Visit Brisbane, Australia

Brisbane (affectionately called “Brissie” by locals) is Queensland’s riverside capital, a multicultural city where a relaxed outdoor lifestyle sits alongside a flourishing mix of restaurants, galleries, and cultural spaces. Beyond its cluster of gleaming glass-and-steel high-rises, you’ll find parkland, public pools, cafés, tropical gardens, and many outdoor craft and street-food markets, with Moreton Bay and the coast's beaches close at hand to enjoy on one of the city's many sunny days.

Looping through the city, the Brisbane River acts as one of its main focal points. Here, kayakers glide past leafy banks lined with fig trees and open-air cafés, and CityCat ferries ply the waterway, while a network of paths and green spaces on the waterfront invite you to slow down and explore at your own pace.

It’s particularly pleasant to walk along the river’s South Bank area — passing a slew of handicraft stalls on Fridays and weekends — to QAGOMA (Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art). It’s a series of interconnected buildings designed partly to imitate a lightbox, and it has the feel of one big, arty campus (even the public bathrooms come with light installations).

The complex includes a library, cinema, and dedicated children’s area, and you’ll see works by both Australian and big-name international artists such as Anish Kapoor and Rachel Whiteread. Perhaps more significantly, there’s a huge section devoted to Indigenous Australian art. You’ll see not only dot paintings, but also sculptures using natural and man-made materials, textile art, Torres Strait Islander headdresses, and contemporary video and photography.

Just outside the city, on the slopes of Mount Coot-tha, you’ll find Brisbane Botanic Gardens. It contains a variety of green spaces: scallop-edged Japanese gardens, a bamboo grove, a cactus house, and Queensland’s own micro subtropical rainforest. The lake-dotted gardens are also rich in waterbirds, including herons and plovers.

Just off Brisbane’s coast, a ferry ride away, lie the islands of Moreton Bay. In this protected seascape, coastal paths lead you through regenerating dry forest, mangrove-fringed shorelines, and sheltered bays. Many wading birds migrate here for the Australian summer, and dolphins and turtles frequent the surrounding waters.

Best time to visit Brisbaine

You can visit Brisbane year-round. The city has a subtropical climate and enjoys near-permanent sunshine (on average, at least 300 days a year). Warm temperatures are enjoyed throughout much of the year, with average daytime temperatures typically ranging from 20°C to 30°C (68°F to 86°F). Summer (December to February) brings higher temperatures and humidity, so the milder months from March to November are better suited for exploring the city’s outdoor attractions.