Don’t let Brisbane’s easy-going, sub-tropical ambience fool you. There is plenty to do; visit islands, savour mouth-watering cuisine and fine local wines or soak up the arts or sporting lifestyle.
Known as the City of Sun Days, Brisbane enjoys great weather, a relaxed pace of life and all the cosmopolitan bustle of a major urban hub. It doesn’t seem to matter what time of year it is – there’s always something exciting happening in this vibrant city. You’ll find the best in arts and culture, entertainment and sports events as well as good food, wine and shopping. For arts and culture, the serious head to South Bank, home of the Queensland Museum, with its hands-on interactive displays, and the Queensland Art Gallery, its walls adorned with a magnificent collection of artworks. Or you can catch a world-class performance at the Performing Arts Centre where international theatre companies and performing artists take the stage along with Australian performing arts companies.
For exciting sports action, find a seat in the stadium to see local rugby league champions, the Brisbane Broncos, take to the field. During winter, rugby union fans head to Ballymore to watch the Wallabies take on the world. Over at the Gabba sports ground, the Brisbane Lions fight off challengers in the Aussie Rules football code. In summer, the Gabba lights up for international cricket tests and one-day matches.
If you want to shop, head for the designer boutiques and department stores of Queens Street Mall and check out the bustling markets around the city.
Music, dancing, partying, live shows, good times – there’s plenty more going on in the City of Sun Days and fun nights.
Brisbane’s sapphire blue Moreton Bay offers plenty of watery activities. Charter a boat, discover reefs edging the dozens of islands, or catch your own dinner. Moreton Bay’s protected waters are home to 155 islands, and each one offers different holiday opportunities. Choose a private escape for two or loads of family fun. Explore islands prized for their white sandy beaches and quiet camping spots. Meet a local or two, and discover the local history. One island was even a feared Penal Colony!
Dining out in Brisbane is as culturally colourful as the city itself. The atmosphere is delightfully al fresco with an emphasis on original menus focusing on fresh, unfussy food and wines with flair. Creative menus offer local delicacies such as Moreton Bay bugs and fresh tropical produce alongside exotic Asian delights, simple Mediterranean meals and traditional European fare. The choice of restaurant settings is unlimited. Watch boats pass by while tantalising your tastebuds at any number of the city's stylish waterfront restaurants and brasseries. Or head for Brisbane's inner-city precincts and peruse the menus of dozens of top outdoor eateries. You'll find Italian cafes, fast and fun noodle bars, all-day breakfast joints, wine bars and truly outstanding brasseries.

Until the late 1970s Brisbane was no more than a country town serving the rural activities of the hinterland of Queensland. It was then developed with modern office-block skyscrapers, shopping malls and hotels, demolishing many of the older buildings. Cheap land and housing attracted immigrants from other parts of the country and the suburbs spread for miles in all directions; the city is now the third largest in Australia with a population of over 898,000. The city centre straddles the river and is a fairly compact 2 mls from N to S and 1 ml from E to W, but it has no great architecture or natural sights to attract the international tourist. The old Expo '88 site on the S bank of the river has left a pleasant parkland area (South Bank Parklands), but there are no iconic city sites worth flying halfway round the world to see, especially when compared with its rival, Sydney. It is often used as a transit point for tourists arriving or leaving Australia and is the gateway to the Gold Coast resorts to the S and the Sunshine Coast to the N. The hilly suburb of Spring Hill to the N has various parks and views over the city and river but little else. Fortitude Valley to the NE offers a Chinatown district and downmarket shopping by day but is probably best avoided at night unless you go prepared for a seedy red-light district which may not be entirely safe for unwary tourists.

Corporate visitors on business, people visiting friends and relatives, transit passengers and Gold Coast visitors.

4- and 5-star chain hotels catering almost exclusively for business people. 2- and 3-stars for short-stay transit passengers.

No real beaches worthy of the name nearer than the Gold Coast, 40 mls S. However, the artificial beach by the swimming "lagoon" in the South Bank Parkland satisfies any urge to build sand castles.

Queen Street Mall and Myer Centre department store offer all the things that could be bought in any shopping mall or department store in the UK, plus bush hats and toy koalas. A weekend market operates in South Bank.

Daytime: botanic gardens; Government House; art gallery; river cruises. Street entertainers seem to abound, especially at weekends in South Bank and Queen Street Mall. South Bank also offers a re-creation of a rainforest and various other attractions to pass the time. Nightlife: discos, some jazz clubs, casino, cinemas, occasional concerts.

Less formal than many other parts of Australia with the accent on eating out of doors; a choice from many countries - especially Asian - is available as well as plentiful fast-food outlets.

Plenty of local buses around the city and along the coast. Trains to all suburbs. Regular Sea Cat ferries cross the river at several points. Metered taxis.

Catamaran trip to Moreton Bay Island National Park for dolphin feeding, sand tobogganing and whale-watching (June to Oct). Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to see Aussie animals. Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, rainforest and planetarium.

Halfway down the E coast of Australia, in the SE corner of the state of Queensland, of which it is the capital. 470 mls NE of Sydney. 58 mls N of Surfers Paradise. 12 mls SW of the airport.

The city centre sits on a flat N-shore promontory in a tight loop in the Brisbane River, which at this point is about 250 yds wide. The open sea at Moreton Bay is 10 mls downstream. The surrounding plain is flat as far as a small range of hills dominated by Mt Coot-tha, 5 mls to the W.

Telephone Area Code: 7
Post Code: 4000
Website: www.brisbanetourism.com.au

Airport : Brisbane International Airport
Airport Code: BNE
Flight time from ther U.K.: 24 hrs