Things To Do In Brisbane - 3 Day Ultimate Guide

Known locally as the river city, Brisbane does indeed straddle a river, but I question their suggestion that they are either the only city on a river or even just the best city on a river. Regardless of my petty semantics Brisbane is actually a fantastic city to visit: easy to wander and perfect for stumbling upon cool places to eat food or drink drink.
You could easily spend a week there, but 3 days is enough just the same. If you’re on a tight schedule that’s probably the perfect amount of time so here we go, Backstreet Nomad’s recommended 3-day itinerary to Brisbane.

Things To Do In Brisbane – Day 1

Introduce yourself to Brisbane by starting in the most logical of all places, the CBD, which is surrounded by a V-shape of the Brisbane River on 3 sides. Even though this is where most big business transactions are conducted there is a surprising amount to keep you occupied for a morning.

Burnett Lane

To start off with, find Burnett Lane (off Queen St). There are a few cool places along there but resist them all until you get to the end to find Brew for some coffee and breakfast. Unless of course you don’t mind having 2 breakfasts or multiple coffees like I did. You’ll know you’ve arrived if you ask yourself the question: “Is this it?” A giant mural, astro turf, and a mountain of milk bottle crates just asking to be used for giant human bowling will greet you at the door. Afterwards, do a bit of shopping or browsing along the Queen/Elizabeth St pedestrian Mall until you are bored or run out of money.

Catch a bus out to Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, or known to the locals as ‘The Valley”. There are plenty more shops to explore in the pedestrian mall but if you are like me I just headed straight to Yard Bird Ale House for lunch and an amber refreshment. Yard Bird are infamous for their wings, and chalk boards taunt patrons, tempting them to try the wings that are “not for amateurs”. Reminds me of when the serpent sold the apple to Eve all those years ago…

Also worth a visit is little Winn Street, a Melbourne’esque laneway off Ann St in The Valley, a block from Brunswick. Full of boutique retailers and small cafes, Winn Lane shows the future direction of Brisbane culture.

Newstead Brewing

Sometimes in big cities it can be very easy to follow crowds, signs, buildings or books. But if you really want to get off the beaten path, make sure you visit Newstead, not too far from the Valley. Beer Lovers will love Green Beacon Brewing Co and Newstead Brewing Co, just a few blocks from each other and both with great views all their brewing equipment from the bar. Doesn’t get fresher than that.

After a busy afternoon, return to your hotel/hostel and get ready for the night’s entertainment. If you aren’t yet sure what sort of night you’re in for head to Caxton Street, Milton (it’s about 5 minutes up the hill from Suncorp Stadium). For drinks, try Brewski for a well crafted ale, or for something a little more unique try Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall with its folksy American theme, turn-of-the-century-style fittings and live jazz band. And don’t forget the secret nautical bar upstairs behind the emergency exit.

And of course, if you just wanted to get sloshed for the least amount of coin try the Caxton. Lastly, if you get the munchies at the end of the night, New York Pizza Slice will satisfy any craving with their giant, crispy, dripping New York style pizza by the slice. It’s as close you can get to Times Square without being there.

Things To Do In Brisbane – Day 2

Head back into the city for a hearty breakfast. Gresham Lane offers some great options and can be easily overlooked without prior knowledge of its existence. Red Hook greets you at the mouth with their New York street style food and conspicuous yellow mustard bottles. The food is deliciously simple with the required amount of grease to soak up last night.

Once content, catch the 471 bus out to Mount Coot Tha for a spectacular view of the city. Oh I forgot to mention, you should have already packed a picnic lunch to eat while looking over Brisbane city and the surrounding lands. The bus will actually take you to the top, but there’s really no stopping the energetic from getting off at the bottom and hiking up (hey some people are into that!) Prepare yourself though, despite being only 8km away the bus takes over an hour. Split a few ways, a taxi or an Uber wouldn’t be too much more than a handful of bus tickets.

West End

When you return to the city aim for the West End, a suburb to the south of Southbank, ironically centred around “Boundary” Street, with more restaurants than you can poke a stick at. I would know, I’ve tried. Before you get to dinner though walk the Boundary Street Markets, a reasonably small night market but this just gives it a higher density of quality. Walk up Boundary St and find a suitable place for dinner.

Archive Beer Boutique

The Hong Depot does excellent Korean barbecue, and is an interesting cultural experience as well. Korean culture I suppose it would be. Actually I imagine they do Australian culture pretty poorly. Archive Beer Boutique do excellent value pizzas and are only $12 on a Thursday night. Archive jumps on the astro turf bandwagon proving that it is actually cool and covers the entire entrance and front section. What I love about Archive is they don’t conform to any one style. The wallpaper is made of comic books while the furniture is completely vintage and the musician is playing standard pub classics. Far from being removed, the eclectic furnishings actually tie together extremely well.

For after dinner cocktails head to The End, around the corner on Vulture Street. This fairly small bar has a very extensive, original cocktail list and a low-lit ambience courtesy of the acoustic guitarist softly playing at the end of the thin room. Larger groups would probably struggle to get a seat on busy nights.

Things To Do In Brisbane – Day 3

Breakfast on day 3 is a little different: let’s head to Southbank. Southbank is actually packed with cafes and is always buzzing so you’re probably wondering why it’s taken so long for you to discover it. I’m not sure actually, you should take that up with whoever designed your itinerary. Southbank is actually a great option for any meal at any time of the day.

Southbank

Explore Southbank slowly and on foot, spend some time relaxing at the Southbank Parklands and if it is hot, bring your swimmers for a quick dip in Streets Beach, the large, free beach-style pool.

Dry off and walk around to Kangaroo Point for some of the best views of the CBD from the neighbouring suburbs. The free CityHopper ferry stops at Kangaroo Point so this is a perfect time to have a free boat ride on the river. Aim for Eagle Street Pier for Lunch, yet another precinct of cafes. Eagle St Pier arguably has some of the best views of the river and Story Bridge. I mean, it’s no Sydney Harbour Bridge but Brisbanites are strangely proud of it. (And seriously, if you are that into your bridges, the hell are you doing in Brisbane anyway?)

Quick Lunch

Guzman Y Gomez and Grill’d will both offer cheap (but delicious) options for a quick lunch. For something a bit more formal you might try Pony or Bavarian Bier Cafe. Bavarian Bier Cafe is in no way exclusive to Brisbane, in fact it is a reasonably large chain in major cities, but it still offers pretty reasonable (if expensive) German food and the best Beers Bavaria produces.

Finish off your day and your trip at the Eat St Markets for dinner. (Yes you read that correctly, have dinner on Eat St). Despite being fairly out of the way, the Eat St Markets will provide you with a very unique dining experience you are unlikely to see anywhere else. I mean, how many food markets have you seen made of 60 converted shipping containers? It is all very casual and even if you have the shittest meal of your entire trip, I bet that this is the place you tell your friends about back home.

Lastly, on your way back to your hotel, go and have a slap in the Treasury Casino, in the beautiful old Treasury Building. Put $10 on 00 for me then double down on a 12 at the Blackjack table. Leave the casino wondering why you listened to worst gambling advice on the internet.

Things To Do In Brisbane – Bonus: Days 4 and 5

By now you’ve seen a good chunk of Brisbane and its surrounding suburbs. And if you are actually staying a bit longer then I’d like to think I have you covered as well. Brisbane is actually perfectly located near a plethora of possible day trips that visitors generally don’t include in their planning.

Burleigh Heads Beach

An obvious example is Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast, where you can be amazed at the iconic highrise right on the beach, from the beach. Alternatively, nearby Burleigh Heads is much quieter and peaceful, whereas Broadbeach is more of a happy medium.