What's happening in Brisbane
Where to eat in Brisbane
Hatted, starred and accoladed to the hilt, Tartufo remains Brisbane's high church of Italian cuisine
This riverfront Italian restaurant is where food, wine and service shine bright
Grab a mouthful of Middle Eastern-inspired cuisine from the sultan of James Street dining
Visit the boldest, coolest kid on the Alfred and Constance block – a cheeky tribute to tasty Asian street food
West End’s destination café has some of the best breakfasts in town in its arsenal
Everything is baked on the premises at this riverside espresso bar – and it's pretty freakin' amazing
Gather your knights for any shaped table at New Farm's lofty café, where breakfast is given the royal treatment and even coffee and cake is fit for a king
Round up a team for booze, soft-serve and flavour-bomb fusion eats at West End’s cool-kid hangout, where spectating is the name of the game
Where to drink in Brisbane
This Ipswich micro-brewery is winning hearts with beer lovers, foodies and historians alike
The cool crowd at Gerard's Bar are enjoying a trip to Spain, stopping over at Hong Kong, without leaving home
A former subterranean pool parlour in Fortitude Valley is puttin’ on the Ritz in a cavernous underground bar setting reminiscent of a 1920s speakeasy
Get yourself to the oldest pub around, check out the history and check into an afternoon of good pub grub, live music and the good old Aussie ways
A basement dive bar brings street cred to the sleazy end of Brunswick Street, with Picklebacks, Daiquiris and superior American eats
Go native in Coorparoo with this new restaurant-bar offering the best of the Bear Flag state including cocktails, ales and So-Cal fare
Entertainment in Brisbane
The BEC draws massive crowds for Queensland's biggest Australian and international rock, pop, comedy and stadium acts. We're talking Madonna, Black Sabbath, UFC and even the occasional ice hockey match.
The BCEC is where you will find your trade shows, expos and massive international touring artists when they come calling by Brisbane.
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During summer in Queensland it’s all systems go on fun and frivolities.
Brisbane International is the trailblazer event of the Australian Open Series and brings world tennis greats down under for a week of high-powered shots. Names like Federer, Nadal, Sharapova and Williams have battled Queensland’s summer at the Pat Rafter Arena in previous iterations, putting Brisbane up in lights. Qualifying rounds take place from December 28-29 (and are free to attend – woohoo!) then serious competition starts on December 31. In between, the little tackers are catered for with a Kids’ Tennis Day on December 30 with a range of activities and entertainment (at no cost for under 17s). In 2019, the schedule will be condensed from 14 to 13 sessions to ensure games are nimble and players are premium. The men’s and women’s finals will also be combined to close the event with a gender-balanced bang. The comp is an elimination tournament, so your ticket is essentially a lucky dip of games and players.
Wedged between Christmas and New Year, the Woodford Folk Festival is a mainstay of the Aussie festival calendar. The six-day jamboree pulls more than 2,000 musicians and artists in front of a crowd of well over 100,000 people, and come festival time, the dedicated event site, Woodfordia, becomes a thriving village. Woodford includes concerts, film, comedy, social dialogues, environmental debates, circus workshops, cabaret and a children’s festival. While the original iterations dating back to the 1980s had an anything-goes, hippie vibe, the festival has developed a more mainstream flavour. That said, its audience is as varied as its offering, with people of many orientations, nationalities and ages fronting up for an all-round good time. The best way to experience Woodford is to bag a campsite, or you can step up your comfort by checking in to the tent motel known as Tent City. Off-site options are also available. If you don’t want to commit to the full program there are day tickets available. Campfires aren’t allowed, but the organisers make up for it by creating an enormous bonfire sculpture each year that ties in to a professionally directed show of music and theatre.
Not one for following the herd? Neither are we. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Little Creatures to show you a few ways to get out of your comfort zone and embrace being a little different. Whether it’s discovering a new rooftop bar, seeing a ground-breaking theatre piece or rocking out to a live band, you’ll learn it’s good to be a little different here.
Think sidelines are for softies? If you’re the type who likes to throw yourself headlong into the athletic action, boy does Queensland have the line-up for you. The Sunshine State puts on ocean swims through impossibly clear water off a tropical island; sends mountain bikers off on trails through the tropical north’s rainforests; and lets serious fitness buffs take a test of endurance in one of the country’s most famous beach cities. There are also adventure marathons, because, you know, a regular marathon just doesn’t feel challenging enough sometimes, as well as triathlons that feed into full-blown festivals. Given the A+ locations of all these events, there’s every reason to celebrate your achievements with a holiday (could there be a better excuse?) If in the north you can cruise from Cairns to Port Douglas along a magnificent coastal road then venture through rainforest and crater lakes on the Atherton Tableland. Or, if southbound, you can split from the coast and walk trails through the Springbrook and Lamington National Parks (‘cos you like to keep moving), or chill at a cute B&B in the mountains of Montville or Maleny (‘cos you’re absolutely buggered). So: ready to start training?
