Weekend in the River City of Brisbane
The inaugural eighth annual WINOE’s (Women In Need Of Entertainment) retreat took place this year with a weekend in the River City of Brisbane. Less than an hour up the road for we Gold Coasters, is the place we call ‘Brisvegas’, that most of us only visit to either go to a show or concert or catch an international flight overseas.
Brisbane City
However Brisbane has undertaken a massive transformation over the past twenty years or so and is now up there with many of the other trendy Australian cities. The river that snakes its way through the city and the shorelines have been revamped to create green spaces, a cultural precinct, quirky markets, alfresco cafes and restaurants and walking and cycling paths that stretch for kilometres.
All of this is within comfortable walking distance to the heartthrob of the city, its business and shopping centre, world class hotels, botanical gardens, university and the Treasury Casino. You can literally walk to anything on either side of the river by accessing purpose built pedestrian bridges and wide walking pathways.
Where We Stayed in Brisbane
Our accommodation of choice was the newly constructed 74 storey high, Meriton Apartments in the city centre. Our luxurious apartment on the 68th floor had the most majestic panoramic views of the river, the city, the northern suburbs and out to Moreton Bay. It was only a short walk to Queen Street Mall, Treasury Casino and across the river to South Bank.
Sightseeing in Brisbane
The main purpose of the weekend was to attend the Brisbane Food & Wine Show at the Brisbane Exhibition & Convention Centre at Southbank. Here we tantalised our taste buds and pampered our palates by sampling a wide array of wine, cheese, smallgoods and other delicacies. There were also cooking demonstrations by some of our finest celebrity chefs, wine and cheese tasting classes plus cooking classes for the up and coming chefs.
After a day of gorging ourselves we set off on foot, to burn up some of those calories, along the river through the historical precinct to the beautiful Botanical Gardens and on to the Eagle Street Pier. This area is where you can hop on a Paddlewheeler and soak up the sights of Brisbane from the river and enjoy a delicious meal at the same time.
Eagle Street Pier also offers some of the finest restaurants in Brisbane with views to die for of the river and the Story Bridge. It also hosts chic arts and crafts markets and a colourful mix of street entertainers every Sunday.
South Bank Brisbane
A short walk across the Go Between Bridge over the river bought us to Brisbane Maritime Museum with some interesting exhibits of the Diamantina Frigate, a lighthouse from the mouth of the Brisbane River, a Torres Strait pearling lugger, cannons from the time of the Battle of Trafalgar and a steam tugboat.
Nearby is the entry to the 17 hectares of South Bank Parklands which encompasses the Performing Arts Centre, Museum, Exhibition & Convention Centre, Queensland Art Gallery and the Wheel of Brisbane. Visitors can ride The Wheel of Brisbane, visit the Nepalese Pagoda, which was originally brought to Brisbane for Expo 88, take a dip in Streets Beach and marvel at The Arbour, a bougainvillea clad steel awning that spans 1 km or just stroll through the weekend arts and crafts market stalls.
South Bank is one of Brisbane’s best dining hotspots with an array of cafes, pubs, bars, take-away restaurants and gourmet eateries to suit any taste. Just some of the precinct’s many cuisine styles include Turkish, Indian, Malaysian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Modern Australian, Russian and Italian.
Brisbane City Cat
Another great thing to do on the Brisbane River is to catch the City Cat and cruise down the river. The Cat cruises the city main arterial calling in at some of the city’s more interesting and dynamic suburbs. You can disembark at your leisure with most services running every 13 minutes.
Learn more about Brisbane life at Grace and Co Brisbane
Brisbane Shopping
For shopping there is no better place than Queen Street Mall which offers an unrivalled mix of local, national and international labels and flagship stores. More than 700 retailers have made their homes here – many enjoy mall and street frontage, others are tucked away inside world-class centres and heritage-listed arcades.
The River City really turned it on for our girl’s weekend. We marvelled at the beautiful city sights, the Botanical Gardens, South Bank Parklands and Cultural Precinct, Eagle Street Pier restaurants, the City Cat cruising down the river, the kilometres of navigable pathways following the river and King George Square and Treasury Casino. It was a city break that we all enjoyed immensely.
For more ideas of what to see and do in Brisbane see the Brisbane Travel Guide
Linking up with Travel Photo Thursday.
Having a girls week-end sounds a very civilised idea to me! We’ve taken the City Cat and it was a great way to see the City and not expensive. I like the look of Ahmet’s restaurant too.
Girls weekends have been a mandatory event in my life. I love the rapport that we manage to create and the fact that you can talk about anything! We did do the City Cat last time we were in the city and you are right it is a great way to see the place.
Gotta love a girls’ weekend! Sounds like you had a great time and packed a lot in. Did you all plan what you wanted to do together beforehand or just wing it?
We did plan our weekend this time. It included a day at the Good Food & Wine Festival, a movie and a big walk. We were supposed to hire bicycles however that turned out to be too hard. It is definitely a great thing to do with your girlfriends, whether you are young or old!
Girl’s weekends are always fun. I never made it to Brisbane, but the next time I visit Australia it will be on my list. Those paths along the river look very relaxing. Thanks for linking up this week! #TPThursday
You are very welcome Nancie, I am enjoying reading the other travel blogs that link-up each Thursday. Those pathways along the Brisbane River are endless and you can literally walk or cycle for kilometres alongside the river. A lovely way to spend the weekend for sure!
It’s a great coincidence that we both wrote about Brisbane this week :) I love the idea of WINOE’s. Girls’ weekend is always fun. We loved Brissy during our visit last June. There’s just so much to do. And Queen St Mall is the perfect place for a girls’ weekend of shopping and dining.
Yes girls’s weekends are fun. We really enjoyed ourselves in Brisbane and you are right there is so much to do and see in and around the city and the South Bank area. Thank you for dropping by my blog :)
I think I would like to join the WINOE’s, especially if it involves staying for the weekend in an apartment with that fantastic view and attending a Food & Wine show. BrisVegas looks like tons of fun.
Oh my gosh you wouldn’t get a word in with 6 middle-aged women all talking at once! Seriously though we do have a lot of fun and we all share a healthy appreciation of good food and wine (plus walking it off afterwards!). Brisvegas is a great place for a girl’s weekend but it could also be a romantic venue for a couple. Next time I’m taking my hubby to the Meriton Apartments with those magnificent views for a romantic weekend.
Sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend and I’d love to be with 6 middle aged women all talking at once! Seriously though I love Brisbane, and when we first arrived in Australia it was the place I wanted to settle – I love its river and its gaiety and its BrisVegas’ness!
It was a fun weekend in Brisvegas with the WINOEs.This is an annual event for us and so far we have travelled to Sydney, Melbourne, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Stanthorpe. We always enjoy ourselves despite where we are. Brisbane was pretty special though, the views from the 68th floor of our apartment were to die for. :)