We spent the first week in October in Brisbane. We went to the city simply because it’s one of the major cities in Australia. It’s the capital of Queensland, making it politically important. Plus, the metro area is home to more than 3 million Aussies. And it’s also going to host the 2032 Olympic Games. But that was about all we knew about the city.

We left fully charmed by the city. Unlike some of the other adventures on our trip, our time in Brisbane doesn’t fit into a chronological narrative. Instead, this post is more of a loose highlight reel of our little fling with Brissy.

Brisbane straddles the Brisbane River and numerous bridges span the banks. A few of these bridges are artfully designed and are strictly for pedestrians. I was particularly intrigued by the Kurilpa Bridge, a maddening combination of cables and struts.

It’s the world’s largest tensegrity bridge, as the structure is supported both by the integrity of rigid steel tubes and the tension of metal cables.

We also liked the asymmetrical Neville Bonner Bridge, which you can see below in the distance to the left of Julie.

The bridge looks a bit like an unfolding beach chair and leads from a large park on the south bank directly into a giant hotel/casino complex on the north bank. (Neville Bonner was the first aboriginal member of the Australian parliament.) The Star Casino is also surprisingly nice, as there is an observation deck open to the public that offers great views of the city. The glass floors on some parts of the deck are a nice touch, too, and the views to the street below reminded us of bungy jumping.

Between the bridges, pathways run along the river, providing easy access to numerous parks and gardens.

The city’s botanical gardens was particularly delightful, with markets on the weekend and great tropical specimens, like this massive staghorn fern.

We were also impressed with the bloom stalks on these bromeliads.

As we had seen in northern Queensland, there were also quite a few large bats flying through the garden. Closer to the ground we saw Australian Water Dragons swimming in the fountains and lounging in the sub-tropical trees.

We were also excited to see the blooming jacaranda trees (despite the fact that they are apparently an invasive species — and the blossoms are a bit stinky).

Along the river we also saw blooming purple vines, which reminded us of wisteria (our best guess was that they were Queens Wreath).

One of the most impressive aspects of Brisbane was the ferry system. Large catamarans, dubbed “City Cats” zip up and down the river, while smaller “Kitty Cats” run back and forth from one side of the river to the other. Two of the City Cats have also been renamed “City Dogs” in honor of Bluey, a children’s program set in Brisbane.

The boats are convenient, fast, and cheap, with the fair being only AUD $1, which is just 66 US cents. Julie and I took the ferry for an hour to the outskirts of town and then returned at sunset for a nice little discount river cruise.

Night time Brisbane was just as beautiful, with a modern skyline that looked great from the pedestrian bridges.

The city takes full advantage of its waterfront in a way that few cities pull off. Julie and I were particularly fond of the sprawling Felons Brewery, which runs underneath and alongside the easy-on-the-eyes Story Bridge.

Felons Brewery also has great outdoor seating spaces for watching sports. The place was packed from end to end for the Australian National Rugby League finals — Brisbane came from behind to beat Melbourne. We also wandered into an emo boy band concert shortly after drinking the beers shown above.

On the way home, we somehow found ourselves in another nearby brewery, where we caught the last few songs by Ukrainian metal band, Stoned Jesus.

Brissy was simply delightful, from start to finish.

-Will