City Centre
Follow the golden arrows set into the footpath for a walking tour of Brisbane's
remaining early buildings. The best old buildings, notably the Mansions
and Harris Terrace, line George St. Also on the same street are the Old
Government House and Parliament House, both dating from the 1860s. The
Old Windmill & Observatory on Wickham Terrace, dates from 1828. It
was originally built to grind grain for the early convict colony but,
due to a fundamental design error, failed to work properly. It was converted
to a signal post and later to a meteorological observatory. The Italianate,
sandstone Treasury building on the banks of the Brisbane River has undergone
an appropriate metamorphosis into the Conrad Treasury Casino.
Queensland Cultural Centre
This superb complex spans two blocks either side of Melbourne St in South
Brisbane, just across Victoria Bridge. It houses the Queensland Art Gallery,
the Queensland Museum, the State Library and the Performing Arts Complex.
The museum has a dinosaur garden and a worthwhile exhibition on whales;
the art gallery has an impressive permanent Australian collection and
plenty of temporary exhibits. There are cafes in the Performing Arts Complex,
the gallery and library.
South Bank Parklands
South Bank, formerly the site of Expo '88, has been redeveloped and is
now one of the city's liveliest areas. Covering 16 hectares (40 acres),
its attractions include restaurants and cafes, and IMAX theatre, parklands
and bike paths, a butterfly house, market stalls and even a sandy swimming
beach.
Mt Coot-tha
The best place to get a view of the city is from the lookout on Mt Coot-tha,
8k (5mi) from the city centre. On a clear day, you can see the distant
line of Moreton and Stradbroke Islands, the Glasshouse Mountains to the
north, the mountains behind the Gold Coast to the south and Brisbane at
your feet. There are some good walks around Mt Coot-Tha and its foothills,
such as the one to JC Slaughter Falls on Simpson's Rd. The Mt Coot-Tha
Botanic Gardens, at the foot of the mountain, have an enclosed tropical
dome, an arid zone, rainforests and a Japanese garden. You'll also find
the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, the largest in Australia, here.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Just a 35 minute bus ride south from the city centre, the Lone Pine Koala
Sanctuary is an easy half-day trip. The sanctuary is set in attractive
parklands beside the river (you can get there by boat) and is home to
a wide variety of Australian wildlife, including kangaroos, possums, wombats,
emus and lyrebirds. The star attractions are the 130 or so koalas. They're
undeniably cute and most visitors readily cough up the cash to have their
picture taken hugging one. Hand-feeding the tame kangaroos is cheaper.
You can bring your own food and picnic among the marsupials in their large,
paddock-like enclosure. Talks are given on the animals at set times throughout
the day.
Markets
The popular South Bank markets, which feature craft and clothing stalls,
are open every Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. Every Sunday, the
carnival-style Eagle St Pier markets have 150 stalls featuring glass blowing,
weaving and other crafts. The small Fortitude Valley market, held on Saturdays
in Brunswick St Mall, has a diverse array of junk, crafts and clothes.
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Brisbane's Eagle Farm airport
is a busy international arrival and departure point with frequent flights
to Asia, Europe, the Pacific islands, North America, New Zealand and Papua
New Guinea. The main bus terminal is the Transit Centre on Roma St, and
all the main bus companies arrive and leave from here. Buses run to Sydney,
Melbourne, Adelaide and Cairns, as well as towns up and down the coast.
Trains also arrive at the Transit Centre. There are direct trains to Sydney,
but if you want to go any further south or west, you'll have to go via
Sydney. Rail travel within Queensland is slower and more expensive than
the bus, but it's often more comfortable, and you can get rail passes.
Getting Around
A shuttle bus runs between the airport and the Transit Centre about every
half-hour till mid-evening. There are also shuttle buses to the Gold and
Sunshine Coasts. A taxi into the city centre will cost about US$10-15.
In addition to normal city buses, there are Cityxpress services which
run between the city centre and the suburbs, and Rockets (fast peak-hour
commuter buses). The fast Citytrain network has seven lines, and there
is an efficient ferry service along and across the Brisbane River. There
is a riverside bicycle track from the City Botanic Gardens out to the
University of Queensland. |