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Bold, Bright and Buzzy: Your 3-Day Brisbane Blueprint
From shimmering riverfronts to rooftops with soaring skyline views, Brisbane – AKA Brissy – is a high energy cocktail of laid back golden sunshine and big city ambition. Keep reading for your 3 day Brisbane Blueprint.
Brisbane was the start of a 3 week road trip along the spectacular East Coast of Australia. You can read more about our journey on the next post.
First established back in 1825 as a harsh place of exile and punishment for re-offending convicts sent from Sydney, Brisbane has since transformed itself into a thriving, modern city. Early on, Brisbane was dependent on maritime trade, but as ships grew larger, the development of a dry dock in Morningside and container terminals at the mouth of the Brisbane River shifted operations to modern, efficient facilities, contributing to the decline of the South Brisbane site and its reincarnation as a modern River City.
These days, Brisbane’s waterfront – lined with vibrant bars and restaurants – provides a well used running/cycling track ideal for the accommodating the high energy, outdoor lifestyle Aussies love.
This 3-day blueprint is designed to help you explore the best of what this bold, bright and buzzy urban playground has to offer.
Where We Stayed - The Crystalbrook Vincent Hotel
Our base for our 3 day stay in Brisbane was the Crystalbrook Vincent Hotel which is well located – tucked under the neon-lit industrial curves of the Story Bridge. The restaurant has a great breakfast menu – we worked our way through most of it between us during our stay and it never failed to deliver something delicious. The hotel also has a rooftop bar (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) with an infinity style swimming pool.
The Crystalbrook Vincent has taken care to fill the bedrooms and public areas with bright artworks which give the place a vibrant, buzzy feel – just right for exploring Brisbane. Bicycles are provided too if you want to use them to explore – it makes a great way of getting around the city.
Day 1: The Buzzy Heart of the City & Howard Smith Wharves
The Lanes - Fortitude Valley
Just a stone’s throw from away from Brisbane’s iconic Story Bridge, a labyrinth of little alleyways called The Lanes in the Fortitude Valley area around Winn Lane, Bakery Lane and California Lane are worth a visit. The Hidden Bar Trail that has been mapped out amongst them gives an alternative view of the city from the glitzy establishments lining the waterfront. Many of the little bars only open at night, but a stroll around the area in the early morning allows you to see it from a different perspective. I’m not sure I would visit this area at night myself – although a lot of effort is being made to market it as a “go to” area of Brisbane.
Brisbane City Botanic Garden
The city’s beautifully maintained City Botanic Garden – which is more like a park than a botanical garden – is Brisbane’s green lung, offering both shade and a natural relief from the towering urban skyline. Sunday is a good day to visit as Brisbane Riverside Markets are hosted in the gardens between 8am and 3pm. On Monday to Saturday, free one hour guided walks depart from the information kiosk on Main Drive at 11am and 1 pm.
If you are lucky, you might see an Australian Water dragon basking in the sunshine near the Gardens’ central lily pond. Yes – be careful – they can and do bite! You will certainly not be able to miss the long beaked ibis birds pecking around the pond and nearby café hoping for rich pickings from your picnic either.
Streets Urban Beach
As well as the waterfront and botanic gardens, Brisbane also has a lovely urban beach area. Streets Beach makes a pleasant place to while away a few relaxing hours in the sunshine. It is late Autumn at the moment here, but the temperature was still a warm 25 degrees C at midday. Several of the restaurants here offer picnic hampers which makes a nice option for a leisurely lunch by the waterside.
South Bank Riverside Walk
A 2 hour walk along the South Bank of the Brisbane River will take you past Brisbane’s Big Wheel, Streets Beach, the Nepalese Peace Pagoda, the colourful Brisbane Sign, Rainforest Walk and Kangaroo Point. The city’s art galleries are also located in this area. You can either walk back to CBD (as we did) or catch the regular CityCat Ferry service (credit card payments accepted for just 50 cents a journey – tap on tap off). The GPS MyCity app has detailed directions for the South Bank Riverside Walk.
Climb the Story Bridge
If that’s not enough excitement for one day, you could arrange to climb the Story Bridge on your return. Day, Dawn, Twilight, Night, and Full Moon climbs run daily, rain or shine via Story Bridge Adventure Climb.
Sundowners - Felons Brewery - Howard Smith Wharves
One of the most vibrant areas of town – the Howard Smith Wharves – is anchored to the waterfront by Felons Brewery. There are a large number of restaurants and bars in this area and the Crystalbrook Vincent Hotel is well located right beside them.
Felons Brewery makes a great place for sundowners on your first night and has live music between 3 and 5pm on weekdays if you want to grab a beanbag and while away the end of the arvo with an ice cold beer or two. The CityCat has a stop right outside.
Dinner - Greca
Also located in the Howard Smiths Wharves area of Brisbane, you can’t go far wrong choosing Greca for your evening meal. Generously sized portions of delicious Greek food are served with a smile here. The Super Greek Banquet for 2 is a good choice if you want to sample a variety of their delicious dishes. Be warned – you may not need lunch today if you opt for this on the menu though!
Day 2: River Cruise to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
River Cruise
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is located some 20 kilometres away from CBD Brisbane, but is easily reached via a River Cruise aboard Mirimar II. You can buy a combined ticket on the River Cruise website. The boat departs from Brisbane’s Southbank district from the Cultural Centre Pontoon which is located on the boardwalk in front of the Queensland State Library. Boarding commences at 8:30 and departs at 9:00am arriving at Lone Pine Sanctuary at 10.15am. The return trip to the city departs Lone Pine Jetty at 1:30 pm sharp arriving back at the Cultural Centre Pontoon at 2:45 pm which allows you plenty of time to cuddle with the koalas. Book ahead on line to be sure of a place on the boat.
Travelling to Lone Pine Sanctuary via the river cruise gives you a great view of the Brisbane skyline as well as the waterside mansions further downstream. You also get a good view of the Regatta Hotel, famous for being the place where Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to the public bar to protest laws prohibiting women from drinking there. Their brave feminism protest on March 31, 1965 resulted in the repeal of the discriminatory law preventing women from being served in public bars in 1970.
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is one of the oldest and largest in Australia. As well as 130 koalas, you can also see a duck billed platypus, a Tasmanian devil, a Cassowary bird, crocodiles, dingos, wombats and many kangaroos and wallabies.
Fascinating Fact
Did you know that Koala is aboriginal for “does not drink”. The koala gets all its water from its diet, which is solely eucalyptus trees.
Sundowners - Mr. Percival's
It is hard to tear yourself away from the Howard Smith Wharves area in the evening. For a cocktail with a great view of the Story Bridge, Mr. Percival’s – tucked under the Story Bridge – was our choice for sundowners.
Dinner - La Vue Waterfront
Having a house in France for so many years gave us a taste for French food. La Vue Waterfront is easy walking distance from the Howard Smith Wharves area along the river and has a varied menu serving many French classics and modern Australian dishes all served with a complimentary waterfront view.
Day 3 - Heritage Trail with Rooftop Views
For our last day in Brisbane, we chose to spend the morning with one of the volunteers from the Brisbane Greeters who offer free walking tours around Brisbane‘s Heritage Trail. We were joined by a local girl on our walk who had lived in Brisbane for many years and seen it change and modernise substantially over the last 20-30 years. Between them, our guide and our local companion taught us all there is to know about Brisbane’s history.
It is surprising what you don’t see when you walk around a new city for the first time? It really helps to have a guide who can prompt you to look up and behind buildings and discover their secrets. The River City’s soaring skyline now eclipses what remains of the heritage buildings, but you can still see the old heritage buildings juxtaposed against the shiny new urban skyline.
Our knowedgeable and friendly guide also took us up to the 23rd floor of the high rise Star Building where you can walk out onto the Sky Deck for a fantastic panoramic view of the city.
There is much to see on the Brisbane Heritage Trail, but it really helps to have a knowledgeable guide with you to bring it all to life.
Hidden Gem - Shingle Inn Café - City Hall
We may never have found this little café if we hadn’t met our Brisbane Greeters guide at the City Hall and spent a little time exploring it before our walk started. Located along a corridor on the first floor, the Shingle Inn serves all sorts of tempting lunchtime/tea time treats. I can particularly recommend their banana bread – served warm with butter.
Local Tip - The Pancake Manor
An alternative choice for lunch could have been The Pancake Manor. Tucked down a side street, we would have walked straight past if our new local friend hadn’t pointed this place out. Built in a converted cathedral in Charlotte Street, The Pancake Manor serves its pancakes 24 hours a day . Stacks, specials and all the sides are on offer all day and night. If you are travelling with kids, you really shouldn’t miss this place. I am reliably informed that the Macadamia Nut pancake is one of their best.
We had walked a long way in the morning so chose to spend a relaxing afternoon cruising on the river on the City Cat. We travelled out to the end of the line past New Farm Park out to the terminus at Northshore Hamilton and back to the CBD for the princley sum of just 50 cents each. It was fun watching the daily life of the bustling city of Brisbane go backwards and forwards on the well used City Cat. It was nearing the end of the day, so lots of immaculately dressed school children were on their way home, tearing down the towpath in response to the cheery call from the City Cat Crew “C’mon, chop, chop – get a wriggle on!”
Sundowners - Fumé Rooftop Bar
It had been a heady day of rooftops and views, so we finished with sundowners on the Rooftop Bar at the Crystalbrook Vincent Hotel. The views from their Fiume Rooftop Bar (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) are superb.
We chose the Blackbird for dinner on our last night in Brisbane. A short walk from our hotel, this popular restaurant is something of a Brisbane institution. They specialise in steaks and seafood and also have an outstanding wine cellar. A glass of their excellent chilled Queensland red wine was a perfect accompaniment to a BBQ chicken for 2 on a warm evening.
A Grand FInale - Mt Coot-tha
Picking up our hire car on the last day in the city in preparation for a 3 week road trip along the East Coast of Australia meant that we could visit Mt. Coot-Tha to enjoy the fabulous Botanical Garden there and the view from the Summit Lookout before heading up north. Without the car, we would have needed to take a city bus or a taxi here as it is a little way out of town.
