Brisbane, Australia – Citytrip

Out of a first-time, one-month trip to Australia we spent two days in vibrant Brisbane. Gaging from the ubiquos condo building activitiy, countless luxury car dealerships and the general price level Brisbane must be a boomtown!

Arriving from Sydney we spent two nights in the Limes hotel in the Fortitude Valley precinct. Taking the CitySights hop on, hop off coach in nearby Chinatown gave us a good first impression of Brisbane, among other a spectacular view from Mount Coot-tha.

The coach ticket is also good for the city cat, frequently cruising catamarans that cross the river at several points of interest.

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Fine dining is available in modern waterfront restaurants, e.g. the rather formal Aria or JellyFish with its humorous manager. He came rushing out of the restaurant complaining that he didn’t quite make it onto the photograph underneath ;-)

The Southbank is packed with restaurants and has become an entertainment district. It stretches from the museums on the waterfront, the Parklands at Southbank to the numerous restaurants.

The museums can be reached via a stylish new pedestrian bridge.

Bill Bryson in A Sunburned Country takes to the region but unfortunately he doesn’t have as much time here as wished for. Still, it’s very amusing reading on Australian peculiarities as observed by a thoughtful foreigner.