Brisbane

The Brisbane man-made city beach. 

Our hotel was near Central Station. On the map I was worried it was too far away from where we planned to spend our time, but it was fine. Everything was within walking distance, even for a 4 year old.

During our visit, we played in the water park at the Southbank; swam at the beach; strolled through the Botanic Gardens; played with the dinosaurs at the Cube; went to the theatre; had a very interactive time at the Science Museum; window shopped at the Arcade and Queens Parade; loved the Regent Theatre building; watched the cricket; hitched a ride on the free ferries; enjoyed dinner at Eagle Street Pier.

Here's the official Brisbane tourist site and below a review of the places where we spent our family time.

Southbank - What's not to love. One of the best features of Brisbane for our family was the Southbank area with its man-made beach, playground, water park, cafes and museums.  We visited there everyday of our stay. Free entry, and even free to get there if you take the ferry.
The water park was particularly welcoming on a hot hot day. The shallow water area has lots of small fountains and water spraying from various points. One corner has a slightly deeper area but mostly the water was below my knees. There's an area for babies to crawl around in. Watch out for water falling from over your head! The downside was not much shade and the queue for toilets, as directly behind the water park there are toilets but a lot of people used them as changing rooms. Quicker to walk across the path to the bigger beachside toilet block.
The beach area was impressive too for a man-made operation. Shallow and deep ends, wide enough to do a lot of strokes; Enough sand to make a sandcastle; Benches dotted around and a few umbrellas; Life guards on duty; Individual showers in the changing/toilet block. It was easy to forget that you were in a city until you looked up and saw the skyline.
There was a craft market in the food area behind the beach at the weekend.
Either side of the beach is a playground with numerous play equipment under sun shades.
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Walking from the beach, through the gardens you'll pass an open-air theatre and then the big wheel. From the wheel its a few minutes walk to galleries and museums.

City Botanic Gardens - A stretch of calm in a corner of the City. The City really does fade away as you walk through the well kept gardens, admiring the colours and designs of the flower beds.

 There is a very good playground with swing area including special needs swing; climbing area; sandpit with fixed diggers; musical equipment and picnic tables. There wasn't much shade but that didn't deter the growing number of families who arrived with their picnic blankets and settled themselves in for a few hours. There is a toilet block 2 minutes walk from the playground. We didn't venture much further than the playground as it was a hot day but we did walk around the pond area. Searching for tadpoles in the pond kept the kids surprising calm and occupied for half an hour.

Science Centre - Just a short walk from Streets Beach is the Science Centre. It is one of the most interactive museums we've ever been to. Countless activities for the kids (and parents) to see/watch/do. We spent a total of 5 hours there over 2 days and still didn't see everything. You can run, jump, climb up the climbing wall, do magic tricks, dress up as a lifeguard, touch, feel and experiment. That's just on one floor.

Queens Parade - The pedestrianised shopping street. It took a while to walk along this short shopping Street with even more shops within the Malls and Arcades to distract you. When you walk along the Street don't just window shop but look above the windows at the architecture. My favourite space was the Regent Theatre, now the Tourist Office. It's a beautiful building. Walk past the stands of leaflets and tourist board desks and go up the stairs to the back to witness the grandeur of this 1920's theatre.

Eagle Street Pier - A Pier on the free ferry route lined with restaurants and cafes with views across the river. Wide choice of food types and price ranges.