10 Best Things To Do In Brisbane in 2026

Last updated: 29 July 2026

By Sarah Townsend, Marketing Manager at Story Bridge Adventure Climb

Brisbane packs more into a visit than most travellers expect. The Queensland capital was named the best city in the world to raise a family in 2026 (Compare the Market), and runs every bus, train and ferry at a flat 50 cents per trip (TransLink).

The 10 best things to do in Brisbane in 2026 are the Story Bridge Adventure Climb (from $150, ages 6+), Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank Parklands and Streets Beach (free), the City Botanic Gardens (free), Mount Coot-tha Lookout (free), the Gallery of Modern Art (free entry), Kangaroo Point Cliffs (free), Queen Street Mall, Roma Street Parkland (free) and New Farm Park (free). Seven of the ten cost nothing, most sit within 30 minutes of the CBD, and the whole list works year-round thanks to Brisbane’s subtropical climate.

Here is each one in detail, with current prices, durations, opening hours and age suitability so you can plan without opening ten more tabs.

Key Takeaways

• 7 of Brisbane’s 10 best attractions are completely free, including Streets Beach, GOMA and Mount Coot-tha Lookout
• The Story Bridge Adventure Climb is the city’s signature paid experience: 1.5 hours, 80 metres above the river, ages 6+, from $150
• All public transport costs 50 cents per trip; kids under 5 ride free and kids 5-14 ride free on weekends
• Book the bridge climb 7-14 days ahead; everything else on this list needs no booking

How Much Do Brisbane’s Top Attractions Cost?

Brisbane is one of the cheapest Australian capitals to explore because so much of the best of it is free. Here is what each attraction on this list costs, how long to allow, and whether you need to book.

Budget tip: visiting on a Sunday? The Story Bridge Adventure Climb’s Sunday Funday session is $210 for an adult and child together, with kids climbing at 50% off and eating free at Felons Barrel Hall between 11am and 3pm.

1. Climb the Story Bridge (from $150, ages 6+)

The Story Bridge Adventure Climb is Brisbane’s signature experience: a guided 1.5-hour climb along almost a kilometre of the bridge’s superstructure to a summit platform 80 metres above the Brisbane River. From the top you get uninterrupted 360-degree views taking in Moreton Bay to the east, the Glasshouse Mountains to the north, Mount Coot-tha to the west and Lamington National Park to the south. It is rated 4.9 from more than 1,900 Google reviews, and no climbing experience is needed: every climber wears a harness clipped to a static safety cable for the entire route, and guides are trained to support nervous climbers.

Climbs run rain or shine, day and night. The Day Climb starts from $150, Twilight and Dawn climbs are $180, and the Night Climb is $160. Children aged 6 and over (minimum height 110cm) can climb with a parent or guardian. Book 7-14 days ahead, especially for weekends and school holidays.

Getting there: the climb departs from Howard Smith Wharves, 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane City, reachable on the F1 CityCat to the Howard Smith Wharves terminal, or a short walk from the CBD.

2. Eat and Unwind at Howard Smith Wharves

Tucked directly beneath the Story Bridge on the northern bank of the river, Howard Smith Wharves is Brisbane’s riverfront dining and entertainment precinct. Entry is free, and the precinct mixes open lawns, a playground and river views with some of the city’s best-known venues: Felons Brewing Co for wood-fired pizza and house-brewed beer, Greca for Greek sharing plates, and Yoko Dining for modern Japanese with a skyline outlook.

Felons brews on site and opens 11am to late daily, with the core range running from Crisp Light at $4.50 to the IPA at $7.00 and roughly 26 specialty beers released a year. Brewery tours run Saturdays and Sundays at 12pm and 2pm for $35 per person, capped at eight people and over 18s only. Felons states that all sections of the venue except a small upper deck balcony are wheelchair accessible, and the precinct itself has two lifts down from Bowen Terrace, accessible bathrooms throughout and accessible bays in the car park. It pairs naturally with the climb above it: the Adventure Climb departs from 5 Boundary Street, the same address, so you can climb at sunset and walk down to dinner under the span you just conquered. The Howard Smith Wharves ferry terminal is served by the F1 CityCat.

3. Swim at South Bank Parklands and Streets Beach (Free)

Check before you go: South Bank Corporation has Streets Beach closed for essential maintenance from 15 June until late August 2026. Aquativity and the Boat Pool remain open (Visit South Bank).

South Bank is Brisbane’s cultural playground: 17 hectares of riverfront parkland open every day of the year from 5am to midnight, holding Streets Beach, a free man-made swimming beach patrolled by professional lifeguards seven days a week. Entry to South Bank is free. Accessible bathrooms sit at South Bank Piazza, Little Stanley Street Plaza and Aquativity, with a fully accessible bathroom including a ceiling hoist at Riverside Terrace, and the car park has eight accessible spaces with lift access from both entrances. Wheelchairs can be hired from the Visitor Information and Booking Centre. Allow two to four hours, longer with lunch. It is a 10-minute walk or one F1 CityCat stop from the CBD.

4. Stroll the City Botanic Gardens (Free)

Wedged between the CBD and the river at 147 Alice Street, the City Botanic Gardens are Queensland’s oldest heritage garden and the easiest green escape in the city. They span 18 hectares and 1.2 kilometres of river frontage, hold more than 600 plant species, and are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Brisbane City Council lists wheelchair access, accessible toilets and an accessible, inclusive playground among the facilities, with disability parking inside the Edward Street gate. Some heritage species were planted in the 1850s and the Weeping Fig Avenue trees date from the 1870s. The gardens once held a zoo: flamingos, bears, monkeys, emus and a Galapagos tortoise lived here until it was disbanded in 1958. Central Station and South Bank are both a 10-minute walk, and the free City Loop buses stop on Alice Street.

5. Watch the Sunset from Mount Coot-tha Lookout (Free)

The heritage-listed Mount Coot-tha Lookout delivers the definitive view of Brisbane: the full skyline, the winding river and the suburbs stretching to Moreton Bay. Brisbane City Council describes it as the city’s highest point, open 24 hours a day seven days a week, with a cafe, a gift shop and free parking. Reach it via Sir Samuel Griffith Drive, about a 15-minute drive from the CBD. Time your visit for sunset and watch the city lights switch on. At the base sit the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, 56 hectares of Queensland’s premier subtropical gardens with explicitly free entry, open 8am to 6pm from September to March and 8am to 5pm from April to August. Free guided walks leave the Visitor Information Centre at 11am and 1pm daily and run about an hour. Accessible parking and accessible toilets are available.

6. See the Gallery of Modern Art (Free Entry)

The Gallery of Modern Art sits in South Bank’s cultural precinct, 150 metres from the Queensland Art Gallery, and entry is free with some exhibitions separately ticketed (QAGOMA). Expect bold large-scale installations, rotating international exhibitions and the Children’s Art Centre. Next door, Queensland Museum Kurilpa is also free, open daily 9:30am to 5pm, and holds more than a million items and specimens in collections dating back to its founding on 20 January 1862. Its SparkLab science centre is separately ticketed at $16.50 adult and $13.50 for children aged 5 to 15, recommended for ages 6 to 13, and Companion Card holders’ companions enter free. Every entrance and area of the museum is wheelchair accessible with lifts to all levels. Together the two make an easy half day and the city’s best wet-weather option.

7. Walk the Kangaroo Point Cliffs (Free)

The Kangaroo Point Cliffs offer the best free skyline view close to the city: rock faces rising above the river directly opposite the CBD. Brisbane City Council describes both the upper and lower levels as offering unmatched views of the river and city, open 24 hours a day, with metered parking on River Terrace and Lower River Terrace. You can hire a kayak from the Riverlife Adventure Centre or abseil the 20-metre cliffs with a guided group. Come at sunset when the skyline glows, or after dark when the lights reflect off the water. The Kangaroo Point Bridge, which opened on 15 December 2024 and runs around 460 metres, links the cliffs to the city on foot. The Kangaroo Point City Walk is about 5 kilometres and takes you over the Story Bridge itself, with Captain Burke Park sitting directly below its southern end. Both of the bridge’s footpaths are open to pedestrians, so walking across the Story Bridge is free if you want the view without the climb.

8. Browse Queen Street Mall

Queen Street Mall is the heart of the CBD. Brisbane City Council calls it the city’s premier open-air shopping destination, with more than 500 stores at street level, inside shopping centres and in heritage-listed arcades. Even non-shoppers should walk it once for the Brisbane Arcade’s 1920s architecture and the street performers. Individual stores set their own hours, though the centres generally run 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 9am to 9pm Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday and 10am to 4pm Sunday. A Braille trail runs down both sides of the mall, and accessible toilets are located in Uptown, Wintergarden, Queens Plaza and the Albert Street block. It connects the Botanic Gardens at one end to the river at the other, which makes it a natural corridor between the other stops on this list.

9. Recharge at Roma Street Parkland (Free)

Roma Street Parkland is a 16-hectare green space right beside the CBD, planted with subtropical gardens, a Spectacle Garden and a rainforest walk. It is open to visitors 24 hours a day, apart from the Spectacle Garden and the Rainforest Walk, which open daily from dawn until dusk. Kids get one of Brisbane’s biggest nature-based playgrounds, adults get landscaped gardens and a rainforest walk, and everyone gets open lawns and free barbecues beside Roma Street station. Volunteers run a free 90-minute guided tour if you want the stories behind the plantings. Weekday parking is around $18.25 a day, so the train is the easier arrival. The parkland is managed by City Parklands Services, a Brisbane City Council subsidiary, rather than by Council directly.

10. Picnic at New Farm Park (Free)

New Farm Park is the classic Brisbane weekend: 15 hectares of rose gardens, giant Moreton Bay fig trees, an Edwardian bandstand rotunda and two playgrounds, on a riverside setting. Brisbane City Council lists it as open 8.30am to 11pm daily. It has been used as a Council park since 1914. Next door sits the Brisbane Powerhouse, a 1920s power station reborn as Queensland’s home of contemporary art and culture, staging more than 1,250 performances a year across two main-stage theatres, three smaller venues and gallery spaces. Entry to the Powerhouse building and its ground-floor Fairfax Studio gallery is free, lifts connect all levels and accessible toilets are on every level. Get there on the F1 CityCat for a flat 50 cents; the New Farm Park terminal is a 440-metre walk from the Powerhouse.

What Is the Best Time of Year to Visit Brisbane?

Brisbane works year-round. Winters are mild and even wet-season storms usually pass within an hour. Autumn from March to May and winter from June to August offer the most comfortable weather for outdoor attractions like the bridge climb, Mount Coot-tha and the riverside parks, and the Story Bridge Adventure Climb runs rain or shine with all-weather jackets provided. Summer from December to February is hot and humid with afternoon storms, so plan indoor stops for the middle of the day: GOMA, Queensland Museum Kurilpa and the State Library are all free and all in the same South Bank precinct. Spring brings jacaranda season, when New Farm Park turns purple. Note that the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha shift to shorter winter hours, closing at 5pm from April to August rather than 6pm.

How Do You Get Around Brisbane?

Cheaply. TransLink charges a flat 50 cents per trip across every service, regardless of how far you travel or how you pay, and you can tap on and off with any Visa or Mastercard contactless card, a smart device or a go card (TransLink). Brisbane City Council runs 28 CityCats and 5 KittyCats across a network of 22 terminals, and the F1 CityCat doubles as sightseeing, running the length of the river from UQ St Lucia to Northshore Hamilton past South Bank, the CBD, Howard Smith Wharves and New Farm Park. Worth knowing if accessibility matters: TransLink states that all CityCat ferries are fully accessible with four spaces for wheelchairs and mobility scooters on each vessel, but that Cross River Ferry services are not accessible. Most attractions on this list are within a 30-minute trip of each other.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the number one thing to do in Brisbane?

The Story Bridge Adventure Climb is Brisbane’s signature experience: a guided 1.5-hour climb to a platform 80 metres above the Brisbane River, rated 4.9 from more than 1,900 Google reviews. It is one of only a handful of bridge climbs in the world. For a free alternative, Streets Beach at South Bank (Australia’s only inner-city man-made beach) and the Mount Coot-tha Lookout at sunset are the two most popular picks.

How much does the Story Bridge climb cost?

Story Bridge Adventure Climb prices start at $150 per adult for the Day Climb. The Night Climb and Full Moon Climb are $160, and Twilight, Dawn and Toast at the Top climbs are $180. Families can book the Family Bundle from $360, and the Sunday Funday session ($210 for an adult and child) gives kids 50% off plus free meals at Felons Barrel Hall. Prices are per person and include all safety equipment, climb suits and a trained guide.

What can you do in Brisbane for free?

Seven of Brisbane’s ten best attractions are free: Streets Beach and South Bank Parklands, the City Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha Lookout, GOMA and the Queensland Museum, Kangaroo Point Cliffs, Roma Street Parkland and New Farm Park. Every public transport trip in Brisbane, including the CityCat ferries, costs a flat 50 cents.

How many days do you need in Brisbane?

Three days covers Brisbane’s highlights comfortably: one day for the CBD, South Bank and the Story Bridge Adventure Climb, one for wildlife and culture (Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, GOMA, Fortitude Valley), and one for a Moreton Island or Mount Coot-tha day trip. See our full 3-day Brisbane itinerary for exact timings and costs.

Can kids do the Story Bridge climb?

Yes. Children aged 6 and over (minimum height 110cm) can climb with a parent or guardian. Kids aged 6-9 need one adult per child, and ages 10-16 can climb with one adult per three children. Every Sunday the Sunday Funday deal gives 50% off child tickets, and all safety equipment is provided, with guides trained to support nervous young climbers.