Brisbane Australia

Brisbane is both the place to play and the place to do business in Australia. An alive and bustling city of 1.6 million people it features all the requisite offerings of the nation’s fastest growing capital – world-class facilities and ever-expanding infrastructure, unparalleled support services, and remarkable recreational experiences that take you beyond your business program.

The award-winning Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre is just the start of the city’s offerings. The world’s largest hotel and tourism groups are also represented here and are located, along with an array of unique venues perfect for welcome receptions and gala functions, within close proximity to the city centre. Couple these with truly delectable dining experiences, shopping strips fit for the fashion faithful, award-winning bars and nightclubs and a sophisticated collection of artistic encounters and you have the ideal destination for business and leisure.

But there are things that set Brisbane even further apart. Year-round magnificent weather, floating river walkways, stunning riverside parks and the world’s largest subtropical garden. Australia’s only inner city beach and truly innovative urban adventure experiences. All make Brisbane an ideal place to enjoy the outdoors.

And this is without even mentioning the trendy urban villages that surround the city centre and the quaint country townships, World Heritage-listed rainforests and stunning island escapes that lie beyond these – a mere hour or so from Brisbane’s CBD.

Queensland’s capital is not only the launching pad to a host of world-renowned attractions – the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest among these – it is the perfect urban package. A desirable, progressive and youthful leisure destination.

If you have some time to explore Brisbane, here are a few suggestions to make your visit one to remember:

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Entertainment and leisure in Brisbane

Shopping

For designer labels, stylish boutiques, fashion and homewares you can visit one of Brisbane’s many shopping precincts including:

Brisbane Queen Street Mall

Enjoy strolling in the car-free, open-air zone that is the Queen Street Mall. Historical arcades and side streets are outlets for the world’s best jewelers, chocolates and beauty products. The Myer Centre and Broadway on the Mall offer a parcel delivery service to selected city hotels.

Fortitude Valley

Youth culture and fashion dominate Ann and Brunswick Streets. The Valley also includes quality homewares, epicurean outlets, art galleries and an excellent selection of adventure and outdoor stores. The Valley markets are a unique way to spend Saturday or Sunday. To pick up essential ingredients for your Asian recipes head to Chinatown in the Valley.

Paddington

Stretching from bustling Caxton Street in the east, through Brisbane’s own Silicon Valley in Milton, to the intimacy of Rosalie Village in the west, the Paddington area has something for everyone. From delicious desserts and live comedy to great steaks and good pubs, Paddington has everything you could want for a night out. It’s also a great place to shop, with a tremendous range of interesting furnishing, fashion and home design stores.

Southbank

Shopping is fun at the Friday night and weekend markets, with 140 food, art and craft stalls. Unique gifts can be found along Little Stanley Street or stores at the Queensland Art Gallery and QPAC.

South East Queensland

All bases are covered during a stay in South East Queensland. Here is the opportunity to enjoy a truly urban experience in the state capital Brisbane, safe in the knowledge that you are still within arm’s reach of quintessential Australian country, coast and hinterland experiences.

Travel just one hour south east of the city centre and find yourself at the Gold Coast admiring 70km of sun-drenched beaches, fabulous theme parks and a truly frenetic lifestyle. Inland of the Gold Coast, and easily accessible from Brisbane, is the 20,200 hectare World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park, not to mention some of Queensland’s most highly awarded vineyards.

Venture off the South East Queensland coastline and explore the southern bay islands of North Stradbroke and Moreton – part of the highest concentration of sand islands in the world. Both remain relatively untouched despite there overwhelming natural beauty.

But not all of us yearn for sun, surf and sand. And it’s just as well for Brisbane is also a stone’s throw from the Scenic Rim – encompassing the state’s oldest provincial city Ipswich, the charming country township of Boonah, and the wineries and World Heritage-listed rainforests of Beaudesert.

Queensland

Brisbane is truly the perfect launch pad to Queensland’s world-renowned attractions. Less than one hour south east of the state capital lays the Gold Coast with its 70km of sun-drenched open beaches, theme parks and frenetic lifestyle. Travel the same distance north and find yourself exploring the gorgeous beaches and spectacular hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. Then there’s Fraser Island – the largest sand island in the world, the Great Barrier Reef – over 1,500km of majestic coral home to the greatest variety of flora and fauna species found in any one location in the world, and the Whitsunday Islands – an archipelago of green islands and sandy atolls in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. This is without mentioning the Daintree – 1200km of pristine World Heritage-listed rainforest, and the ‘outback’ – 1 million square kilometres of red plains, deserts and tropical wetlands.

Australia

A Brisbane base means easy access to the rest of Australia and some of the world’s greatest attractions. See Sydney with its stunning Harbour and world-famous Opera House, the famous wine producing regions of the Hunter and Barossa Valleys or Margaret River (New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia respectively), the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and Uluru in the Northern Territory – Australia’s rugged red centre, not to mention our capital territory Canberra – where visitors can take a stroll around Parliament House and the breathtakingly beautiful War Memorial.

Websites

To assist with planning your trip, we suggest that you explore the wonderful travel opportunities available in Queensland via the following web sites:

Experience Brisbane: www.visitbrisbane.com.au

Our Brisbane: www.ourbrisbane.com.au

Tourism Queensland: www.queenslandholidays.com.au

Australian Tourist Commission: www.australia.com

Australian Immigration Department: www.immi.gov.au/visitors