Capital of Queensland, Brisbane is a fabulous family holiday destination. Whether you fancy staying in an upmarket hotel or serviced apartments, a caravan par – you will soon find many great family activities to do in and around Brisbane. Get your bearings first, traverse the city on foot and get set to have a great holiday.
Here are a few things to do in the River City.
Queen Street Mall
Queen Street Mall is home to Queensland’s most extensive selection of fashion – in the open-air pedestrian mall you can shop a unique blend of hundreds of stores. The shopping street is entirely closed for traffic and therefore it’s effortless to get around. Queen Street Mall has long been held as Brisbane’s city heart – a spot to meet up with colleagues and family and explore entertainment and fun. Big names and flagships take up street frontage while smaller boutiques and shops are tucked inside world-class shopping centres and heritage-listed arcades in the mall. The mall also has coffee shops and 24-hour restaurants.
Southbank Parklands
South Bank is a social, cultural, educational, and recreational precinct in Brisbane. The precinct is settled in South Brisbane’s suburb on the south bank of the Brisbane River. The parkland offers cafes, incredible walking paths, and even a man-made beach. How classy of humans! This is an ideal place to spend a chill day at the beach and the best part is that you don’t even have to drive far away! The Southbank also offers lots of music and entertainment with galleries, movies, and a market during weekends. There is usually plenty of live entertainment and numerous draws throughout the day.
Moreton Island
Moreton Island is a vast sand island northeast of Brisbane. The island is a hot spot for four-wheel driving and whale gazing. Take the soggy road across Moreton Bay and traverse the beaches, twilight skies, freakish adventures and comfort of Brisbane’s little Island paradise. Moreton Island presents terrific scenery, massive dunes, lustrous lakes, rocky lands, dense forest, stunning beaches and a secluded lighthouse – Moreton Island has it all.
Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Situated at the foot of Brisbane’s tallest mountain, Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens covers over 50 hectares and houses a collection of Australian flora. Along with streams and lakes, there is also the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, which is favorite with kids. With an elevation of under 300km, Mount Coot-tha is climbable for almost everybody. The view on the top stars a great view of the entire city. On a clear day, you can look at Moreton Island. Early Brisbane inhabitants called the hill “one tree hill,” but recently, it has been renamed Mt Coot-tha, an aboriginal word for “place of honey.” The aboriginals in the area used to come here and collect honey from native bees.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Australia’s first koala sanctuary and the biggest – there are over a hundred koalas in Lone Pine. Here you can hand-feed kangaroos, cuddle a koala and see a diversity of wildlife. You can also relax with a coffee in the ‘Koala Forest,’ surrounded by some of the sanctuary’s prettiest female koalas. The name Lone Pine originates from a lone hoop pine planted by the Clarkson family, the first owners of the site.
