9 Best Sights in Brisbane, Queensland

Founded in 1927, Queensland's most famous fauna park is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's first and largest koala sanctuary. As well as more than 130 koalas, you'll find emus, wombats, crocodiles, bats, platypuses, and lorikeets. You can hand-feed baby kangaroos, have a snake wrapped around you, or have your photo taken next to a koala . There are sheepdog shows, regular bird feedings, and animal presentations. Intimate encounters and behind-the-scenes tours can also be arranged for small groups. For an extra-special visit, book a combo ticket (from A$85) via Mirimar Cruises (www.mirimarcruises.com.au) and travel to Lone Pine along the Brisbane River.

On the southern bank of the Brisbane River, you'll find a variety of world-class facilities nestled together among landscaped lawns and cafés. The world-famous Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) with its ever-changing exhibitions and events is a must-visit, as is the equally impressive Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum, and Sciencentre. The State Library of Queensland has a host of free, interactive children's activities and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) bustles with concerts and stage shows. There's also a host of restaurants, cafés, gift and book shops, a ticketing agent (in QPAC), public-access computer terminals, and various public spaces. Regular special events and festivals are also held in front of the Cultural Centre, particularly on weekends. Green Cabs (modern rickshaws) are a fun and unique way to get around and sightsee in this area. Starting at the Wheel of Brisbane adjacent QPAC, they'll ferry passengers anywhere between West End and Fortitude Valley.

This vibrant community space on the banks of the Brisbane River includes parklands, shops, hotels, a maritime museum, walking and cycling paths, a sprawling man-made beach, a stunning Nepalese pagoda, and excellent city views. The weekend Collective Markets is the place to discover handmade goods, live entertainers, buskers, artists, and emerging designers. Almost every week you'll find a new festival or event lighting up the Cultural Forecourt. Nearby Grey Street is lined with trendy shops and cafés, as well as contemporary international restaurants, bars, and a cinema. The Wheel of Brisbane (A$19), a giant Ferris wheel at the northern entrance of South Bank, has some of the most spectacular views of the city. South Bank Parklands stretches along the riverbank south of the Queensland Cultural Centre.

Paths stretch across manicured lawns toward the Doric Greek Revival shrine made of Queensland sandstone. An eternal flame burns here for Australian soldiers who died in World War I. In the Shrine of Remembrance, a subsurface crypt stores soil samples from key battlefields. On April 25, Anzac Day, a moving dawn service is held here in remembrance of Australia's fallen soldiers.

Opened in 1868, this splendid, stone-clad, French Renaissance building with a Mount Isa copper roof earned its colonial designer a meager 200-guinea (A$440) fee. The interior is fitted with polished timber, brass, and frosted and engraved glass. Free half-hour tours run on weekday afternoons, depending on demand. The adjacent, kid-friendly City Botanic Gardens have native and exotic plants and theme areas, including the Bamboo Grove and Weeping Fig Avenue, along with sculptures, ponds, and an on-site café.

The world's largest subtropical garden within a city is a gentle mix of forest paths, floral displays, and structured plantings surrounding a fish-stocked lake. Highlights include the Lilly Pilly Garden, with native evergreen rain-forest plants, interesting children's play areas, and the friendly resident birds and lizards. Free hour-long guided garden tours focus on various themes, including bush tucker. Self-guided tour maps are available at the Roma Street Parkland Information Hub; The Sound Society is a monthly live music event, from 11:30 on Sunday.

Convict-built in 1829 on the site of the city's original timber wharf, this was Brisbane's first stone building. It has served as a customs house, storehouse, and immigrants' shelter, and is currently the headquarters of The Royal Historical Society of Queensland. The RHSQ library and Commissariat Store museum is open to visitors Tuesday to Friday, and holds exhibitions, historical documents, manuscripts, and artifacts dating back to Brisbane's early colonial days. Group tours of the museum are welcome.

With a "neat and tidy" dress code geared to securing an upscale clientele, The Treasury is a European-style casino with three levels of gaming beneath a stunning four-story atrium. Beneath a seduction of light and color, the facility comes alive at night with more than 80 gaming tables and more than 1,300 machines, as well as six restaurants and six bars. Open 24 hours.