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BrisbaneBrisbane'''Brisbane''' is the third-largest (and fastest growing) city in Australia and the capital of the state of Queensland. It has a population of about 1.7 million people. ==Districts== The simplest division of Brisbane is the Brisbane River, with locations being either on the north or south sides of it. A local stereotype places many "undesirable" suburbs (such as Woodridge) on the southside, with the more affluent locations on the northside. Although the stereotype is just as often applied by southside residents to flag the northside as undesirable. Suburbs include: * St Lucia - site of the University of Queensland's major campus, has a reputation as a student haunt * Toowong - home of two of Brisbane's most famous pubs (see below) and often full of students * Stone's Corner - on the southside, a multicultural suburb with many cafes and shops ==Understand== Brisbane has historically been thought of as Sydney's poorer, less sophisticated sibling. With recent strong migration to Brisbane due to lower house prices and arguably better weather, Brisbane is fast becoming a cosmopolitan city. ==Climate== Brisbane has what many believe to be an enviable climate, the reality is that very hot summers can be very uncomfortable and climate is the one factor that continually lets Brisbane down on lists of "Worlds most liveable cities" that get compiled from time to time. (Brisbane is usual in the top 6 or 7 behind Perth (Australia)|Perth, Vancouver and Vienna to name a few) Winters (May,June,July) are warm and generally dry and sunny (day 20-25C, night 8-12C). This is great for getting around during the day, but be warned - the architecture is designed to let heat out so evenings can feel very cold even when you're inside. Summer days are somewhere between hot, sticky and unbearable. 35C sounds great if all you want to do is sit on a beach all day, but as soon as you need to move it is hard work. Humidity is often extreme and temperatures do get as high as 42C with night temps rarely dropping below 20C. If visiting in Dec/Jan/Feb be sure to stay where there is air conditioning and don't overestimate what you can do in a day when the humidity creeps up. Summer storms are common in afternoons on hot humid days and snap showers with occasional large hail are not uncommon. These usually pass quickly and sometimes put on a good show of lightning. ==Get in== ===By plane=== *http://www.bne.com.au/ Brisbane Airport ===By train=== ===By car=== ===By bus=== ===By boat=== ==Get around== ===Cars=== Brisbane is geographically one of the largest cities in the world, with sprawling suburbs. As a result, this can make getting around for the tourist difficult. Renting a car is a good option - it gives access to more remote locations and parking is usually easy. Rental companies can often provide deals with airline tickets if booked in advance. *http://www.budget.com.au/ Budget car rentals *http://www.thrifty.com.au/ Thrifty car rentals ===Public Transport=== Public transport has recently been overhauled in Brisbane with combined ticketing system between Buses, Trains and Ferrys. The ferries are considered a sight of Brisbane in their own right. Travellers can take advantage of "off-peak day rover" tickets which allow unlimited travel within given zones. A daily zone 1 to 3 (about 15km radius) costs just AU$5.60 and is great for getting into the city, taking a ferry along the river and getting back out again. This is also a good options when spending time in the city when it is hot. A weekly zones 1-3 ticket costs AU$22.40. Almost all Australian University students can travel for half the cost. Smartcards are to be introduced in mid-2005. Almost all buses in Greater Brisbane lead all the way to Adelaide Street. The routes 598 and 599 form the Great Circle Route which forms a circle around the city and can be a great way of getting around the different suburbs. Rail connections to the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Ipswich are available from the three big rail stations in the CBD. Beware, the buses around Brisbane sometimes have a mysterious habit of just not showing up when scheduled, or, alternatively, leaving up to 5 minutes early. ====Transinfo==== Transinfo is a fantastic service provided by the Brisbane City Council that can give you directions on how to reach a destination using public transport. It is available through a website http://www.transinfo.qld.gov.au/ and a telephone service 13 12 30 (Local call from public phones). If you intend to use Public Transportation frequently, pick up the Translink Directory, a complete listing (without timetables) of all bus services in South-east Queensland. ====Draft Translink Network Plan==== In late June 2005 and July 2005, all busroutes in the southern and eastern regions will be reorganised completely. Expect initial confusion for a few weeks if going to these areas. ==See== *'''South Bank''' - Fake beach (but nicely done) right in the heart of the city, surrounded by lots of interesting shops, cafes and restaurants as well as the city's museums, theatres and art gallery. A great place to hang out on a hot day and have a swim (for free). *'''Alma Park Zoo''' - http://www.almaparkzoo.com.au/ *'''Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary''' - http://www.koala.net/ *'''Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo''' - http://www.crocodilehunter.com/australia_zoo/welcome/ (outside of Brisbane proper, roughly a daytrip) *'''Mt Coot-tha''' - Brisbane's tallest mountain. A popular makeout spot with a great view and good but overpriced cafe and restaurant. Also home to the Botanical Gardens - ==Do== *'''CityCat''' -Take the CityCat river taxis up and down the river. A great couple of hours to see the city at speed - secure your sunglasses and hats though. ==Learn== *The Cultural Centre on South Bank. If you're south of the river, almost every bus goes there. ==Work== ==Buy== *Queen Street: **The Myer Centre **The Winter Garden (cheap food here) **The Queen Street Mall Huge range of clothing shops and other less important stuff :) ==Eat== Brisbane has a very good assortment of restaurants but there are two problems. One is that they can be very expensive and the other is that they can be very busy. *Brisbane City **Ecco http://www.eccobistro.com - Best restaurant in Brisbane and one of the best in Australia. **Pane Vino - Great Italian on Albert St. **Fasta Pasta - Lots of yummy pasta at a reasonably price, not the flashiest place around however *Fortitude Valley & New Farm **Continental Cafe - Good food, nice atmosphere and surprisingly good kids menu. *Southbank and Little Stanley st *Park Road, Milton *Rosalie **Tomato brothers - Italian - Expect to wait for your meal here! **Freestyle - A desert restaurant *University of Queensland - The university provides many quality cafes if you happen to be in the area or on a CityCat ferry and caters to a cheaper market **Wordsmiths - **The Pizza Cafe - Fantastic pizzas with really different ingredients **The Red Room - The student pub - does cheap meals and cold beer **The UQ Union Complex - With a noodle and sushi bar, lolly shop and refectory, juice and icecream shop **Tanyas cafe **A Salt 'n Battery - excellent quality fish and chip shop cum seafood restaurant with a wide variety of foods and decent prices, located in Hawken Village (on Hawken Drive, approx 5-10 minutes walk from the University proper) ==Drink== Brisbane's drinking and nightlife scene is separated into some distinct areas ===Suburban=== *Toowong **Royal Exchange (RE) Hotel **Regatta - Conveniently adjacent to the Regatta CityCat terminal - Expect a wait to get in on Thur, Fri and Sat nights. Ive sometimes seen a queue 50-100m down the street (both the RE and the Regatta have reputations as student haunts, being located reasonably close to the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland. They more than live up to these reputations.) *Indooroopilly **Indooroopilly Hotel **Pig and Whistle *Southbank - The Plough Inn ===Brisbane City=== City pubs and clubs (I have no idea what's popular in the city these days so I probably shouldn't be in charge of editing this) **Mary Street-located on Mary Street :) is probably one place to avoid. Considered a bit of a dump by Brisbanites, however they do have cheap "all you can drink" on Saturday nights. **The Victory is very popular, although its often hard to move once you're in there as karaoke nights and covers bands are often to be found **Her Majesties Basement, tucked away on Queen St, is definitely for those of you who are not into main stream music. Usually has live cover and original bands. ===Fortitude Valley=== The Fortitude Valley is a very unique area of Brisbane catering to the live music scene. It is, however, a more dangerous areas of the city. *Brunswick st. Mall **Rics - Live music most nights **Royal George (RG) Hotel - Cheap drinks. 2 for 1 drinks on Thursdays *The Family night club is a must see. Bit pricey to get in, but its probably the biggest club in Brisbane and has awesome music and atmosphere. Its at the top end of the Brunswick street mall. ==Sleep== ===Youth Hostels=== *http://www.yha.com.au/ YHA has hostels in the Brisbane area *Cloud 9 Backpackers Resort *City Backpackers *Palace Central Backpackers ===Hotels=== ==Contact== ==Stay safe== ===Emergency numbers=== Remember that for emergency services (Police, Fire and Ambulance) in Australia, the number is 000. If you are calling from a mobile or cell phone, use the number 112 as it will use any network to connect. ===Areas=== *Fortitude Valley - Police presence very strong here. Make sure your always travelling in pairs or a group around here *Suburban pubs - Drunks can be a hassle when in the vicinity of suburban pubs, especially around closing times. ==Get out== Brisbane provides a base for day trips to explore the southeast of Queensland. * Surfers Paradise * Brisbane Forest Park * Mount Tamborine - wineries, restaurants, craft shops, and amazing views. About an hour from Brisbane or 40 minutes from the Gold Coast. * Sunshine Coast (Queensland)|Sunshine Coast - not really one location, but a series of beachside towns offering different levels of "touristy" infrastructure ==External links== *[http://www.ourbrisbane.com/brisbane/visitbris/ OurBrisbane.com] - the state of Queensland's official travel information site for Brisbane fr:Brisbane {{stub}} First page | Prev | Next | Last page |
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