Planning a trip to Brisbane
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, Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm, public holidays 9:30am to 4:30pm, and from 1:30pm on Anzac Day (Apr 25). It’s closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. There are also visitor information centers at the airport, and at South Bank Parklands.
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 30 m (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. Two pedestrian bridges link South Bank with the city: the Goodwill Bridge links South Bank with the City Gardens, while the Kurilpa Bridge links Tank Street, in the city center, with the Gallery of Modern Art at South Bank. To the west 5 km (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.
Neighborhoods in Brief
City CenterThe vibrant city center is where residents eat, shop, and socialize. Queen Street Mall, in the heart of town, is popular with shoppers and moviegoers, especially on weekends and Friday night (when stores stay open until 9pm). The Eagle Street financial and legal precinct has great restaurants with river views and, on Sunday, markets by the Riverside Centre tower and the Pier. Much of Brisbane’s colonial architecture is in the city center, too. Strollers, bike riders, and in-line skaters shake the summer heat in the green haven of the Brisbane City Gardens at the business district’s southern end.
Fortitude Valley[“]The Valley,”as locals call it, was once one of the sleazier parts of town. Today, it is a stomping ground for street-smart young folk who meet in restored pubs and eat in cool cafes. The lanterns, food stores, and shopping mall of Chinatown are here, too. On weekends, you’ll find Brisbane’s only alternative market, Valley Marketsin theBrunswick Street and Chinatown malls (take Turbot Street from the city center). Venture a little farther to the trendy boutiques and cafes of James Street.
New FarmAlways an appealing suburb, New Farm is an in-spot for cafe-hopping. Merthyr Street is where the action is, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. From the intersection of Wickham and Brunswick streets, follow Brunswick southeast for 13 blocks to Merthyr.
PaddingtonThis hilltop suburb, a couple of miles northwest of the city, is one of Brisbane’s most attractive. Brightly painted Queenslander cottages line the main street, Latrobe Terrace, as it winds west along a ridge top. Many of the houses have been turned into shops and cafes, where you can browse, enjoy coffee and cake, or just admire the charming architecture.
Milton & RosaliePark Road, in Milton, is not quite a little bit of Europe, but it tries hard—right down to a replica Eiffel Tower above the cafes and shops. Italian restaurants line the street, buzzing with office workers who down espressos at alfresco restaurants, scout interior-design stores for a new objet d’art, and stock up on European designer rags.
West EndThis small inner-city enclave is alive with ethnic restaurants, cafes, and the odd, interesting housewares or fashion store. Most action centers on the intersection of Vulture and Boundary streets, where Asian grocers and delis abound.
Getting Around
By Public Transportation
TransLink operates a single network of buses, trains, and ferries. For timetables and route inquiries, call TransInfo (tel. 13 12 30; www.translink.com.au). It uses an integrated ticket system, and the easiest place to buy your tickets is on the buses and ferries or at the train stations. You can also buy tickets and pick up maps and timetables at the Queen Street bus station information center (in the Myer Centre, off Queen Street Mall) and the Brisbane Visitor Information Centre in the Queen Street Mall. Tickets and electronic go-cards are also sold at some inner-city news dealers and 7-Eleven convenience stores.
A trip in a single sector or zone on the bus, train, or ferry costs A$4.80. A single ticket is good for up to 2 hours on a one-way journey on any combination of bus, train, or ferry. When traveling with a parent, kids under 5 travel free and kids 5 to 14 and students pay half fare. If you plan on using public transport a lot, it is worth investing in a go-card, which gives discounted rates (you can also buy online and just top up the card balance as you need it). This would reduce the price of a one-zone one-way trip to A$3.30. You will probably not need to travel farther than four zones on the transport system. This will cost you the princely sum of A$7.50. On weekends and public holidays, it’s cheaper to buy an off-peak ticket. The off-peak ticket is also available on weekdays, but you must plan your sightseeing around the fact that it cannot be used before 9am or between 3:30 and 7pm. You might also like to buy a SEEQ card, specially designed for visitors, which offers 3 or 5 consecutive days’travel on all public transport services, including two Airtrain trips. It also includes around A$700 worth of discounts at 80 attractions in and around Brisbane. SEEQ cards cost A$79 adults and A$40 children for 3 days or A$129 adults and A$65 children for 5 days.
By BusBuses operate from around 5am to 11pm weekdays, with less service on weekends. On Sunday, many routes stop around 5pm. Most buses depart from City Hall at King George Square, Adelaide, or Ann Street. The Loop is a free bus service that circles the city center. The Loop’s distinctive red buses run on two routes, stopping at convenient places including Central Station, Queen Street Mall, City Botanic Gardens, Riverside Centre, and King George Square. Look for the red bus stops. They run every 15 minutes from 7am to 6pm Monday through Friday.
By FerryThe fast CityCat ferries run to many places of interest, including South Bank and the Queensland Cultural Centre; the restaurants and Sunday markets at the Riverside Centre; and New Farm Park, not far from the cafes of Merthyr Street. They run every half-hour between the University of Queensland to the south of the city center, and Hamilton to the north (a route of around 20 km/12 miles). Slower but more frequent CityFerry service (the Inner City and Cross River ferries) has stops at points including the south end of South Bank Parklands, Kangaroo Point, and Edward Street right outside the Brisbane City Gardens. Ferries run from around 6 m to 10:30pm daily. Two hours on the CityCat takes you the entire length of the run (and there’s free Wi-Fi on board too!).
By TrainBrisbane’s suburban rail network is fast, quiet, safe, and clean. Trains run from around 5am to midnight (until about 11pm on Sun). All trains leave Central Station, between Turbot and Ann streets at Edward Street.
By BicycleCityCycle (tel. 1300/229 253; www.citycycle.com.au) has 150 bike parking stations across inner city Brisbane, with bright yellow bikes and helmets (compulsory by law) to hire. You can hire a bike between 5am and 10pm daily and return it to the station at any time. You can buy a subscription for A$2 a day or A$11 a week, and the first 30 minutes of hire is free. After that, usage charges start from A$2.20. Two to three hours will cost A$20, and 24 hours A$165—so unless you are only planning a short ride, it’s cheaper to hire a bike elsewhere.
By Car or Taxi
Brisbane’s grid of one-way streets can be confusing, so plan your route before setting out. Brisbane’s biggest parking lot is at the Myer Centre (off Elizabeth St.), open 24 hours (tel. 07/3229 1699). Most hotels and motels have free parking for guests.
Avis (tel. 13 63 33 or 07/3247 0577), Budget (tel. 1300/362 848 in Australia or 07/3220 0699), Europcar (tel. 13 13 90 in Australia or 07/3006 7440), Hertz (tel. 13 30 39 or 07/3221 6166) and Thrifty (tel. 07/3006 3255 in Australia) all have outlets in the city center.
For a taxi, call Yellow Cabs (tel. 13 19 24 in Australia) or Black and White Taxis (tel. 13 32 22 in Australia). There are taxi stands at each end of Queen Street Mall, on Edward Street and on George Street (outside the Treasury Casino).
Fast Facts
ATMs/BanksBanks are open Monday through Thursday 9:30am to 4pm, until 5pm on Friday.
Business Hours: Brisbane shops are open Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm, Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 5:30pm, and Sunday 10am to 6pm. On Friday evening in the city, the Queen Street Mall is abuzz with cinemagoers and revelers; the late (until 9pm) shopping night in Paddington is Thursday. Some restaurants close Monday night, Tuesday night, or both; bars are generally open from 10 or 11am until midnight.
Dentists: CalmDental, 171 Moray St., New Farm (tel. 07/3358 1333), is open 8am to 8pm Monday through Thursday, 8am to 5pm Friday, and 8am to 3pm weekends. For after-hours emergencies, call for recorded info on who to contact.
Doctors & Hospitals: The Royal Brisbane Hospital is about a 15-minute drive from the city at Herston Road, Herston (tel. 07/3636 8111).The Travel Doctor (tel. 07/3221 9066; www.thetraveldoctor.com.au) is on Level 5, 247 Adelaide St., between Creek and Edward streets. It’s open Monday to Friday 8am to 4:30pm (until 5pm Mon and 7pm Wed) and Saturday 8:30am to 2pm. For after-hours emergencies, call tel. 0408/199 166.
Embassies & Consulates: The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have no representation in Brisbane. The British Consulate is at Level 9, 100 Eagle St. (tel. 07/3223 3200). It is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm.
Emergencies: Dial tel. 000 for fire, ambulance, or police help in an emergency. This is a free call from a private or public telephone. Lifeline (tel. 13 11 14) is a 24-hour emotional crisis counseling service.
Internet Access: The State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, South Bank (tel. 07/3840 7666; www.slq.qld.gov.au), has free Internet and computer access, as well as wireless, on levels 1 to 4. The library is open Monday through Thursday 10am to 8pm and Friday through Sunday 10am to 5pm.
Mail & Postage:The General Post Office is at 261 Queen St., opposite Post Office Square. It is open Monday through Friday 7am to 6pm and Saturday 10am to 1:30pm.
Newspapers & Magazines: The Courier-Mail (Mon–Sat) and the Sunday Mail are Brisbane’s daily newspapers. Another good news source is the online newspaper Brisbane Times(www.brisbanetimes.com.au). The free weekly Brisbane News magazine is a good guide to dining, entertainment, and shopping.
Pharmacies (Chemist Shops): The Pharmacy on the Mall, 141 Queen St. (tel. 07/3221 4585), is open Monday through Thursday 7am to 9pm, Friday 7am to 9:30pm, Saturday 8am to 9pm, Sunday 8:30am to 6pm, and public holidays 9am to 7:30pm.
Police: Dial tel. 000 in an emergency, or tel. 13 14 44 for police headquarters. Police are stationed 24 hours a day at 67 Adelaide St. (tel. 07/3224 4444).
SafetyBrisbane is relatively crime free, but as in any large city, be aware of your personal safety, especially when you’re out at night. Stick to well-lit streets and busy precincts.
Getting There
Arriving
BY PLANE
About 30 international airlines serve Brisbane from Europe, North America, Asia, and New Zealand. From North America, you can fly direct from Los Angeles to Brisbane on Qantas, but from other places you will likely fly to Sydney first, and then take a connecting flight to Brisbane, or come via Auckland, New Zealand.
Qantas (tel. 13 13 13 in Australia; www.qantas.com.au) and its subsidiary QantasLink (book through Qantas) operate daily flights from all state capitals, Cairns, Townsville, and several other towns. Jetstar (tel. 13 15 38 in Australia; www.jetstar.com.au) has daily service from the Queensland centers of Cairns, Townsville, Proserpine, and Hamilton Island, as well as Sydney, Melbourne, and other Australian cities. Virgin Australia (tel. 13 67 89 in Australia; www.virginaustralia.com.au) offers direct services from all capital cities as well as Cairns, Townsville, Hamilton Island, and Proserpine in the Whitsundays, and other centers. Tigerair (tel. 03/9335 3033; www.tigerairways.com.au) flies from Sydney and Melbourne, too.
Brisbane International Airport (www.bne.com.au) is 16 km (10 miles) from the city, and the domestic terminal is 2 km (1[bf]1/4 miles) farther away. An inter-terminal bus costs A$5, or you can catch the train for the same price. If you are traveling on Virgin Australia, the train is free upon showing your boarding pass. The arrivals floor of the international terminal, on Level 2, has a check-in counter for passengers transferring to domestic flights and an information desk to meet all flights, help with flight inquiries, dispense tourist information, and make hotel bookings. Travelex currency-exchange bureaus are on the departures and arrivals floors. Avis (tel. 07/3633 8666), Budget (tel. 1300/362 848 in Australia), Europcar (tel. 13 13 90 in Australia), Hertz (tel. 07/3860 4996) Thrifty (tel. 3000 8200), and local company Red Spot Rentals (tel. 07/3860 5766) have desks on Level 2. On levels 2, 3, and 4 you will find ATMs, free showers, and baby-changing rooms. The domestic terminal has a Travelex currency-exchange bureau, ATMs, showers, and the big four car-rental desks. For security reasons, luggage lockers are not available at either terminal.
Con-x-ion (tel. 07/5556 9888; www.con-x-ion.com) runs a shuttle between the airport and city hotels and the Brisbane Transit Centre every 30 minutes from 5am to 11pm. The one-way cost is A$15 per person (or A$25 for two; cheaper the more in your group). The trip takes about 40 minutes. No public buses serve the airport. A taxi to the city costs around A$35, plus a A$3.30 airport fee for departing taxis.
Airtrain (tel. 1800/119 091 in Australia or 07/3216 3308; www.airtrain.com.au), a rail link between the city and Brisbane’s domestic and international airport terminals, runs every 15 minutes from around 5:45am to 10pm daily. Fares from the airport to city stations are A$16 per adult one-way, A$30 round-trip; kids aged 14 and under travel free. The trip takes about 20 minutes. A taxi between terminals costs about A$12.
BY TRAIN
Queensland Rail (tel. 1800/872 467 in Australia; www.queenslandrail.com.au) operates several long-distance trains to Brisbane from Cairns. The high-speed Tilt Train takes about 24 hours and costs A$369 for business class. The slower Sunlander takes 32 hours and costs A$161 for a sitting berth, from A$268 for a sleeper, or A$899 for the all-inclusive Queenslander class. NSW TrainLink (tel. 13 22 32 in Australia; www.nswtrainlink.info) runs two daily train services to Brisbane from Sydney. The 7:15am departure arrives in the town of Casino, south of the border, at about 7pm, where passengers transfer to a bus for the rest of the trip to Brisbane, arriving at about 10:30pm. The overnight train leaves Sydney at 4:10pm and arrives in Brisbane at 6:30am the next day. Fares vary slightly but cost around A$91 for an adult economy seat or A$122 for a first-class seat. A sleeper costs A$216.
All intercity and interstate trains pull into the city center’s Brisbane Transit Centre at Roma Street, often called the Roma Street Transit Centre. From here, most city and Spring Hill hotels are a few blocks’walk or a quick cab ride away. The station has food outlets, showers, tourist information, and lockers.
Queensland Rail CityTrain (tel. 13 12 30 in Queensland) provides daily train service from the Sunshine Coast and plentiful service from the Gold Coast.
By Bus
All intercity and interstate coaches pull into the Brisbane Transit Centre (see “By Train,”previously). Greyhound Australia (tel. 1300/473 946 in Australia or 07/3236 3035 for the Brisbane terminal; www.greyhound.com.au) serves the city several times daily. A one-way Cairns-Brisbane ticket costs A$309; the trip takes nearly 30 hours. The Sydney-Brisbane trip takes about 17 hours and costs A$182 one-way.
By Car
The Bruce Highway from Cairns enters the city from the north. The Pacific Highway enters Brisbane from the south.
