Queesland » The City Of Brisbane

Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, is a cosmopolitan and lively city that is home to many different types of scenery, including skyscrapers, parkland and even an artificial beach. Brisbane is a river city, although close to the coast, with Brisbane River running through it. It is surrounded by hills and full of bridges. Brisbane also gives easy access to a number of attractions as well as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

Brisbane offers loads of tourist accommodation available, including hostels, hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts. Most of the accommodation and restaurants can be found in the cities inner suburbs.

The majority of the hostels can be found in East Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Paddington, Petrie Terrace and the West End. The hotels are situated around Gregory Terrace, Main Street and Wickham Street. The main transit centre can be found on Roma Street, there is also a large mall on Queen Street.

In its early stages the city grew as the agricultural and mining industries grew, until it eventually developed into the cultural and cafe filled city that it is today. It is also the third largest city in Australia with a population of about 1.6 million.

Brisbane is a great place to cycle, with wonderful tracks near and along the river. If you get tired along the way you can always hop on a bus or the City Cat (avoiding rush hour when you won't be allowed on).

Events
ABC Gardening Australia Expo - Brisbane (EVENT)
PREVIOUSLY HELD: 18 April 2007 - 20 April 2007 (Open from 0930 until 1630.)
LOCATION: South Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland - Australia
DESCRIPTION: The ABC Gardening Australia Expo will be held at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre at South Bank over three days from 18 until 20 April. This spectacular gardening expo brings ABC television’s popular Gardening Australia to life, as its presenters appear on stage to provide advice and answer questions

Sunshine
Sunshine Coast starts just north of Brisbane and continues north along the Queensland coast until the magnificent Cooloola National Park. There are some great places to visit along this section of coastline, and some splendid National Parks which you can enjoy.

A couple of popular attractions include Australia Zoo, which is home of the famous Terri and Bindi Irwin as well as plenty of animals, and Underwater World, which hosts a wide range of underwater creatures.

Heading north from Brisbane you will reach Caboolture, which is a small dairy town. Caboolture features several pretty lakes and parks, including the Centenary Lakes. There are a couple of interesting and historic places to visit near here. The Abbey Museum offers various historical artifacts, while the Caboolture Historical Village hosts a number of historic buildings set within a beautiful bushland setting.

Continuing north along the Bruce Highway, you will drive through the spectacular Glass House Mountains. The Glass House Mountains features spectacular landscape scenery, as well as offering a number of fantastic walking trails.

Once you are past the Glass House Mountains, you can turn off of the highway and drive along the pretty coastal road, starting at Caloundra. Caloundra is a pleasant holiday destination, offering a couple of interesting museums, as well as some great beaches. There are some really good fishing spots around here, and if you enjoy windsurfing a good place to go is Bulcock Beach and Pumicestone Passage for various water activities.

Further north past Kawana Waters are the triple towns of Alexandra Headland, Maroochydore and Mooloolaba which make up the Maroochy region. North again, past Coolum Beach is Noosa which is popular amongst surfers.

North of Noosa are 50km of glorious beaches, called the Cooloola Coast. The beaches are backed by the Cooloola National Park (also called the Great Sandy National Park), and there is a small track running all the way through the park from Tewantin to Rainbow Beach. Along the route you will pass Lake Cooroibah and Boreen Point along the way, both offering a small selection of accommodation in perfect, relaxing settings.

You should also travel inland from the coast, visiting the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland. There are some fabulous National Parks which you can visit, and some spectacular waterfalls and mountainous landscape.

Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is the small coastal area between Brisbane and the New South Wales border. The Gold Coast offers fabulous beaches stretching for around 35km, and is a very popular tourist spot hosting fabulous beaches, fantastic nightlife, great surf and a sub tropical climate with an average of 330 days of sunshine each year.

The Gold Coast is also home to the famous Surfers Paradise and a number of well known theme parks, as well as a wide range of adventure activities including bungee jumping, para-sailing, and water skiing. The Gold Coast also hosts the Gold Coast Indy 300 during October each year. A wide range of racing cars fill the streets of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, with plenty of action and entertainment for the whole family.

If you'd prefer a quieter and more relaxing sport then visit one of the 36 Championship Golf Courses along the Gold Coast. There are also a number of art and craft markets held throughout the Gold Coast, with the Gold Coast Flea Markets and the popular Carrara Markets held every Saturday and Sunday.

The Gold Coast also offers some fabulous scenery for you to explore and plenty of wildlife. So if all of the excitement of the coast is too much for you then head to the glorious Hinterland of the Gold Coast. There are some fabulous walking trails around the McPherson Range which follows the New South Wales border where it joins the Great Dividing Range.