After more than 20-hour flight, finally we arrived
in Brisbane, the hearth of Queensland, and we couldn’t do a better choice! Brissie,
as Australian likes to appoint, is a cosmopolitan city with thousands of
opportunities to get and it’s provided with an exceptional public
transportation. For example, at the beginning of our stay, we were living
outside the city center, but we had several ways to reach downtown without
taking much time.
Thanks to our Italian university program, we
didn’t have any problem to find the
accommodation because they provided for us a wonderful host family, in a quite and green area far from the CBD. If you don’t book anything for your stay
you shouldn’t be worried, just have a look at the map, go to Milton (in the
CBD) and you will find the solution! Lots of backpacker hostel always wait to
welcome new people and you will have the opportunity to meet young travelers
and make new friendships.
While you are in Milton go for a visit at the
Suncorp stadium ( http://www.suncorpstadium.com.au/ ), if you are lucky you can find the
Reds or the Broncos playing, otherwise just have an alcoholic tour at the
iconic brewery XXXX ( http://www.xxxx.com.au/agegate ), located just in front of the
stadium. If you are not interested in rugby and coldies you can always have a
good meal in Milton Road where you can find the best Italian food in the city.
Do you love cycling and running? Well,
Coronation Drive (close to Milton) is what you are looking for! Along the road
you can ride your bicycle, join the best view of the Brisbane river and on your
way back if you are tired to exercise you can also take the City Cat ( http://translink.com.au/ ).The ferry boat, operates by
Translink, stops almost everywhere, but
if you don’t live on the riverside this mean you will need to do other
work out….no pain no gain! If you like cycling, but for obvious reasons your
customize and fancy bicycle is in your home country, you can always hire
a public bike in one of the several stations across the city (for more info have
a look on the Brisbane Council website, in particular to the CityCycle service
and you will find prices an news about it).
First step: accommodation. Second step: new
friends. Third step? Have some fun! The place where you can have fun is
definitely Fortitude Valley. Every night, in particular on Friday and Saturday
night, you can enjoy a drink in one of the several bars and pubs or otherwise
you can have entertainment for adult. But this area is not only the epicenter
of the nightlife, it is also famous to be considered the Chinatown district. Located
in Fortitude Valley you can find the Chinatown mall, one of the biggest mall in
the city and it is a hub able to host markets and special events. Another
“alcoholic area” of the city is Riverside, but compared with FV is more fancy
and expensive but absolutely a best location to get in hangover!
If you are looking for a different kind of fun
you can always have an Aussie BBQ in one of the several parks of the city
provided with public grills, but keep in mind to go early there otherwise you
won’t find any available grill, especially on the weekend. The parks where I advise you to go are: New
farm at the Merthyr Park or if you are looking for something more quite the
areas close to the University of Queensland are a perfect location. But if you
want to do the best barbie in Brissie you must go to South Bank!
Let’s speak about South Bank, without dubs the
best area of the city. Before coming to Brisbane you should know that
unfortunately there isn't opportunity to go to the beach despite Brissie is
located on the ocean because airport, port and the river flow make swimming
impossible. But again, don’t worry mate! South Bank is here to help your needs
of tan and refreshing because this is absolutely the place to be in a sunny and
humid weekend day if you don’t decide to leave for other destination! South
Bank is the premier lifestyle and cultural destination, host festivals, events,
top restaurants, shops and the famous Wheel of Brisbane. The parkland is home
of rainforest, plazas, riverfront promenade and amazing public swimming pools
as you can see from the pics below.
Another place that worth a visit is West End,
mix of superb bars and restaurants where you can enjoy the cosmopolitan culture
of Brissie. Italian, French, Greek and
Thai restaurants are waiting for your good taste, the Saturday market is a
darling and then there is “The Bearded Lady”, the pub of our friend Chris ( http://thebeardedlady.com.au/ ) is a mix of graffiti, recycled wood cabin,
music and cool drinks…. In other words is the coolest pub ever!
Last but not least Queen street, this is the
hearth of Brisbane. Here you will find a pedestrian road and the one of the most
important mall of the city: Queen street mall. Inside the mall there are many
restaurants, shops and cinemas in order to make your stay in Brisbane an
unforgettable moment.
SHOPS and MALLS
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INTERESTING PLACES
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Queen Street Mall: the heart of Brisbane have
everything you need
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Lone Pine
Sanctuary:
rated as one of the best zoo in the world, have several animals among which
there are koalas and kangaroos
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Chinatown Mall: here you can find cheap
accessories and a supply of Chinese and oriental food
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Eat Street Market: every Friday and Saturday night
from 4pm to 10pm you have the opportunity to try foodies delight in more than
50 food stands
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Indooroopilly
Shopping Centre: best mall in the city. Top food court, flagship shops, top
international brand make shopping a great experience also for those who
generally prefer to join a wonderful day outside
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Ekka: is the largest cultural festival
of Queensland, cover an area of 22 hectares, located in the suburb of Bowen
Hills. Check out on their website the date of the annual event, typically is
between July and August
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DFO: the outlet shopping close to the
airport have many Australian and International brand and the products are
really cheap!
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Moreton Island: is the National Park island
situated just in front of the city. An amazing place where you can be
involved in the nature and in contact with animals
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Click on the link below to discover Brisbane and its secrets
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