Brisbane

I’d never been to Brisbane before and from all accounts I was led to believe it was the poorer cousin of Sydney and Melbourne. Coming from a city like Auckland, where our population doesn’t come close to that of Sydney and Melbourne’s, I was also expecting Brisbane to be alive with the same hustle and bustle of Australia’s main centres.

What I found was that Brisbane is much like Auckland, with a close proximity to water, a similar climate (although their summer stretches for a wee while longer and the days get slightly hotter - when I was there they were experiencing a drought!) and the feeling that you’re not going to be overwhelmed by people at every corner, in every store and have to put up a fight just to get through the day.

Brisbane has that Big City status, without the big city vibe. I loved it.

Getting from the airport to your destination I recommend Brunel Limosuines. They operate a fleet of new 7 Series BMW’s and have friendly drivers who know the city well. Meeting for business in the city centre is a breeze, with a good selection of cafes and hotels nearby, the best of which is the Stamford Plaza on Edward Street. The Quay West is around the corner from the Stamford, is walking distance to the city’s heart, and lies across the road from a huge park near the river.

As you can see in the slideshow, the architecture of Brisbane was, for me, a highlight. Melbourne has still retained a lot of its old buildings, even if they have gutted the interiors and left the facades. Sydney still has a lot of its architectural heritage intact, too. But coming from Auckland, where the preservation of great architecture is the last thing on anyone’s mind, it was refreshing to see that Brisbane holds its own in the aesthetic stakes.

For flights to and from Brisbane, I’d recommend Emirates both ways, from ANYWHERE in the world. An upgrade to business class made the flight even more special, with e-mail, SMS and phone services readily available at any time during the flight on a personal touch-screen. The staff is friendly and professional, the seats roomy, all of which combines to make even a short 3hr trip one-way to Brisbane a joy.