Brisbane explored with a car rental

With a population exceeding 2 million, Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia, lying just a few degrees of the Tropic of Capricorn. Its subtropical climate is reflected in its domestic architecture : houses built of wood with wide verandahs, often standing on stilts. The city centre of Brisbane is particularly noted for its many architectural styles. Brisbane is a cosmopolitan city with a distinctive and individual character, highlighted by the brilliant colours of profusion of flowering trees.

Brisbane lies 20 kilometers inland from Moreton Bay on the banks of the Brisbane River, and was named in honour of the Governor of New South Wales, sir Thomas Brisbane. The first settlement occured at Redcliffe Point and consisted of a detachment of soldiers and forty-five convicts.

With one of our cheap car rental deals for Brisbane, you will be able to discover and explore Brisbane's nicest spots :

• Mt Coot-tha Lookout : Even if you only have an hour or so to spare, grab one of our cheap rental cars to drive up to the top of Mt Coot-tha and get a view of the whole of Brisbane city. You'll see the river and the skyline of the Brisbane CBD. On a clear day you can see south-west to the distant ranges, east towards Moreton Bay and miles in every other direction.
• Brisbane's South Bank has many attractions for the visitor. It has dozens of eating places, shops and even a beach. Other attractions at Brisbane's South Bank include the Cultural Centre, the Queensland Art Gallery and new Gallery of Modern Art. The Queensland Museum Science centre is especially popular, as well as the new State Library of Queensland.
• The Queensland Performing Arts Centre [QPAC] is the place to see a play, opera or ballet. There's also cinemas, regular free live entertainment and many of Brisbane's festivals and live entertainment also happen on South Bank.
• Visitors to Brisbane will just love the Australia wildlife at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. They have koalas, kangaroos, and native Australia reptiles.
• A trip on the river : Getting out on the Brisbane River is so easy and cheap to do on one of the river cruises. These go via places such as South Bank, the University of Queensland, New Farm and the Story Bridge.
• Moreton Bay - Brisbane : Moreton Bay is a large bay worth exploring. Take a trip to Stradbroke Island (also known as 'Straddie' by the locals). At Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort on Moreton Island you can feed dolphins.
• City Botanic Gardens : A visit to the City Botanic Gardens is worthwhile, with exotic plants that flourish in Queensland sub-tropical climate. The City Botanic Gardens are in a fabulous spot beside the river.
• Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens : head to the the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. Features there include a magnificent tropical display dome, a lagoon, Japanese gardens, themed gardens and the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.
• Story Bridge : Named after John Douglas Story, Brisbane's Story Bridge links the inner city suburbs of Fortitude Valley and Kangaroo Point. Explore Captain Burke Park or eat out at the historic Story Bridge Hotel. For the more adventurous there is the Story Bridge Adventure Climb, which climbs up the actual bridge.
• Roma Street Parkland : There are many public artworks to admire in the Roma Street Parkland as well as the theme gardens such as the topiary maze, rainforest walk, lake, celebration lawn and amphitheatre.
• The highlights of the Brisbane festival calendar are:
  • Paniyiri (Greek festival in May)
  • Energex Brisbane Festival (July)
  • Brisbane International Film Festival (August)
  • Riverfestival (Sept)
  • Brisbane Writers Festival (Sept/Oct)
  • Out of the Box (children's festival next in 2008)

Exploring Brisbane is just perfect with a car rental. Brisbane has a wide range of car rental providers : Avis, Hertz, Budget, Europcar and Thrifty, just to name a few. Oodles compares car rental rates for Brisbane and other cities in Australia. Pay us a visit, just before you visit Brisbane to check out our cheap car rental rates. Within 2 minutes, your car rental for Brisbane will be booked. It's easy, it's Oodles !