the length of South Bank Parklands, Brisbane, Australia
1

Walk the length of South Bank Parklands

Parkland· Grey Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101

Seventeen hectares of riverfront left over from World Expo 88, and the piece of Brisbane that does the most work. The Arbour, a bougainvillea tunnel on 443 curling steel columns, runs the length of it; Streets Beach in the middle is a free lagoon with real sand and lifeguards. Open 5am to midnight, every day. Come back after dark.

TimeHalf a day
CostFree
Best atLate afternoon
TipCheck the parklands site before packing a towel: the lagoon closes for maintenance stretches
Map↗ Website
See the Asia Pacific collection at QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia
2

See the Asia Pacific collection at QAGOMA

Gallery· Stanley Place, South Brisbane QLD 4101

One gallery in two buildings, minutes apart on Kurilpa Point: the Queensland Art Gallery for the historical collection, the Gallery of Modern Art for everything since. Entry to both is free. GOMA is the largest modern art museum in Australia and built its reputation on the Asia Pacific Triennial, which is worth planning a trip around.

Time2–3 hrs
CostFree general entry
Best atWeekday morning
TipThe Children's Art Centre inside GOMA is free and hands on
Map↗ Website
Climb the Story Bridge, Brisbane, Australia
3

Climb the Story Bridge

Adventure· 170 Main Street, Kangaroo Point QLD 4169

John Bradfield designed it, it opened on 6 July 1940, and it is still the longest cantilever bridge in Australia at 777 metres. The guided climb takes you up the steelwork to 80 metres above the river, harnessed to a static line, on a route that reads the whole city at once: the CBD grid, the bends of the river, the Glass House Mountains.

Time2 hrs
CostTicketed
Best atTwilight
TipThe dawn climb is the quiet one, and the light is better
Map↗ Website
4

Meet the koalas at Lone Pine

Wildlife· 708 Jesmond Road, Fig Tree Pocket QLD 4069

The first koala sanctuary in the world, opened in 1927 with two animals and now home to more than a hundred, on a bend of the river 12 km upstream. Queensland is one of the few places where holding a koala is still legal, and this is where most people do it. Open 9am to 5pm daily. The good version of the trip arrives by water, on a morning river cruise.

Time3 hrs
CostTicketed
Best atMorning
TipTake the river cruise one way and the bus back
Map↗ Website
Take the city in from Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Australia
5

Take the city in from Mount Coot-tha

Lookout· 1012 Sir Samuel Griffith Drive, Mount Coot-tha QLD 4066

Fifteen minutes west of the CBD by car, and the one view that explains the shape of Brisbane: the river doubling back on itself, the towers in the middle distance, Moreton Bay beyond. The lookout terrace is free and open around the clock. At the foot of the hill the Botanic Gardens cover 52 hectares, laid out in 1976.

Time1–2 hrs
CostFree
Best atSunset
TipPair it with the botanic gardens on the way down
Map↗ Website
6

Cross the Kangaroo Point Bridge at golden hour

Landmark· River Terrace, Kangaroo Point QLD 4169

The cliffs are old quarry faces, floodlit at night and busy with climbers on the rope routes. Since December 2024 they have had their own crossing: a 460 metre cable-stayed span from the CBD to Scott Street, pedestrians and bikes only, and the tallest bridge in Queensland. Take the lift up from the Kangaroo Point side and time it for the last hour of light.

Time1–2 hrs
CostFree
Best atGolden hour
TipWalk the cliff-top path from the bridge to the ferry terminal
Map↗ Website
Spend an evening at Howard Smith Wharves, Brisbane, Australia
7

Spend an evening at Howard Smith Wharves

Precinct· 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000

A strip of 1930s government wharves wedged between the cliff and the river directly under the Story Bridge, derelict for decades and reopened as a dining precinct. Felons Brewing Co brews on site and pours it at a beer garden on the water, the best seat in Brisbane for watching the bridge light up. Arrive on foot along the riverwalk.

Time2–3 hrs
CostFree to enter
Best atFriday evening
TipWalk in along the river from the City Botanic Gardens
Map↗ Website
Ride a CityCat the length of the river, Brisbane, Australia
8

Ride a CityCat the length of the river

River· North Quay ferry terminal, Brisbane City QLD 4000

The catamarans are public transport, not a tour boat, which is why they work: one flat 50 cent fare takes you from Hamilton in the north past the cliffs, the wharves, South Bank and out to the University of Queensland. An hour on the top deck is the cheapest orientation in the city. The free CityHopper ended in January 2025, so every trip costs the flat fare.

Time1 hr
Cost50c per trip
Best atSunset
TipSit outside on the top deck at the stern
Map↗ Translink
Read the city's history in the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane, Australia
9

Read the city's history in the City Botanic Gardens

Gardens· 147 Alice Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000

The oldest park in Brisbane, planted on the river bend beside the CBD in the 1850s as the colony's food garden and never built on since. What is left is a set of very large trees, a bamboo grove, a mangrove boardwalk and a lawn full of office workers at lunchtime. Three bridges land here, so it is the hinge between the two halves of a walking day.

Time1 hr
CostFree
Best atEarly morning
TipEnter over the Goodwill Bridge from South Bank
Map↗ Website
Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia (Wimup)
10

Go up the City Hall clock tower

Museum· Level 3, Brisbane City Hall, 64 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000

The Museum of Brisbane occupies the third floor of the sandstone City Hall on King George Square, and entry is free. So is the clock tower tour, which runs every 15 minutes from 10am and puts you in the original 1930 cage lift, then out onto a balcony behind the clock faces. Book ahead: the lift takes a handful of people and the slots go.

Time1–2 hrs
CostFree
Best atWeekday
TipBook the clock tower slot before you arrive
Map↗ Website

All 10, mapped

Brisbane · 10 spots
AllLandmarksMuseumsFoodFree

Brisbane travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Brisbane?+
Three. One for the river and South Bank, one for the Valley, New Farm and a lookout, and one for a day trip out to Moreton Bay or the hinterland. Two works if you skip the islands.
What is the best time of year to visit Brisbane?+
March to May and September to October. Winter (June to August) is dry and mild at around 21°C by day, which is why the festival calendar sits there. Summer is hot, humid and wet, with February the wettest month.
Do you need a car in Brisbane?+
No, not for the city. Every train, bus and ferry journey costs a flat 50 cents, and the CityCats cover the length of the river. Hire a car only for the Glass House Mountains, Lamington or Toowoomba.
Can you hold a koala in Brisbane?+
Yes. Queensland is one of the few Australian states where it is still legal, and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at Fig Tree Pocket is where most visitors do it. It is open 9am to 5pm daily.
Is Brisbane worth visiting, or should you go straight to the Gold Coast?+
Stay in Brisbane and treat the coast as a day trip. The city has the galleries, the food and the river; the Gold Coast is an hour away by train and tram, and Moreton Bay is a better beach day than Surfers Paradise.
The spine of the city

Best of the Brisbane riverside (2026)

Six ways to use the Brisbane River, from a floating walkway to a lagoon with lifeguards.
Free
New Farm

New Farm Riverwalk

Walkway · Open 24 hrs

A floating walkway bolted to pontoons between New Farm and the CBD. The original was torn away by the 2011 flood; the replacement opened in 2014.

Map
Kangaroo Point

Riverlife at Kangaroo Point

Adventure centre · Booked sessions

Kayaks on the river, abseils down the quarry face and rope climbs back up it. The night paddle puts you on the water with the city lit above.

Map
Streets Beach
Free
South Bank

Streets Beach

Lagoon · Lifeguard patrolled

The only inner-city artificial beach in Australia: a sand-edged lagoon in the middle of South Bank, free and patrolled year round. It closes for maintenance.

Map
Goodwill Bridge
Free
South Bank

Goodwill Bridge

Bridge · Walk and cycle

A 450 metre pedestrian and cycle bridge from South Bank to the City Botanic Gardens, opened for the Goodwill Games in 2001. It makes a two-bank day work.

Map
Wheel of BrisbaneSouth Bank

Wheel of Brisbane

Observation wheel · Ticketed

A 60 metre observation wheel at the northern end of the parklands, installed for the 20th anniversary of Expo 88 and never taken down.

Map
Free
Milton

Bicentennial Bikeway

Bikeway · Riverside

The riverside path from the CBD out under the Go Between Bridge toward Toowong, part of it cantilevered off the river wall. Hired bikes are everywhere on it.

Map
Where Brisbane eats

Best restaurants in Brisbane (2026)

Six dining rooms that made the city worth a detour, most of them within a few blocks of James Street.
Woodfire
Fortitude Valley

Agnes

Woodfire · Dinner

A restaurant with no gas and no electricity in the kitchen: everything comes off wood fire, including the bread. The room that changed Brisbane fine dining.

Map↗ Website
Fortitude Valley

Gerard's Bistro

Middle Eastern · Dinner

More than a decade of modern Middle Eastern cooking on James Street, built on Queensland produce and a charcoal grill. The Valley benchmark.

Map
Fortitude Valley

Bianca

Mediterranean · Dinner

Mediterranean cooking under a ceiling of suspended wine bottles, terracotta underfoot, on the James Street strip. The pasta is the reason to book.

Map
Hard to find
Fortitude Valley

Hôntô

Japanese · Izakaya

A dark izakaya down an unmarked Valley laneway, doing yakitori and Japanese small plates for a room that fills as it opens. Finding the door is part of it.

Map
Fortitude Valley

sAme sAme

Thai · Charcoal

Thai cooking over charcoal from the same group as Agnes and Hôntô, on James Street. Loud, communal and built around a wood-fired grill rather than a wok.

Map
OTTO BrisbaneSouth Bank

OTTO Brisbane

Italian · Riverside

The Sydney Italian institution transplanted to River Quay at the southern tip of South Bank, water on one side and towers on the other.

Map↗ Website
After dark

Best bars and breweries in Brisbane (2026)

Six rooms worth the trip, from a brewery under the Story Bridge to a laneway bar with 600 bottles behind it.
Riverside
Brisbane City

Felons Brewing Co

Brewery · Beer garden

Brews on site at Howard Smith Wharves and pours it under the Story Bridge with the river a few metres away. The most-used outdoor drinking space here.

Map↗ Website
Teneriffe

Green Beacon Brewing Co

Brewery · Taproom

An open warehouse of exposed beams and polished concrete in Teneriffe, brewing since 2013. Order the Wayfarer and watch the tanks work.

Map↗ Website
Newstead

Newstead Brewing Co

Brewery · Brewpub

A brewpub in a converted industrial shed on the Newstead flats, pouring its own beer beside a kitchen that takes the food as seriously as the tanks.

Map
Fortitude Valley

Savile Row

Cocktail bar · Late

A former butcher shop on Ann Street with a 900-bottle back bar and a tight list of about 20 cocktails. Open until 2am most nights and 3am on the weekend.

Map
600+ bottles
Brisbane City

Death & Taxes

Cocktail bar · Laneway

A narrow bar off Burnett Lane from the Savile Row team, with more than 600 bottles on the wall behind it. Ask rather than read.

Map
West End

Cobbler

Whisky bar · Small

The West End sibling of Savile Row and Death & Taxes, and the bar that started the group. Whisky-led, low-lit and deliberately hard to spot from Fish Lane.

Map
Indoors, and mostly free

Best galleries and museums in Brisbane (2026)

Five collections across the Cultural Centre and the Valley, four of them free to walk into.
Queensland Museum
Free
South Brisbane

Queensland Museum

Museum · Free entry

The state collection at the Cultural Centre: Queensland natural history, a whale skeleton over the atrium, and the Sciencentre downstairs. Entry is free.

Map
State Library of Queensland
Free
South Brisbane

State Library of Queensland

Library · Free entry

Next to GOMA, and more than a reading room: free exhibitions, the kuril dhagun First Nations space, and a river deck good for doing nothing.

Map
Museum of Brisbane
Free
Brisbane City

Museum of Brisbane

Museum · Free entry

Three floors up inside City Hall, telling the story of the city itself, and the desk from which the free clock tower tours leave every 15 minutes.

Map↗ Website
Free
Fortitude Valley

Institute of Modern Art

Contemporary art · Free entry

A non-collecting contemporary gallery in the Valley, running since 1975 and showing work the bigger institutions have not got to yet. Free.

Map
Brisbane PowerhouseNew Farm

Brisbane Powerhouse

Arts venue · Riverside

A 1920s tram power station on the river at New Farm, stripped back to concrete and graffiti and reopened as a theatre. Worth walking through.

Map
Weekends outdoors

Best markets in Brisbane (2026)

Five markets, from a shipping-container food precinct on a wharf to a Saturday produce market under fig trees.
Eat Street Northshore
Entry fee
Hamilton

Eat Street Northshore

Night market · Fri to Sun

A disused wharf at Hamilton rebuilt from about 180 shipping containers into a night food market. Friday and Saturday to 10pm, Sunday to 9pm.

Map↗ Website
New Farm

Jan Powers Farmers Markets, Powerhouse

Farmers market · Saturday

The best of the three sites, along the river lawn at New Farm. Producers rather than resellers, and a crowd that arrives early.

Map↗ Website
South Bank

Collective Markets South Bank

Design market · Fri to Sun

Art, design, homewares and vintage across Stanley Street Plaza, Friday evening plus all day Saturday and Sunday. Folds into a South Bank day.

Map↗ Website
Davies Park Market
From 6am
West End

Davies Park Market

Produce market · Saturday

Every Saturday from 6am under enormous fig trees on the river bend at West End: produce, plants and a row of breakfast stalls. The most local market.

Map
West End

Boundary Street Markets

Food hall · Evenings

A permanent covered food hall on Russell Street in West End rather than a pop-up, with kitchens around a central bar and a night crowd from Friday.

Map
Where to spend an afternoon

Best neighbourhoods in Brisbane (2026)

Six inner-city pockets, each a walk rather than a stop.
Fortitude Valley

Fortitude Valley

Nightlife · Live music

The entertainment quarter, and the part of Brisbane that runs late. Live music, Chinatown Mall and a strip on Ann Street, ten minutes from Central.

Map
James StreetFortitude Valley

James Street

Shopping · Dining

Two blocks of fashion, design and the best concentration of restaurants in the city, anchored on the Calile. Walkable end to end in twenty minutes.

Map
West EndWest End

West End

Markets · Cafes

Second-hand bookshops, Greek and Vietnamese kitchens, two markets and Musgrave Park, on the peninsula across from the CBD. The counterweight to James Street.

Map
New Farm and TeneriffeNew Farm

New Farm and Teneriffe

Riverside · Dining

Woolstores converted into apartments, a park with a rose garden and the Powerhouse on the river. New Farm was the Italian quarter and Merthyr Village still eats like it.

Map
PaddingtonPaddington

Paddington

Vintage · Cafes

Timber Queenslanders stepped up the ridge along Given Terrace, with antique and vintage shops. The best surviving stretch of pre-war housing.

Map
WoolloongabbaWoolloongabba

Woolloongabba

Sport · Antiques

The Gabba is here, home ground for the Brisbane Lions and the Queensland Bulls, and the antique centre and a growing run of restaurants sit in the streets around it.

Map
Within a ferry or a tank of fuel

Best day trips from Brisbane (2026)

Six trips out, two of them to the largest sand islands in the world.
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)
Whales Jun to Oct
Moreton Bay

North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)

Island · 25 min ferry

Drive 45 minutes east to Cleveland, then a 25 minute ferry. Walk the North Gorge headland for turtles, rays and, from June, humpbacks.

Map↗ Ferries
Moreton Island (Mulgumpin)Moreton Bay

Moreton Island (Mulgumpin)

Island · 75 min ferry

A 75 minute ferry from Pinkenba to Tangalooma, where fifteen wrecks were scuttled to make a snorkelling bay. Almost all of it is sand and national park.

Map
Sunshine Coast

Glass House Mountains

National park · 1 hr north

An hour north, a cluster of volcanic plugs standing out of the plain, named by James Cook in 1770. Walks from a lookout stroll to Mount Ngungun.

Map
Scenic Rim

Lamington National Park

Rainforest · 2 hrs south

Two hours south into the hinterland and a Gondwana rainforest World Heritage area: tree-top boardwalks at O'Reilly's and waterfalls on the Box Forest circuit.

Map
Darling Downs

Toowoomba

City · 95 min west

Ninety-five minutes west and 800 metres up on the Great Dividing Range, Queensland's largest inland city and, with 150 public parks, the Garden City.

Map
Gold CoastGold Coast

Gold Coast

Coast · 1 hr south

An hour south by car, or a train to Helensvale and a tram. Surfers Paradise for the beach, Burleigh Heads for the headland walk and better coffee.

Map
What's on

Festivals & annual events in Brisbane (2026)

Time your trip around the city's biggest dates.
25 Apr

Anzac Day

Dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Anzac Square, then the march through the city.

May

Paniyiri Greek Festival

Two days of food, music and dancing in Musgrave Park at West End. The longest-running cultural festival in Queensland, since 1976.

8–16 Aug

Ekka, the Royal Queensland Show

The state agricultural show at the Brisbane Showgrounds, drawing more than 400,000 people. The 2026 edition marks 150 years.

5 Sep

Riverfire

Fireworks from bridges, barges and rooftops along the river, opening Brisbane Festival.

4–26 Sep

Brisbane Festival

Three weeks of theatre, music and circus across South Bank, the Powerhouse and the City Botanic Gardens.

Sep

BIGSOUND

More than 150 acts across the Fortitude Valley venues over four nights, half conference and half the best music week here.

Oct

Brisbane Open House

A weekend when buildings normally closed to the public open their doors, from City Hall to working power infrastructure.

31 Dec

New Year's Eve at South Bank

Two fireworks displays over the river, the earlier one timed for families. The parklands and the ferries both run late.

Getting around

Brisbane transport & airports

How to arrive and move around the city.
BNE

Brisbane Airport

About 13 km northeast of the centre. Airtrain runs into Central, Fortitude Valley and South Bank in roughly 20 minutes; it is the one service outside the flat 50 cent fare, at around A$22.

Map↗ Website↗ Airtrain
RAIL

Trains

Queensland Rail runs the Citytrain network out of Roma Street and Central, and it reaches the Gold Coast, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast. Every journey costs a flat 50 cents, whatever the distance.

↗ Translink↗ Queensland Rail
BUS

Buses and Metro

Brisbane runs its buses through dedicated busways that bypass the traffic, joined by the Brisbane Metro high-capacity services on the same corridors. Same flat 50 cent fare, same card.

↗ Translink
FERRY

CityCat ferries

Catamarans run the length of the river between Hamilton and the University of Queensland, with Cross River ferries filling the short hops. Ordinary public transport at the flat 50 cent fare.

↗ Translink
Traditional food

Must-try dishes in Brisbane, Australia

The classics to order before you leave.
Mud crab, Brisbane (Wimup travel guide)

Mud crab

Queensland mud crab is the sweetest in the country and worth the mess.

Lamington, Brisbane (Wimup travel guide)

Lamington

Sponge dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut, claimed by Queensland and named after a colonial governor.

Macadamia, Brisbane (Wimup travel guide)

Macadamia

Native to the rainforest belt north of Brisbane, and the only Australian food plant grown commercially.

Banh mi, Brisbane (Wimup travel guide)

Banh mi

Brisbane has a large Vietnamese community around Inala and Darra, and those bakeries make the cheapest lunch.

Moreton Bay bugs

Flat-bodied slipper lobsters pulled from the bay the city sits on.

Barramundi

The northern Australian fish that became the national restaurant default.

Spanner crab

A shallow-water crab landed off the southern Queensland coast, sold as picked meat.

Bunya nut

The seed of the bunya pine, a staple of the Aboriginal gatherings in the Bunya Mountains.

Brisbane fact sheet

Brisbane at a glance

The essentials worth knowing before you go.
Country
Australia
Region
Queensland
Population
1.38M city · 2.57M metro
Founded
1825 · Turrbal and Jagera country long before
Nickname
The River City
Language
English
Currency
Australian dollar (A$)
Time zone
AEST · UTC+10 · no daylight saving
Calling code
+61 7
Airports
BNE
Power
230V · Type I
Emergency
000
Ideal length
3 days
Getting around
Ferries, trains & walking
Tourism board
Official site

Interesting facts

  • Meanjin is the Turrbal name for the spike of land the city centre sits on, in the first bend of the river.
  • The Story Bridge is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia at 777 metres. John Bradfield designed it and it opened on 6 July 1940.
  • Queensland made a flat 50 cent public transport fare permanent in February 2025. Brisbane trips rose 22 per cent in the first year.
  • The Kangaroo Point Bridge, opened in December 2024, is the tallest bridge in Queensland and one of the longest of its kind.
  • Lone Pine opened in 1927 as the first koala sanctuary in the world, with two animals. It now holds more than a hundred.

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