Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

The Brisbane Visitor Information Centre (tel. 07/3006 6290; www.visitbrisbane.com.au) is in the Queen Street Mall, between Edward and Albert streets. It's open Monday through Thursday from 9am to 5:30pm, Friday 9am to 7pm or later, Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday and public holidays 9:30am to 4:30pm, and from 1:30pm on Anzac Day (Apr 25). It's closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. The Brisbane City Council website, www.ourbrisbane.com, and the Brisbane Transit Centre (tel. 07/3236 2020) are other good sources of information.

City Layout

The city center's office towers shimmer in the sun on the north bank of a curve of the Brisbane River. At the tip of the curve are the lush Brisbane City Gardens (sometimes called the City Botanic Gardens). The 30m (98-ft.) sandstone cliffs of Kangaroo Point rise on the eastern side of the south bank; to the west are the South Bank Parklands and the Queensland Cultural Centre, known as South Bank. The Goodwill Bridge, for pedestrians and bikes only, links South Bank with the City Gardens. To the west 5km (3 miles), Mount Coot-tha (pronounced Coo-tha) looms out of the flat plain.

Main Arteries & Streets -- It's easy to find your way around central Brisbane once you know that the east-west streets are named after female British royalty, and the north-south streets are named after their male counterparts. The northernmost is Ann, followed by Adelaide, Queen, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Mary, Margaret, and Alice. From east to west, the streets are Edward, Albert, George, and William, which becomes North Quay, flanking the river's northeast bank.

Queen Street, the main thoroughfare, becomes a pedestrian mall between Edward and George streets. Roma Street exits the city diagonally to the northwest. Ann Street leads all the way east into Fortitude Valley. The main street in Fortitude Valley is Brunswick Street, which runs into New Farm.

Street Maps -- The Brisbane Map, free from the Brisbane Visitor Information Centre or your hotel concierge, is a lightweight map that shows the river and suburbs as well as the city. It's great for drivers because it shows parking lots and one-way streets on the city grid. It can also be downloaded from www.ourbrisbane.com. Rental cars usually come with street directories. Newsdealers and some bookstores sell this map; the state auto club, the RACQ, in the General Post Office, 261 Queen St. (tel. 13 19 05), is also a good source.