Brisbane

The capital of the Australian state of Queensland.

As promised, now follows the 2nd part of my Australia trip. This month I will take you to Brisbane (capital of Queensland) and Melbourne (capital of Queensland).

The main attractions of this always sunny city can be experienced in one day, as you can explore the following sights on foot from the Sofitel Brisbane Central. If you want to take it easy, plan two days. This will allow you to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary: www.koala.net

This adorable hotspot is about a 15-minute drive from the city center. It’s Australia’s oldest wildlife park and it houses a koala rescue and nursery. You can even cuddle a koala at this largest koala sanctuary in Australia.

We booked a private one-hour koala discovery tour, got to look behind the scenes and learned a lot of interesting facts about these popular Australian animals. But you should also visit the other animals and experience for example the kangaroos up close.

Every Australian city commemorates the war dead who sacrificed their lives for their country. The memorial in Brisbane is located in the middle of the famous Anzac Square, a small park with African Baobab trees (also called African Baobab). The Eternal Flame burns in an open circular portico, a sort of Greek columned pavilion. Look closely and you will see the flame in the photo on the right.

Continue down Ann Street to the Albert Street Uniting Church, a landmarked neo-Gothic church surrounded by high-rises.

Across the street is City Hall, built in the Renaissance style. It houses Brisbane’s City Council with its 92-meter clock tower.

You can visit it thanks to a free 15-minute guided tour, because you can only get there with a special ticket and only seven people are allowed up each ride on the oldest manually operated elevator. It’s worth going there first in the morning and securing a ticket for the tower. Unfortunately, a reservation isn´t possible!

An absolute insider tip is the Old Regent Theater – today Brisbane’s tourist information. Thanks to my tips, you don’t need to go there for information, but go there anyway. The Theater is worth a visit!

Brisbane, the third largest city in Australia, is uniquely situated on the Brisbane River. You can easily get from the city center to the hotspot “South Bank” via the Victoria Bridge. The South Bank Parklands (a 17-hectare center for culture, art, entertainment and recreation) on the southern bank of the Brisbane River was the site of Expo 88. The Wheel of Brisbane offers breathtaking views of the city at dusk, while the River City Cruises www.rivercitycruises.com.au show you the fantastic city in the morning and afternoon. Get inspired by more pictures in the slideshow. You should also pay a visit to the impressive Nepalese Peace Pagoda. It is located just a few steps from the River City Cruises pier.

Important notes:

Getting there:

Of course, Australia is far away from Europe, but the more often you fly, the shorter the route seems to get and Australia is easily accessible on a flight with Emirates www.emirates.com on First-Class with a stopover in the cosmopolitan city of Dubai.