Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

🇦🇺 Brisbane is the capital of and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland. The Brisbane central business district is situated inside a peninsula of the Brisbane River, about 15 km from its mouth at Moreton Bay, a bay of the Coral Sea. Brisbane's metropolitan area lies at the centre of the South East Queensland metropolitan region. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the hilly flood-plain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Taylor and D'Aguilar mountain ranges. It sprawls across several of Australia's most populous local government areas—most centrally the City of Brisbane.

Brisbane, one of the oldest cities in Australia, was founded upon the traditional lands of the Turrbal people, whose name for the area on which the city is located is Meanjin. A diverse city with 32.2% of its metropolitan population being foreign-born, Brisbane ranks highly in ratings of liveable cities. Brisbane is known for its distinct Queenslander architecture, its spring Jacaranda blossoms, and its outdoor dining and cuisine culture. A transportation hub, Brisbane is served by a large suburban rail network and popular bus and ferry networks, as well as Australia's largest and busiest airport, and the third largest seaport. Brisbane has hosted major events including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88 and the 2014 G20 summit, and will host the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Economy Categorised as a global city, Brisbane is among Asia-Pacific cities with largest GDPs and is one of the major business hubs in Australia, with strengths in mining, banking, insurance, transportation, information technology, real estate and food.

Some of the largest companies headquartered in Brisbane, all among Australia's largest, include Suncorp Group, Virgin Australia, Aurizon, Bank of Queensland, Flight Centre, CUA, Sunsuper, QSuper, Domino's Pizza Enterprises, Star Entertainment Group, ALS, TechnologyOne, NEXTDC, Super Retail Group, New Hope Coal, Jumbo Interactive, National Storage, Collins Foods and Boeing Australia. Most major Australian companies, as well as numerous international companies, have contact offices in Brisbane.

Brisbane throughout its history has been one of Australia's most important seaport cities. The Port of Brisbane located at the Brisbane River's mouth on Moreton Bay and on the adjacent Fisherman's Island, created by means of land reclamation. It is the 3rd busiest port in Australia for value of goods. Container freight, sugar, grain, coal and bulk liquids are the major exports. Most of the port facilities are less than three decades old and some are built on reclaimed mangroves and wetlands. The Port is a part of the Australia TradeCoast, which includes the Brisbane Airport along with large industrial estates located along both banks at the mouth of the Brisbane River.

White-collar industries include information technology, financial services, higher education and public sector administration generally concentrated in and around the central business district and satellite hubs located in the inner suburbs such as South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill, Milton and Toowong. Blue-collar industries, including petroleum refining, stevedoring, paper milling, metalworking and QR railway workshops, tend to be located on the lower reaches of the Brisbane River proximal to the Port of Brisbane and in new industrial zones on the urban fringe.

Tourist Industry Tourism is an important part of the Brisbane economy, both in its own right and as a gateway to other areas of Queensland. Brisbane is an important international education hub, with over 95,000 international students enrolled in universities and other tertiary education institutions in the central City of Brisbane local government area alone in 2018.

Major landmarks and attractions include South Bank Parklands and the Queensland Cultural Centre, including the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, the City Botanic Gardens, King George Square and City Hall, the Story Bridge, the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and Lookout, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Howard Smith Wharves, New Farm Park, D'Aguilar National Park, and Moreton Bay and its islands, such as Moreton and St Helena.

Retail Retail in the CBD is centred around the Queen Street Mall, which is Queensland's largest pedestrian mall. Shopping centres in the CBD include the Myer Centre, the Wintergarden, MacArthur Central and QueensPlaza, with the last of these along with Edward Street forming the city's focus for luxury brands. There are historical shopping arcades at Brisbane Arcade and Tattersalls Arcade. Suburbs adjacent to the CBD such as Fortitude Valley (particularly James Street), South Brisbane and West End are also a major inner-city retail hubs.

Outside of the inner-city, retail is focused on indoor shopping centres, including numerous regional shopping centres along with six super regional shopping centres, all of which are among Australia's largest, namely: Westfield Chermside in the north; Westfield Garden City in the south; Westfield Carindale in the east; Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in the west; Westfield North Lakes in the outer-north; and Logan Hyperdome in the outer-south. Brisbane's major factory outlet centres are the Direct Factory Outlets at Skygate and Jindalee.

The 100 hectare Brisbane Markets at Rocklea are Brisbane's largest wholesale markets, whilst smaller markets operate at numerous locations throughout the city including South Bank Parklands, Davies Park in West End, Queensland and the Eat Street Markets at Hamilton.