A guide to things to do in Brisbane for families

Keep the whole family entertained in Brissy with these activities.

Travelling with kids can be tough if you’re unsure what activities are good for little ones. Luckily, we’ve found the best things to do in Brisbane with kids, so you don’t have to worry.

Not only that, but we’ll also give you our hot tips on the best kid-friendly restaurants in the city. How easy is that?

Things to do with kids | Kid-friendly restaurants

Things to do with kids in Brisbane

Spark creativity at the Queensland Museum’s SparkLab

Children can participate in hands-on activities that will fire up their imaginations at SparkLab, Queensland Museum.

Creating these transformative experiences is about fostering a positive and innovative learning space for children aged six to 13 to see how science, technology, engineering and maths affect our everyday life.

Families can observe live science experiments and demonstrations at the Science Bar and imagine and design solutions to challenges in the Maker Space.

Address: Melbourne St, South Brisbane
Cost: Adult – $16, Child (5-15) – $13

Scale the Story Bridge

You don’t need nerves of steel to climb Brisbane’s Story Bridge: in fact, it feels very safe and secure to be attached via a harness to a bridge cable for the duration of the climb up the south-eastern cantilever of the bridge.

On a clear day you can see beyond the city’s soaring buildings and as far as the Glass House Mountains and Moreton Bay. You will also see key landmarks from the top of the bridge, which stretches out above Brisbane River, glimmering 80 metres below.

Address: State Route 15, New Farm
Cost: Two adults + two children – $399

Visit Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium

Get an unmatched perspective on the night sky in the Cosmic Skydome at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, located in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, some five kilometres from the city’s centre.

Children can learn about the solar system and take a tour of the observable universe with an astronomer who will point out planets, stars and constellations (Cost: Adult: from $10; Child 3–14 from $6).

Address: Mount Coot-Tha Rd, Toowong
Cost: Adults – $15, Child (3-14) – $10

Ride the Wheel of Brisbane

The Wheel of Brisbane has become a fixture on the landscape in the Queensland capital.

Rising 60 metres off the ground, the white wheel of steel and glass sits right next to Brisbane River and adjacent to the city’s acclaimed cultural precinct in South Bank Parklands.

Despite being a slow journey to nowhere, doing a giant loop of the sky in the Wheel of Brisbane is a real thrill: you can see the roads that spaghetti around the CBD, the curves of Mt Coot-tha in the distance and ferry boats leaving their feathered trails down the river.

Savour the shifting panorama of the sky with a sunset tour.

Address: Russell St, South Brisbane
Cost: A family pass for two adults and two children aged 4-11 is $61.75

Go on a Brisbane Greeters tour

There’s no better way to get to know a city than by foot and through the eyes of a local. Well, that’s exactly what you get on a Brisbane Greeters tour.

Run by Brisbane City Council, the Greeters program offers residents and visitors the opportunity to learn more about the city. Plus, kids will be zonked after it so you might get some peace and quiet!

Cost: Free

Be immersed in local Aboriginal culture

The best way to learn about Indigenous Australia is from Indigenous Australians.

Spirits of the Red Sand is an immersion in the rich, vibrant culture of our First Nations people, with everything from didgeridoo lessons to cultural awareness workshops.

The Evening Experience includes dinner and a roving theatre experience that transports the audience from the Dreamtime to 1800s Australia. The visually stimulating production will get your children asking important questions about this tumultuous time in Australian history.

Address: 205 Main Street, Beenleigh
Cost: A family ticket for two adults and two children is $320.00

Visit Brisbane Powerhouse

The Brisbane Powerhouse offers a year-round program featuring events across music, comedy, dance, film, visual arts, circus, theatre and more, which are often suitable for kids. Check out what’s on currently.

Address: 119 Lamington St, New Farm
Cost: Costs vary

Sponsor an animal at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Visitors can help protect threatened Australian species by sponsoring a koala, dingo or wombat at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

The Fig Tree Pocket property has been instrumental in the conservation of Australian wildlife since it was established in 1927 as a safe refuge for sick, injured and orphaned koalas.

Today, Lone Pine Sanctuary has expanded to include other endangered species whose numbers have also been severely depleted over the years.

Address: 708 Jesmond Rd, Fig Tree Pocket
Cost: Family pass for two adults and two children – $135

Ride the CityCat along the Brisbane River

Keep the kids entertained as you head from one side of Brisbane River to the other. With stops all along the river, the CityCat is uber-convenient and good to rest little legs before continuing your day of exploring.

The CityCat is run by Brisbane City Council and is the ideal spot to look out for birds of prey in the safe environs of the river as it meanders along.

Address: Multiple ferry stops including Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank, New Farm Park and West End.
Cost: Free

Foster a love of art at QAGOMA

The Kids Trail at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) invites children to discover all the animals hiding within the Australian Art Collection.

It’s an interactive activity that beckons little visitors to stand before a range of different works and examine the content closely to better engage with it.

Address: Stanley Pl, South Brisbane
Cost: Free

It’s hip to be square at The Cube at QUT

The Cube at QUT is a hands-on centre that is one of the largest digital interactive learning and display spaces on the planet.

Laid out over two expansive floors in QUT’s Science and Engineering Centre, The Cube makes science fun for all the family with interactive exhibits such as Code-A-Bot, (where you get to program a robot).

The Cube is committed to inspiring the next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) leaders. Perhaps your child will be one of them.

Address: 2 George St, Brisbane City
Cost: Free

Kid-friendly restaurants and places to eat in Brisbane

Victoria Park Bistro

Mini cheeseburgers, crumbed chicken and battered fish and chips are the perfect fuel ahead of a game of putt-putt golf at Victoria Park.

Nab a table on the wraparound balconies at the bistro at the entertainment precinct, which overlooks the golf course and Victoria Parklands, just two kilometres from the city centre. Victoria Park Bistro has picnic-table-style dining and a kids’ games area that includes a repurposed farm tractor, rowboat and giant cubby house.

Address: 283 Herston Rd, Herston
Cost: $

Brooklyn Depot

If you don’t want to risk getting tomato sauce on the iPad as the kids attempt to eat and YouTube at the same time, head for Brooklyn Depot, where the kid’s meals come with colouring in to keep them entertained.

There’s chicken nuggets, plain hot dogs (because god forbid if a drop of sauce touches the sausage) and mac ‘n’ cheese for them.

Address: 168 Grey St, South Brisbane
Cost: $

Three Blue Ducks

Located in the W Brisbane, Three Blue Ducks has a ‘Ducklings’ menu so you can enjoy some delicious paddock-to-plate produce with your little ones in tow.

Open breakfast, lunch and dinner, you’ll be able to indulge at Three Blue Ducks no matter what time of day. And trust us, it is worth a visit.

Address: Level 3/81 N Quay, Brisbane City
Cost: $$

One Fish Two Fish

One Fish Two Fish’s kids menu is as cute as it is delicious.

With three dishes: the ‘I Don’t Know’ (crumbed fish fingers), ‘I’m Not Hungry’ (crumbed calamari) and the ‘I Don’t Want That’ (mini pork sausages), it makes things simple even if it all gets left on the plate.

Whatever they choose, let them pick at it while you throw back oysters, inhale Moreton Bay bug tagliatelle and fill up on your own grown-up version of fish and chips.

Address: 708 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Cost: $$

Billykart West End

Billykart goes the extra mile when it comes to the most important meal of the day. From homemade crumpets to eggs in all their guises to wonderful breakfast burgers that pack a real crunch.

Kids will love the buttermilk and ricotta pancakes at this colourful cafe where a picket fence, latticework and bricks add to the ‘backyard in Bris Vegas’ vibes.

Address: 2-4 Edmondstone St, West End
Cost: $$