How is the free walking tour Brisbane?

Free walking tour Brisbane

The free  walking tour   in Brisbane is organized and held by the visitor center, and runs everyday at 10:30am - priori registration is required, as they are trying to keep the groups small enough to ensure everybody's a good experience.

In my case, I tried to register 2 days before my planned visit, and the day I wanted was already fully booked. However, the next day still had a spot left, so I could join it!

The tour takes the group through many places around Brisbane CBD, is totally free, even no tip to the government employee necessary, and takes us through many places:

• Brisbane Arcade,
• City hall,
• Treasury casino,
• Queens Gardens,
• Botanic Gardens.

The tour starts in front of the place where it is possible to register to attend it, the Brisbane Visitor Information and Booking center.

Beggining of the tour

The tour starts inside of the building of the Visitor Information and Booking center, which actually is itself a very important historical building in Brisbane.

It used to be the theater, and our tour directly starts right in the middle of the action.

Our guide knows a lot about the city, despite having been born in England, he lived most of his life in Brisbane, and has extensive knowledge about the city.

We then go out and head to the Brisbane Arcade, a shopping arcade that hosts some of the most expensive luxury shops in the city.

We stop in the middle of the Arcade to hear about a spooky ghost story. Our host tells us that it is not uncommon to get a glimpse at the ghost of a lady dressed up on top of the arcade... however none of us will witness it on that day.

Past and future of Brisbane

The tour continues by passing in front of the city hall, a beautiful building that i had already seen several times before during my stay in Brisbane.

We keep going in direction of the treasury casino, a government building that we can actually enter to see a small surprise that we would never had found ourselves.

A scale model of the ongoing construction along the river near CBD is present, and our guide tells us about how much the city is gonna change in the coming years with this huge project.

Rendez-vous is taking, it will be worth visiting Brisbane in 2025 for the opening of this renovated area, as it will also be the 100 years anniversary of the city.

Keeping walking outside, we get a good view at SouthBank ont he other side of the river and its Ferris Wheel.

Have you ever heard about a 24hours pancakes church? Probably not... but it does exist in Brisbane. Our guide tells us that he sometimes goes there, and it is a great place. The earnings from the activity are used for charity work, and the pancakes taste great... or so we are told, unfortunately I won't be able to check it out.

We then take a deeper look at a beautiful Victorian building, which seems like it has nothing to do in CBD, surrounded by modern high rise buildings...

Nature spotting in City Botanic gardens

After a turn, we are getting right into the City Botanic gardens, where we see many of these Ibis birds that seem to bother Brisbane a lot... as they are huge and make a mess when looking for food in trash cans or on tourists plates.

The park is huge, and includes some fountains.

As well as a pond, on which the remainings installation of an art display that occured not long ago can still be seen.

Suddenly, our guide tells us to look up to the trees - in the middle of a sunny day, a bat was just flying above us, we could all see it, but weren't ready to take any picture.

And we get told that it is one of the largest bats in the world...

Right after that, we look down on the ground: some dragons are moving around freely! However, they aren't agressive, and are more interested into getting under the sunlight than paying attention to any passing tourist.

At one point, we stop to take a deeper look at a strange wooden installation. The tip of it marks the water level during a flood in 1974...

We then look back to see Kangaroo cliff on the other side of the river, which played a huge role in the city's development, and exit the beautiful park.

Flood height level reminder

At the corner of another building, the guide tells us to stop, and look up. Yes, what should we look for? Look up on the building... the mark!

In 1893, the flood level was up at nearly 5 meters above ground! Incredible... and we thought the previous flood level seen in the park was scary.

Looking back on CBD, the city of Brisbane is beautiful.

We now reach a Cathedral of Saint Stephen that is hidden between the high rise buildings.

We will proceed to have a quick look inside one of its buildings, but won't take any picture there.

And that is already the end of the tour, we are back in the center of Brisbane CBD, close to the Visitor Information and Booking Center.

We had got lot of informations about the city, and learned a lot about its history during the tour.

The tour is definitely one of the most interesting things to do in Brisbane, try to attend it the next time you are visiting the city!

Frequently Asked Questions

What landmarks and cultural highlights does the free walking tour in Brisbane cover, and what insights do guides typically provide?

The tour usually covers Brisbane's key landmarks like the City Hall, Botanic Gardens, and South Bank. Guides provide insights into the city's history, architecture, and local culture, making it a great introduction for first-time visitors.