Car Hire Brisbane - Downtown, Australia

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First time going to Brisbane? We want you to make the most out of your rental car Brisbane experience. That is why, we've enlisted the assistance of a local travel expert to help you to get you on your way. Follow these important travel tips and enjoy the very best that Brisbane can give.

See: Despite its tongue-in-cheek nickname of ‘BrisVegas’, Brisbane isn’t very glam or glitzy at all, however, it does have a laidback lifestyle and a lively arts and cultural scene. See an exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, two of Australia’s leading art museums, in a striking building on Brisbane's South Bank. The Institute of Modern Art is worth checking out – one of Australia’s oldest contemporary art spaces, it has a programme of exhibitions featuring local and international artists, encompassing art, film and sound.The Museum of Brisbane is one of the country’s most innovative museums, celebrating Brisbane’s cultural and social history and communities through the visual arts, installations and events. Allow time to take in the city’s architecture also – Brisbane has a unique style of residential architecture synonymous with the state, a stilted house with closed-in verandas called a ‘Queenslander’, as well as grand historic buildings such as Old Government House, now a museum, and Customs House, which offers guided tours.

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Shop: Despite the laidback dress of most locals – shorts, singlets and thongs – Brisbane has always had a fabulous fashion scene. The city’s main shopping area is Queen Street Mall, which has an impressive 700 shops. Queen’s Plaza is home to posh Australian department store David Jones as well as exclusive stores such as Tiffany & Co and Louis Vuitton, and chic Australian designers Alannah Hill, Leona Edmiston and Zimmermann's. While they don’t house the most exciting of shops, Tattersall’s Arcade and the Queen Adelaide Building are worth a look for their historic architecture.Nearby Elizabeth Arcade is where you’ll find more edgy, eclectic, up-and-coming young designers at shops like Garnsis, Little Lace and Violent Green, which stocks Ksubi, Something Else and Karen Walker. On the other side of the Brisbane River, the entertainment precinct South Bank is home to fashionista favourites such as Lylah and Izabel and Sebastian, as well as the South Bank Young Designers Markets. The inner-city neighbourhoods of Fortitude Valley and New Farm are the addresses for the most cutting edge designers, fashion-forward boutiques such as Blonde Venus and iconic Aussie labels such as Sass & Bide.

Eat: Brisbane’s food scene can’t yet compare with Sydney’s or Melbourne’s but it’s getting there. The city has a handful of superb restaurants that keep foodies happy, the finest and most interesting being Urbane, which is easily dishing up some of the most creative, contemporary cuisine in the city, as well as more hearty food at its adjoining bistro The Euro and great hamburgers at its Laneway Bar. One of Brisbane’s newest restaurants, Esquire, is doing equally interesting cuisine in the form of adventurous degustation menus in a very chic Scandi-style space with stunning vistas of the Storey Bridge.Another new restaurant, The Stokehouse,sister to Melbourne’s beloved St Kilda restaurant, is located in a gorgeous, breezy building on the edge of South Bank, with wonderful river and city skyline views. The Stokehouse focuses on fresh seasonal produce – everything from handmade pasta to impeccably cooked pieces of fish. The bar is set to become the afternoon drinking spot. While not new, Aria, a restaurant owned by celebrity chef Matt Moran, is a must if you want that combination of great contemporary Australian food and fantastic views. Also worth trying, in Fortitude Valley, is Ortiga for authentic Spanish in a fun relaxed space.

Drink: Brisbane has traditionally been known as a city of beer drinkers with the big old pubs with their wide verandas traditionally being the most popular watering holes, however, in recent years a number of more sophisticated bars have opened. Cru Bar and Cellar is focused on offering fine wines in a sleek contemporary space with high ceilings and colossal picture windows. Zenbar is another similarly stylish place, with a buzzy vibe, though here the focus is Asian-inspired cocktails. Another Asian-inspired bar is Jade Buddha, on the Brisbane river, with wonderful water views. Also on the water, located in the iconic Harry Seidler-designed Riverside Centre, is Friday's, something of a local institution and popular with the after-work crowd. Across the river on South Bank, there are a handful of bars with alfresco seating that are very pleasant on a balmy evening, including the wine bar Fifth Element, the casual Greystone Bar & Cellar which does decent tapas, and one of those quintessential old Queensland pubs, The Plough Inn.

Stay: Brisbane boasts some very stylish boutique hotels for a city of its size. The most luxurious is The Emporium, in Fortitude Valley, with glamorous studio suites, a handful of restaurants and cafés, and a very swish cocktail bar. I love Limes Hotel, nearby, which is similarly chic albeit hipper, with an architecturally avant-garde exterior, contemporary Scandi-style interior, a rooftop cinema screening art-house films, and live jazz nights. In a 110-year-old Queenslander house, the elegant Spicers Balfour Hotel is lovely, somehow pulling off a vintage-Euro look in tropical Brisbane. Less fashionable but a good choice if you’re keen on staying slapbang in the centre, Hotel Urban Brisbane is located at the highest point of the city with fantastic 360-degree vistas and rather business-like contemporary-styled rooms. On the south side of the Brisbane River, Mantra South Bank has stylish serviced apartments for those who want a bit more space and is handily placed for visiting the art museums and trying out all of those excellent restaurants and bars.

Photos of Brisbane

Walk: As long as you don’t mind the heat, tropical Brisbane is a beaut place to walk. The best route is along the waterfront through the Parklands at South Bank, a lush green area with bougainvillea-covered paths, manicured lawns for picnics, plenty of shady seats to shelter from the sun, and Australia’s only city beach with swimming pools skirted by sand, and life-guards! There are plenty of boutiques, shops, cafés, bars and restaurants to stop at along the way, as well as Brisbane’s cultural precinct that is home to the Gallery of Modern Art (see above). Another nice spot for a stroll is the city’s Botanic Gardens, which has a mangrove boardwalk, bamboo grove, and serene ponds, as well as New Farm Park, where Brisbane’s locals like to jog, picnic and laze about in deck chairs. Adjoining the park, the historic Brisbane Powerhouse hosts weekend farmers market, moonlight cinema and live music.

Get Out: And get on the water! Board the authentic paddlewheeler, the Kookaburra River Queen, for a scenic lunch or dinner cruise along the Brisbane River or hop on a Mirimar Cruise to travel to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where you can cuddle a koala and hand feed kangaroos and emus. Alternatively, venture out to Moreton Bay on a Bay and Islands Tour to explore the waterways that are home to dolphins, dugongs, turtles and other marine life, and beaches and islands such as North Stradbroke. From June to November, you can cruise out in search of whales on a Brisbane Whale Watching cruise .

Listen: Some of Australia’s best bands – from the Saints to the Go-Betweens – have come from Brisbane, and the city still have a good live music scene, so make sure you get out and experience it. Fortitude Valley is where you’ll find the best live music venues, such as The Zoo (www.thezoo.com.au/) and The Tivoli.

Avoid: Going out without a hat, sun-block and a bottle of water. Brisbane is a sub-tropical city with year-round sunshine. It gets sweltering in summer and stays relatively warm in winter. During the wet season you’ll also need an umbrella!