Lee's Travel Blog

In this article I describe my impressions of Brisbane. I tell you what I consider to be especially worth seeing and what not. First about the city itself: If I had to tell you my favourite city of the world, my choice would be between Sydney, Zurich, Munich or Brisbane. Brisbane is simply a magical city that offers something for everyone. I like versatile cities very much, because you never get bored in these cities.

The first “Must Do” in Brisbane is in my eyes the Roma Street Parklands. The Roma Street Parklands is huge and offers so much that you can easily spend a day there. Everywhere there are special plants that are carefully and lovingly grown. You can also learn a lot, because there are always boards telling facts about the different plants. Sometimes you will meet an iguana that is not disturbed by passers-by and simply enjoys the sun. In the middle of the park there is a huge lake and various barbecue places to grill. I can tell you from my own experience that the grills are easy to use and very clean. Hold on: it’s free! So don’t hesitate to barbecue at Roma Street Parklands and enjoy the atmosphere and to small talk with the people. If you’re lazy or just don’t like to walk, you can take the “train” that runs through the whole park. I especially liked the interplay of city and nature in Roma Street Park. For example, in Roma Street Parklands there was a kind of modern amphitheatre in the middle of the park. I could talk about Roma Street Parklands for hours, but I want to tell you about other highlights of Brisbane.

Another “Must Do” is the Epicurious Garden combined with a river promenade walk in South Bank. The river promenade is particularly suitable if you want to take photos of the Brisbane skyline. The promenade itself is very pretty and relaxing. In addition, if it is particularly warm, you can take a cool dip in the Streets Beach. If you’re willing to spend a lot of money, you can also treat yourself with The Wheel of Brisbane. I’m talking about indulging, because a ride is relatively expensive. For Sureya and me the price wasn’t worth it. The best part of the promenade was the Epicurious Garden. I love the concept of the Epicurious Garden simply grandiose and would wish that every city had an Epicurious Garden. Epicurious Garden is a huge garden where various fruits, vegetables, salads & spices are voluntarily grown and harvested by pensioners. At the same time, the pensioners tell you everything you need to know about cultivation and the flower pots have recipes so you can get an idea of what you can do with them. I also thought it was cool that there was a small car that offered the harvested produce for free. Unfortunately the car was already empty. But the concept is simply brilliant and the idea is that people prepare and eat more fresh food instead of ready meals.

I’d advise against wasting your time on Chinatown. I found Brisbane’s Chinatown very small, not special or to cut a long story short: A cheap copy of New York’s Chinatown. If you can stamp a 20 meter long street with only cheap China restaurants as Chinatown, then well… I would just call it a street with a focus on Asian restaurants. I also have a negative memory of the old parliament house. I’m not sure if Lonely Planet reported about it or a brochure in the Tourist Information Centre, at least you can leave it out. If you still want to see it look at my picture and save your time for something more meaningful!

Maybe you have read in my article Journey to Down Under – 5. Stage Brisbane what my personal highlight was. Of course I also have to report about it here!

For me the Australia Zoo was one of the top highlights of our trip to Australia. But I have to mention that the zoo is not in the immediate vicinity of Brisbane. The zoo is located in Beerwah, a village near Brisbane. The visit to the zoo was very expensive ($60) but it was worth it. We saw so many different animals. But most of all we saw so many different crocodile species from very close. Also here the saltwater crocodiles got a name and their very own story was told how they landed in the Australia Zoo. There is also a kangaroo enclosure where you can run in and try to feed or pet the animals. We spent a whole day in this zoo and came out completely exhausted but totally satisfied. I can really advise you to spend a day at Australia Zoo! Only I might have to warn you about cringe in crocoseum. But I found it partly also very amusing, therefore I do not want to tell you too much.

My conclusion about Brisbane is thoroughly positive. If you are ever in Australia, don’t miss Brisbane! I promise you that you will definitely find something you like. I would definitely travel to Brisbane a second time to explore the city even more. The vibes of this city are simply unique and I can’t put them into words.

I hope I could convince you to make a detour to Brisbane if you ever pass through there. If you liked the article, you can show it to me with a Like. It would be even better to follow my blog if you don’t, so you can be the first to know when a new article is published. So stay tuned!