Brisbane

Introduction

Brisbane by Night

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Clean, friendly and sunny, Brisbane is a pleasant city in which to spend a few days before heading off to explore Queensland, or in which to recuperate after exploring. Brisbane is a rapidly growing modern metropolis which has given it greater stature in recent years, however it still retains the friendliness and relaxed attitude it has always been known for. Known locally as Brissie or Brisvegas, it's the country's third largest city. For a city with less than two million inhabitants, it certainly has a lot to offer like world class art galleries, massive music venues and a bustling restaurant scene

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Southbank

Southbank is the city's main recreational, entertainment and cultural precinct. It incorporates a lot of the cities most popular attractions.

• South Bank Parklands was established on the site of World Expo 88 and now consists of numerous cafés and restaurants and landmarks like the Wheel of Brisbane, Streets Beach and the Nepal Peace Pagoda.
• Grey Street & Little Stanley Street incorporate some of the city's most popular fashion stores and restaurants. The South Bank Cinemas are on Grey Street.
• Queensland Maritime Museum
• The Queensland Cultural Centre is located adjacent to Southbank and is the hub of arts and culture in Brisbane. It incorporates the State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Queensland Museum & Sciencentre and the Gallery of Modern Art, Australia's largest modern art museum.

Snorkelling & Diving

In Brisbane, scuba diving junkies will find some amazing walls, wrecks and drop offs. Whilst each diving spot has its own attraction to boast, there are perfect diving locations for those adventure-seekers who are looking for advanced dives. Find out more about the snorkelling and scuba diving in Brisbane.

Other

• Roma Street Parkland
• City Botanic Gardens
• Brisbane Forest Park
• Portside Wharf
• The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was the first koala sanctuary in the world, opened in 1927.
• Mount Coot-Tha has great views over the city from the top and is also where you will find the Brisbane Botanic Gardens , which includes the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium and the "Tsuki-yama-chisen" Japanese Garden.

Events and Festivals

• Outdoor Music Festivals are popular throughout Australia - read about those festivals in and around Brisbane: Outdoor Music Festivals in Queensland

Weather

Brisbane, being one of the southernmost places in Queensland, has a subtropical climate. The wet season lasts from November to March, which is also the warmest period of the year, with temperatures around 30 °C during the day and around 20 °C at night. During winter (June to August) temperatures are still above 20 °C during the day dropping to around 12 °C on average at night. Spring (September-November) and autumn (March-May) are good months to visit Brisbane, with warm and relatively dry weather.

Getting There

By Plane

Brisbane International Airport (BNE) has direct international flights with destinations including several cities in New Zealand, Fiji, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Los Angeles.

To/from the airport

• Taxi: Black and White Cabs and Yellowcab have taxis at both the domestic and international terminal.
• Bus: Coachtrans and Sunair provide bus services throughout the region from the airport, including direct buses to downtown Brisbane.
• Rail: The Airtrain provides frequent and fast services (22 minutes) between the airport and Brisbane.
• Car: many rental car companies have options and there are many short and longterm parking places.

Air Asia now services the Gold Coast from Kuala Lumpur as well, offering low cost flights. This can be a cheap alternative compared to flying to Brisbane directly.
A number of local carriers (including low-cost airlines) fly to many destinations within Australia. Check airlines like Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue for more information about routes, schedules and prices.

By Train

Express trains, including the tilt train, and local trains connect Brisbane with Cairns, Sydney, and many other destinations along the East Coast. The XPT travels to and from Brisbane from Sydney and Melbourne.
Other trains to and from Brisbane, but within Queensland are:

• The Spirit of the Outback between Brisbane and Longreach
• The Sunlander between Brisbane and Cairns
• The Tilt Train between Brisbane and Cairns
• The Westlander between Brisbane and Charleville

By Car

Brisbane is easily reached from the north and south along good tarmac roads.

By Bus

Greyhound is the main bus operator, providing services south to New South Wales and further on and also west towards the Northern Territory.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Brisbane Transport buses are fairly reasonably priced and cover the whole of the city.

By Foot

The centre of Brisbane is compact enough to comfortably explore on foot.

By Car

Car hire is available at the airport and downtown Brisbane. There are plenty of companies you could choose to hire a car from, including Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty. Car hire is often not available to drivers under 25, or if it is, it's more expensive for younger drivers.

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

A little backpacker ghetto has developed around Upper Roma/Quay Street, with a range of hostels including the official YHA, the characterful Yellow Submarine and the smart-looking Cloud 9.

Work

Learn

• University of Queensland, Australia
• Queensland University of Technology
• James Cook University
• Australian Catholic University

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Australia is on a GSM 900/1800 network, so if you have an unlocked phone that works on those frequencies, you will be able to buy a prepaid SIM-card and stick into your phone when you're in Brisbane. You will receive a new Australian phone number with the SIM-card.

To dial out of Australia use the prefix 0011, followed by the calling code of the country you are trying to reach, followed by the area code of the city/town (without the 0!) and finally the phone number.

Within Australia, it is necessary to add an area code to the phone numbers if you are calling from outside the area.
Brisbane's area code is 07, which is the same for all of Queensland. If dialling interstate, use one of the following area codes.

02 - New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory (Sydney, Canberra)
03 - Victoria and Tasmania
08 - Western Australia, South Australia & Northern Territory (Perth, Adelaide, Darwin)

000 is the emergency telephone number in Australia, but the international GSM mobile emergency telephone number 112 also works on mobile phones.

Post

Australia Post is the government's postal service. Most suburbs will have at least one post office. A standard letter or postcard sent within Australia will cost $0.55. Internationally, it costs $1.40 to send postcards anywhere in the world. Letters cost $1.45 to send within the Asia Pacific region and $2.10 to anywhere else in the world.^[1]. It is also possible to send things as parcels or by express mail.