Brisbane - must dos and restaurant recos
 

Hi. We are spending a week in Brisbane end Nov - can any of you chip in with your favourite eateries and "must dos" in the area. I will be mostly alone as my partner has a conference hence do not think i will be driving anywhere on my own - would prefer suggestions which I could reach by public transport. Don't yet know where we are booked but will revert.

Hobbes - Most people visit Southbank, which is a parkland area on the banks of the Brisbane River. They have a pool area with sand, with water pumped from the river, but filtered, etc, beforehand. Some nice restaurants in the area.
You could do a "day trip" to Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island, just off Brisbane. OR rent a car for the day & drive over to North STradbroke ISland, and have a swim at Cylinder Beach, and lunch at Stonefish Cafe.
OR drive the rental car to the Gold Coast/or Sunshine for the day, quite doable.
OR drive the rental car to Steve Irwins Wildlife Park, and watch the crocs being fed.

Hello Hobbes,

The "CityCat," a ferry that plies the Brisbane River, is a good way of getting an overview of the city and its suburbs.

I've also read on the Internet that Brisbane has a hop-on / hop-off bus for seeing the main sights.

The 45-acre, centrally located, Botanic Garden is beautiful.

There are other botanic gardens at Mount Coot-tha, to the west of Brisbane. Mount Coot-tha provides a vantage point from which you can look out across Brisbane and beyond. A friend drove us there. I don't know what sort of public transportation there is to Mt. Coot-tha. Oh hang on, a Google search brings up this information about a bus:

http://www.australianexplorer.com/br...t_coot_tha.htm

South Bank (which Tropo mentioned), the things I've mentioned, plus looking at museums and shopping might occupy you for 3 days in Brisbane.

Beyond that, I don't know that there would be all that much that would hold your attention in Brisbane itself. I really think you would need to go on day trips to spots that were further afield, as Tropo has listed.

I imagine you're aware that Brisbane is not right at the coast, but 25 km (15 miles) inland. It is a pleasant, sub-tropical city of 1.6 million. You'll be there early in their summer, when the weather will be fairly hot and humid.

Thanks Judy & Tropo. Unfortunately choice of dates and length of stay are not in my control as my husband's conference is driving that - in the past when I ahve tagged along with him to places like Bali & Barcelona I have been quite occupied even tho I do not drive. I am getting the sense from both of u tho that that this time I may have to leave him alone after a few days and fly off somewhere on my own! Any more suggestions will be most appreciated...

Hobbes, my favourite eatery (which I seem to mention a fair bit, but I like it!) is "River Canteen" at Southbank.

Can I ask, exactly where you'll be staying and where the conference is?

Hello Hobbes,

I don't think you necessarily have to leave your husband behind in Brisbane and fly somewhere else. I myself have spent only 3 days in Brisbane, all of them confined to the city itself. However, our Brisbane friends told us, and this has been repeated here at Fodors, that there are very interesting and beautiful day trips and overnight trips in every direction from Brisbane.

It would take a certain amount of research to find out which of these places are accessible by public transportation, such as buses and trains, and which of them would require a more customised, small group tour.

Interesting and attractive as I'm sure the islands off the coast are, I understand one also can go inland and see rainforests, waterfalls, etc.

I think the point about Brisbane, or indeed any city of about one and a half million people in any country that was settled by Europeans relatively recently, is that it is not like a European city that provides many weeks' worth of artistic and architectural discovery within a radius that can be covered on foot or by public transportation.

Columbus, Ohio, for example, is about the same size as Brisbane. It too is a pleasant city with a river running through it. But a couple of days there were just fine for me, thank you very much.

If you came to Calgary (with a population of just under 1 million and a river too), 2 or 3 days in the city itself would definitely exhaust your possibilities.

So ...... back to Brisbane. I think there would be merit in staying there the whole week but doing more research about day trips.

Thanks again Judy & Daisy. My hsband returns this weekend from a biz trip so I will gather more details re where we are staying and post again. Judy, apprecaite the heads up re doing things in Brisbane. I hope to be able to spend a week exploring on my own. Good shopping recos in Brisbane also ALWAYS welcome!

Hi Hobbes, grab a train in Brisbane for the one hour trip to the Gold Coast and get off at perhaps either Nerang and take the bus into Pacific Fair or Broadbeach for some great shopping, eating and perhaps some surfing as Broadbeach and the Oasis centre is right on the beach.
Weather will be cooler due to the closeness of the sea and there are many, many terrific shops in both of these places which you can get to just walking when you are there.
I cannot remember the cost of the train but its about $18Au return I think - someone put me right here if I am way off but I know its not much and the trains go about every half hour but try and get one that is no stops to Beenleigh then all stops to the Gold Coast. You will have a great day!

Hi, hobbes,
I was thinking about ideas of 'must-dos' overnight and opened up your post - to see that Liz has beaten me. I, too, would recommend the train trip to Nerang, and to Pacific Fair. I don't feel like I have had my Aussie 'shopping' break if I don't spend at least half a day wandering around Pacific Fair window-shopping. There are lots of nice eateries around there, too.
I would also recommend the CityCat cruise, and the Art Gallery and Museum.
There is also a night-time bus tour arund the city as well as the day-time tours. I would grab one of the Brisbane booklets that you see at the airport - they give you great ideas. My dad had a very pleasant tour to Stradbroke Island which was about half a day. I have a feeling that left from the Surfers area - hang on, I'll check the internet. Try this web-site
brisbane.citysearch.com.au It mentions both North Stradbroke Island (where we did a day tour with Straddie Kingfisher Tours) and South Stradbroke Island. I know the tour my dad did was with a tour company who picked him up at his hotel in Surfers. Of course, there are other day tours like The Glasshouse Mountains, The Big Pineapple, etc. I suggest you check with the hotel reception for suggestions.
Just a little tip - it will be Schoolies Week in Surfers (which is actually 3 weeks!) so it may be a little crowded with testosterone-and-alcohol laden 18/19 year olds.
Enjoy your time in Brisbane.

Thank u Dotty & Liz, a day of shopping in Pacific Fair sounds great and right up my shopaholic alley! I have read elsewhere on this forum that the week we will be there will be a bit crowded with school break but we have no choice and hey, for my first trip to Australia I'm willing to live with the pain!

hobbes: I'd recommend a day tour to O'Reilly's in the rainforest of Lamington Nat'l Park. Google O'Reillys Brisbane Tour (or something like that) and you'll find a number of possibilities. This one looks good:

http://www.seethegoldcoast.com/opp/g...ours/oreillys/

OK, thanks everyone for their replies thus far. Change of venue - conference now at the Gold Coast at the Sheraton Mirage. Recos from in the know forumites on restaurants, shops, day outings in addition to those mentioned above most welcome!

Hobbes: Tours to O'Reilly's/Lamington can also be accessed from the Gold Coast. Other day trips from the Gold Coast would include Springbrook (also in the hinterland) and Cape Byron, to the south. The Currumbin Bird Sanctuary and Fleay's Fauna on the Gold Coast are also worth considering.

Thanks RalphR will look them up...

Much better venue - heaps and heaps for you to do. Take a wander out to Sanctory Cove and have a wonderful 1/2 meal at George's Paragon Restaurant overlooking the water and boats. Some lovely shops there in the little (very upmarket) village.
Come on up to Mount Tamborine for the day, especially on a weekend and sample the beautiful wines and visit the distinctive distillery we have up here - not to mention the lovely restaurants, craft and speciality shops and finally the many National parks with hopefully will have had enough rain to have the waterfalls flowing madly. Whilst the Lamington and O'Reillys is nice there is not anything else to do but the walks whereupon Mt Tamborine has many attractions. 2nd Sunday in the month there is a lovely craft market as well.
You will be across the road from one of the nicest areas for dining and shopping at the Sheraton Mirage and right on the beach.

Thanks Liz was hoping u would see this and add suggestions!

The city bus system is quite good and will probably be a good bet for you. Don't miss Mt. Coot-tha at night! Also, there were great specialty shops in the area called (Paddington) when we were in Brisbane last May... not enough to spend a whole day... but a few hours.. nice cafes too for a coffee or lunch.

Hi, hobbes,
I am going to swing on Liz's coat-tails, again, and as a non-Australian I too would recommend Mt Tamborine. We have had two lovely day trips up there, and will go again next year. There is a really delightful craft shop there, the name escapes me, which sells top quality crafts. There are two fairly close together on the left handside, and it is the second of the two. There is a yummy fudge place, and an extraordinary cuckoo clock shop there. I cannot remember the name of the place we had lunch in last year, but it was part of a winery I think. I remember there were enormous avocado trees at the back of the property. And the drive up and back is lovely.
I also support the recommendations of Currumbin and Byron Bay. Buses from Surfers will take you to Currumbin, but I am not sure how you can get to Byron Bay without a car.
We enjoy sitting at somewhere like Charlies in Cavill Ave, having breakfast and watching the world go by. At least you will be nice and close to Pacific Fair! There is another shopping mall, also on a bus route, that is worth a look, too. This one is called Australia Fair!
Do enjoy your week in Surfers.

Dotty
Those craft shops would probably be in the Cafe Armani complex although there are many up here on Tamborine Mt. The winery was probably Cedar Creek winery. Looking at when you were here you may have been in my shop which had some fantastic craft things as well as my South American imports. I supply a couple of shops on the Mountain still. The fudge shop is a dreadful place - don't go there unless you want to weight twice as much going home!!

WOW. Great recos, thanks Moneygirl and Dotty. What is the name of your shop, Liz, so I make sure I don't miss it?