Experience Brisbane in 24 hours

Just a 10-minute drive from Brisbane’s CBD, a great way to start your morning is by driving up Mount Coot-tha, from the summit of which you can enjoy some of the prettiest city views. Reached by the Summit Circuit — a favourite with locals — you’ll go from JC Slaughter Falls up to Mount Coot-tha Lookout, and as the summit track is short and beginner-friendly, it works well as a pre-breakfast leg stretch.

At the base, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha boasts almost a quarter of a million plants, including both native and exotic plants. Arranged across 56 hectares and divided thematically into rainforest, woodland, wetland and arid, unlike the more compact City Botanic Gardens, this is somewhere to wander without a strict route — making for a relaxing post-climb stroll (or an alternative if you prefer).

Highlights include the Japanese Garden with its clipped shrubs, stonework and water arranged around a calming traditional garden, the Tropical Display Dome enclosing lush equatorial plants beneath geometric lattice, and the arid zone displaying, you guessed it, desert vegetation.

Allow at least an hour to explore the gardens — longer if plants are of a personal interest, and entry to the gardens is free.

The City Botanic Gardens occupy a broad curve of the Brisbane River at the southeastern periphery of the CBD, close enough to reach on foot yet sufficiently leafy to feel removed from the surrounding towers of glass and brass. Covering almost 20 hectares and with more than a kilometre of river frontage, the City Botanic Gardens were established on the site of the colony’s early government gardens and is Queensland’s oldest heritage garden.

Considerably smaller than the above-mentioned Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, the appeal of this spread of greenery lies less in formal flowerbeds than in its plentiful shade and very well-aged collection. Mature figs, palms, and bamboo create a cool canopy over lawns, making it a favourite among office workers, runners, and students from the neighbouring Queensland University of Technology campus.

A riverside path is lined with benches facing passing ferries and offering a view over to Kangaroo Point, and the gardens also connect naturally with both the Goodwill Bridge and pedestrian Kangaroo Point Bridge, making it a useful connection to a longer walk around Brisbane.

The gardens remain open around the clock, although the café and information services keep their own hours.

The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) sits on the South Brisbane riverfront as a part of the Queensland Cultural Centre. A broad, low-rise building designed around generous galleries and long interior sightlines, the result is a setting that gives its often large installations, film works, and other exhibitions plenty of room to breathe. It’s paired with the Queensland Art Gallery, some 150 metres away, but each building has a distinct character and either works for a stand-alone visit.

The collection and temporary programme range across Australian, Asian, Pacific and international contemporary art, delivering a breadth that especially applies to Brisbane, where geography places the city closer to many Pacific and Asian centres than to the traditional art capitals of Europe or North America. The building also contains the Australian Cinémathèque, which screens curated film programmes, and a Children’s Art Centre with interactive projects developed alongside exhibiting artists. Entry to the gallery and many exhibitions is free, although some shows may require tickets.

If gardens are more your style, Roma Street Parkland feels improbably expansive for a garden beside one of Brisbane’s busiest transport hubs. The 16-hectare parkland occupies a former railway yard on the northern edge of the CBD, and the Spectacle Garden is its showpiece — a carefully maintained sequence of subtropical flowers, foliage, succulents and ornamental planting that changes with the seasons. Another favourite is the Rainforest Walk which passes beneath palms and ferns, while if you’d rather just relax, open lawns and picnic areas are also on hand.

The river doubles as Brisbane’s main street, and crossing it by boat is half the experience, so once you’re done at New Farm Park, leave the car where it is and jump on the City Hopper ferry to South Bank — Brisbane’s most successful piece of riverfront reinvention.

Created on part of the former World Expo 88 site, the parklands extend along the southern bank of the Brisbane River, combining lawns, gardens, swimming areas, playgrounds, restaurants, and cultural institutions all within an easy walk of the CBD.

The Clem Jones Promenade follows the river and a parallel route runs beneath the kilometre-long Arbour, whose steel ribs are covered in bougainvillea, providing shade and one of Brisbane’s most recognisable pedestrian spaces. Streets Beach, the artificial lagoon at the centre of the parklands, is the headline family attraction, while the Boat Pool and Aquativity water-play area provide alternatives nearby.

A complete walk can take an hour, but it’s easy to spend far longer by adding a swim, gallery visit, or meal. For a first visit, enter from the Victoria Bridge or the Cultural Centre end and follow the river south towards the Goodwill Bridge.