Most popular areas in Brisbane for 5-star hotels

Brisbane is the capital of Australia’s state of Queensland – a booming, culturally diverse metropolis celebrating shopping, dining, and inspiring museums. Stay in the central business district – the CBD – to be surrounded by glitzy malls, towering skyscrapers, and exclusive cocktail bars and restaurants. Northeast of the center, the Fortitude Valley area blends alternative bars and clubs with an eclectic range of Asian restaurants and quirky boutiques. This area gradually recedes east into the leafy and affluent New Farm neighborhood, where trendy bistros and boutique shopping abound.

Top 5-star hotels in Brisbane

The Hilton Brisbane is the definition of high-class accommodation – a grand central getaway offering immaculate and spacious guestrooms boasting city views, a starry rooftop terrace, a shimmering outdoor pool, and a fine dining in-house restaurant. The Stamford Plaza Brisbane is similarly luxurious – here, you’ll enjoy valet parking, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and enormous ensuite guestrooms bathed in warm-gold lighting. The Emporium Hotel, based outside the center, celebrates grandiose guestrooms with airy, bright-white ensuites, an outdoor pool, and a rooftop terrace.

Where to find the best restaurants in Brisbane

Brisbane’s Eagle St Pier precinct is a relaxed waterfront entertainment area on the edge of the CBD, renowned for its wealth of upscale restaurants. Here, you can dine in cutting-edge and experimental food-alchemy eateries, classy steakhouses, and authentic Italian restaurants. The quieter Fortitude Valley and New Farm areas, meanwhile, champion cool continental bistros and bars, as well as fancy Asian eateries. The South Bank area offers an eclectic variety of upper-end restaurants, from meticulously professional Turkish kitchens to German cuisine dining rooms.

The most popular things to do in Brisbane

Animal lovers can start off their sun-kissed Brisbane morning by venturing to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, a small and historic wildlife refuge. Here, you can watch cuddly koalas as they navigate through the silvery branches of leafy eucalyptus trees, and gaze at flocks of chirping rainbow parakeets. Along central Brisbane’s South Bank, art lovers can visit 2 of the city’s top galleries – the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, a futuristic glass and metal structure housing Asian and Australian works, and the Queensland Art Gallery, a classic white-stone building boasting indigenous and continental masterworks. For a peaceful afternoon, stroll through the palm-studded grounds of the tranquil riverside City Botanic Gardens. Shoppers, meanwhile, can splurge in the high-end fashion boutiques of Fortitude Valley’s James Street, or the designer stores along central Edward Street.

Best ways to get around Brisbane

If you’re spending most of your Brisbane getaway in the skyscraper-studded CBD, you’ll find it’s easy to get around on foot alone, or, if the mood strikes you, via bike rental. The public transport system of buses, trains, and ferries – linked by a ticketing system called Translink – cover the rest of the city. Taxicabs are in abundance, offering a relaxed and easy means of transport. Some 5-star Brisbane hotels boast exclusive limo and town car services, too.