Where to Stay in Brisbane, State of Queensland

What is Brisbane known for?

Brisbane is known as the capital of Queensland, a subtropical city built along the bends of the Brisbane River. The Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art gather across the river in South Brisbane, while the Wheel of Brisbane turns above the water. Rivers and hills define it.

At the centre of South East Queensland, the city spreads from the river toward Moreton Bay and the ranges beyond.

What are the main landmarks in Brisbane?

Brisbane gathers its landmarks along the river. The Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art line the river at South Brisbane, while the Museum of Brisbane sits at the centre. The Wheel of Brisbane turns above the water.

Older still, the Cathedral of St Stephen anchors the city's churches, and the Skyneedle rises as a slim spire over South Brisbane.

What is the history of Brisbane?

Brisbane began in 1824 as a penal settlement on the Brisbane River, set on a peninsula in a bend of the water. Convicts cleared the first ground. The colony opened to free settlers in the following decades, and the town spread out from the river across the surrounding hills of the floodplain.

When Queensland became a separate colony, Brisbane was chosen as its capital, and public buildings such as the Cathedral of St Stephen rose as the settlement grew into a city. The river shaped everything that followed. Brisbane climbed the hills of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the ranges, its wharves and bridges binding the two banks together.

Floods came with the river too. Growth pushed the city outward across South East Queensland over the decades, drawing the museums and galleries that line the river at South Brisbane. From a small convict outpost on a river bend grew the largest city of Queensland, still wrapped around the water that gave it its start.

Where is Brisbane?

Brisbane lies on the Brisbane River, on a floodplain between Moreton Bay and the mountain ranges inland. The central business district fills a peninsula in a tight bend of the river, about fifteen kilometres upstream from the bay, and the city climbs the hills of the Brisbane River Valley on both banks. Hills fold through it.

Greater Brisbane spreads across South East Queensland between the Pacific Ocean and the ranges, one of the largest urban areas in the country.

What is the climate of Brisbane?

Brisbane has a warm subtropical climate, mild through the winter and hot in summer. Summers turn humid and stormy, with heavy rain sweeping in off Moreton Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Winters stay dry and gentle.

The Brisbane River holds the steady water through the warm months, when the city keeps its long run of clear, bright days.

How do you get to Brisbane?

Most visitors to Brisbane arrive by air, landing at the airport near the mouth of the Brisbane River. The city sits at the centre of South East Queensland, its roads and rail lines fanning out from the central business district across the region. Ferries work the river too.

From the centre, routes run north and south along the coast and inland to the ranges, tying Brisbane to the rest of Queensland.