Brisbane has been a bit of a go-to weekend away destination for me for quite a few years now. I love heading to Brisbane with family, so I have a lot of great memories there.

When in Brisbane, I think all travellers must make a trip down to Howard Smith Wharves along the Brisbane River. The precinct comes to life in the evening with a really high-quality and varied dining offering. You can catch beautiful vistas of the Brisbane River from the boardwalk and from a number of stunning nearby spots like W Brisbane.

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I also think the Fortitude Valley is a really new and trendy destination to visit for those wanting to do a bit more cultural exploring. Brisbane has really upped its food game and, much like Melbourne and Sydney, now has a bit of an exploding culinary scene! With such a melting pot of high-quality restaurants and cuisines on offer it’s impossible to call out just one. 

Gourmands need to experience the amazing atmosphere at Brisbane’s venues and the diverse offering – that’s my ‘can’t miss’!

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For local eats, I love sAme sAme, and have done a lot of guest appearances up there in the past. Bianca restaurant is another great one. Three Blue Ducks at W Brisbane is fantastic too. Agnes does fantastic wood-fired food and has just opened a bakery with phenomenal bread. Honto is amazing for modern Japanese cuisine. And Julius Pizza is the best pizza in Brisbane – it’s very highly rated by my kids.

You absolutely must catch a game of footy at The Gabba of course! But I can’t deny that the food and drink scene is the real must-do for me, and is a key thing to cover when exploring Brisbane.

For families, the theme parks just outside of Brisbane make a great day trip that the kids will love.

To make things even sweeter, Brisbane weather is always phenomenal and absolutely key to a good trip – there’s a reason they call it the Sunshine State.