Brisbane Things to Do Tips by Jez79

Built on the Expo 88 site, South Bank has become a mecca for locals and visitors to Brisbane. It's a great place for a picnic, a stroll or ride along the river front, an evening out or a family gathering. On special events, the places is packed, and there is often fireworks displays. South Bank is across the river from the City, and you can walk across the bridge or catch the bus/ train/ ferry/Citycat. Parking is also available. The Queensland museum, State library and Performing Arts Complex and Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre are also all located around South Bank.

The parklands includes:

Picnic facilities:
Spread across the parklands and overlooking gardens, the beach, Brisbane city and the river, facilities include BBQ's, covered seating areas, water and public toilets. You can bring your own food or opt for something from the numerous snack bars and take away places.

On hot summer days in Brisbane, locals and tourists flock to South Bank to cool off at the beach, situated in the middle of South Bank, overlooking the city. The beach is patrolled by a life guard, but if you don't want to get wet you can relax on the sand and enjoy the view. If you're looking for a place to enjoy the quiet, avoid South Bank in summer!!

Weekend markets:
The South Bank Art and Craft markets, which operates Friday 5pm until10pm, Saturday 11am until 5pm, and Sunday 9am until 5pm. The Farmers and Fresh Seafood markets are held from 7am to 12 noon on every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.

Restaurants, bars and coffee shops:
South Bank and the surrounding area has developed into a funky little community of restaurants and bars. The cuisine varies (check out the website for a full list), as do the prices, but there are some good eats to be found.

For information about upcoming events, accommodation options and any other information you'd like about South Bank, contact the Visitor Information Centre.

Stanley Street Plaza, South Bank
PO Box 2001
SOUTH BANK QLD 4101

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Phone: 61 7 3867 2051
Address: South Brisbane
Directions: Across the river from Brisbane City, on the way to West End.
Website: http://www.south-bank.net.au/
Other Contact: info@south-bank.net.au

Brisbane offers a diverse range of shopping opportunities. If you're after markets, check out my other tip for times and places. If shopping centres (malls) are your thing, you don't have to look too far. Many of Brisbane's suburbs have large shopping centres with everything from grocery stores to movie theatres to clothing and homewares. Brisbane's CBD has a concentration of stores, centred around the Queen Street Mall. The QSM, Myer Centre, Broadway and Wintergarden sell anything and everything, with department stores, music outlets, cosmetics and pamper products, clothing, homewares, shoes, and so on. There are additional shopping opportunities in the streets surrounding the QSM. For more boutique, designer clothing, you can check out Edward Street (bottom of QSM) and the area down towards the Brisbane River, the Brisbane Arcade (middle of QSM), or the Elizabeth Arcade (off Elizabeth St, parallel to Queen St). Fortitude Valley is also a great place to get some original, funky designs.

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Directions: Various locations across the CBD and dwontown (fortitude Valley/ New Farm)

Brisbane's Chinatown Mall was established in 1987 in Duncan St, Fortitude Valley, an area where Asian traders had long been based. The Mall was refurbished in 1996, with rotunda's, pagoda's and lions in the style of the Tang Dynasty. A water garden was also added, with the fountain and pond symbolising good fortune. Chinatown is the hub of Asian trade in Brisbane, with a variety of supermarkets, restaurants, trinket and clothing shops, Chinese medicine specialists and markets on the weekends. During Chinese New Year, the area comes alive with celebrations and performances. If you're after a Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai or Korean meal, Chinatown and the surrounding area has a myriad of delicious choices.

Some people might recognise Chinatown from some scenes in Jackie Chan's movie First Strike.

Parallel to the Chinatown Mall is the Brunswick St Mall, which has markets on Saturday's and a variety of pubs and restaurants worth looking at. A short drive away is New Farm Park, which is great for a barbecue or to kick a footy around. There is also a nice river walk and an expensive cafe.

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Address: Duncan St, Fortitude Valley (downtown Brisbane)

Downtown Brisbane was once the seedier area of the city. It is now undergoing a transformation, with restaurants, shops, gallery's and inner city apartments springing up all over the place. Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Spring Hill and the surrounding suburbs make for an interesting day out. Parallel to the Chinatown Mall is the Brunswick St Mall, which has markets on Saturday's and a variety of stores, pubs and restaurants worth looking at.

The style of the Valley is very different to that of the CBD, with shopping opportunities including markets, boutique fashion stores, op shops, outdoor adventure retailers, designer homewares, expensive cars, a variety of cheap trinket/ homeware stores. Mixed in with this are strip clubs and girlie bars, and a myriad of other places to eat, drink and be merry.

A short drive away is New Farm Park, which is great for a barbecue or to kick a footy around. There is also a nice river walk and an expensive cafe.

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Football is one of the most popular sports in Australia. For those that don't know, Rugby League is played on a rectangle field, with goal lines at either end. Points are scored by 'tries' (4 points), when the ball is put to the ground over the goal line. Tries can be convertedby kicking the ball through the goal posts (2 points). Field goals (1 point) are scored when the ball is kicked between the posts without a try, and penalty goals are worth 2 points.

Rugby League is the roughest of all codes, and is a lot of fun to watch. Aussie's get very passionate about their footy, so a live game is a great experience. Brisbane's home team is the Brisbane Broncos. They have recently moved to an upgraded staduim, which is said to be one of the best in Australia. It is located just out of the CBD, and is easily accessable by public transport. The cost of a train/ bus is included in the ticket price if you buy tickets before the game day.

If you happen to be in Brisbane around May/ June/ July, keep an eye out for the State of Origin football matches. These are played between Queensland and New South Wales, and are usually the most intense rugby league games to watch. There are three games in the series, with the victory awarded to whoever wins the most games. During Origin time, primitive man (and woman) tends to re-emerge with a vengance. It's hard to fully describe the intensity of a stadium full of people out-screeming each other in support of their team. Maybe you can experience it for yourself??

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Directions: Suncorp Staduim, Milton
(beside XXXX Brewery)
Website: http://www.suncorpstadium.com.au/

Aussie Rules football (AFL) is a totally different experience to Rugby League. It is a 360 degree game played on an oval field, with two main goal posts and another two posts at either side of the main posts. Goals between the two main posts score 6 points, and if the ball goes between a main post and a side post, it scores 1 point.

Brisbane's home team is the Brisbane Lions, who have won the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons. Brisbane's home ground is the Brisbane Cricket Ground, known as 'the Gabba'.

AFL is fast and fascinating game to watch, and the Gabba is a great venue. AFL has become extremely popular in Queensland, and the atmosphere is almost electric in the staduim, with huge crowds most of the season. Be prepared for vocal fans, lots of flags and other merchandise, and the occasional arguments between opposing team suporters. You've gotta love passion!

AFL goes for 4 quarters, each lasting between 20 to 30 minutes. At the end of the game the anthem of the winning team is played. When the players have left the field, an additional siren means you can run onto the field. There's always a race to see who can make it to the centre first. If you'd like to kick a football around the grounds and see how you'd go getting a goal from 50 metres, bring a ball and join the thousands of other people having a go.

Ticket prices for the AFL can be a bit steep, starting at $20 for General admission, and around $40 for terrace seats. Public transport runs overtime on game days, so check out the times in the local train or bus station you'll be coming from.

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Directions: The Gabba, located in Woolangabba, Brisbane, very close to the City
Other Contact: http://lions.com.au/

Brisbane's Markets offer a great way of shopping. You can find almost anything you want if you look hard enough at the markets.

The Valley Markets run in the Brunswick St and Chinatown Malls (8am to 4pm Sat and Sun), and have new and pre-loved clothes, trinkets, artwork and a mixture of other stuff.

The Riverside Markets (Sunday 8am to 4pm) have grown over the years and now have a huge variety of stalls.

The Southbank markets have the usual mixture of art and craft stuff, and are also worth a look (see south Bank tip for more info).

There are also some fresh produce markets, on at South Bank on every 1st and 3rd Sunday in the month from 7am to 12pm. The other is a the Powerhouse, near New Farm Park, on the 2nd and 4th Sunday in the month, from to 11am.

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Directions: RIVERSIDE MARKETS
Riverside, Eagle Street
Every Sunday 9.00-4.00pm

SOUTHBANK MARKETS
Southbank, South Brisbane
Friday 5pm until10pm
Saturday 11am until 5pm
Sunday 9am until 5pm

Another way to make the most of a beautiful day in Brisbane is to relax in a park. Brisbane has pleanty of parkland, which is great for kicking a football around, reading, having a barbecue or just hanging out with friends. On holiday's you'll find lots of families out having a barbecue in the park. One of the things I associate with summer in Queensland is the smell of smoke from the BBQ.

South Bank Parklands, Roma Street Parklands, the Botanical Gardens, Mt Glorious, Mt Cootha and the numerous local parks are all great options.

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Mt Cootha is located about 15 minutes drive from the CBD. The lookout offers some of the most spectacular views of Brisbane. The view during the day gives an excellent view across the city, out to the bay and the hinterland, are at night the city lights are very pretty indeed.

There is a (semi-expensive) restaurant and a snack bar at the top.

For those wanting to go further than the lookout, there are picnic areas and bushwalking tracks. The 4 free to air TV stations are also located on Mt Cootha.

The Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens have an extensive collection of sub-tropical plants, which you can view on three self guided walks. The Planetarium is also fascinating, especially if you have an interest in astronomy. The place is great for family picnics ot to just sit around and relax.

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Directions: Located about 15 minutes drive from the city centre, towards Toowong and the Centenary Highway.

The Big Day Out is a music festival held on the Gold Coast (and across Australia). The concert goes from around 11am into the night, so it is indeed a very big day out. The festival features bands from all over the world. There are two main stages featuring the headline acts, The Boiler room, which has DJ's and dance music, and some smaller stages. There are also markets (food, drinks, clothes and other trinkets), a Ravesafe chill zone, and rides. ID is required if you want to drink alcohol, which is purchased with drink tickets at the venue.

The atmosphere is summer festivals is always great, though the heat and the crowds can make it pretty intense.

The BDO is usually held in January, so it's always really hot. If you go remember to bring a hat and sunscreen, or it can really hurt in the morning. Also remember to bring enough cash for the day. Food and drinks are overpriced and while there is an ATM, the lines are ridiculous. Also remember that the lines for the bathroom are outrageous, especially if you're a female, so plan ahead!! There's nothing worse than missing part of your fave band cos you're in the bathroom line!

If you're driving to the BDO, leave early, as traffic is heavy. Public transport runs from Surfers Paradise (buses) and there are trains to Helensvale station from Brisbane, with regular shuttle buses to the Parklands throughout the day. At the end of the night the buses can be packed, and one year we actually didn't make it on the last bus, cos they stopped despite the long line still waiting. Argh!!!

Drama's aside, if large music festivals are your thing, go along and have a fantastic time!!

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Address: Gold Coast Parklands
Website: www.bigdayout.com