community
No-cost July: The best free things to do in Brisbane this winter
From riverfront walks to gallery openings, here’s how to enjoy Brisbane without spending a cent this week.
How we reported this
Brisbane’s winter calendar is packed with events that won’t cost a dollar, and with school holidays winding down, families and solo explorers alike are looking for low-cost ways to fill the week.
July 13 marks the midpoint of winter in the city, and while the mercury hovers around a crisp 12 degrees most mornings, the afternoon sun still draws crowds to South Bank’s man-made beach. That public swimming spot, free and open daily, remains one of the city’s most reliable no-cost attractions. The Brisbane City Council keeps the area clean and lifeguarded, and there’s no entry fee.
Culture without cost
The Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, known together as QAGOMA, is running its winter exhibition program without admission charges for its permanent collection. Located on Stanley Place in South Brisbane, the galleries open daily from 10am. The two buildings, linked by a riverfront walkway, display Indigenous art, contemporary sculpture, and rotating photography installations. Entry is free to all permanent displays; ticketed exhibitions are signposted separately at the door.
Just across the Kurilpa Bridge, the State Library of Queensland offers free access to its heritage collections and the Kurilpa Reading Room on level four. The library’s current rotating display includes rare Queensland maps and oral histories from the 1974 floods. No booking is needed for the general exhibition spaces.
Outdoor options and a world-record curiosity
On the river itself, the CityCat ferry service offers a cheap, rather than free, ride, but the CityHopper service, which runs between North Quay and Sydney Street in New Farm, is entirely free. The small red boats depart every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 45 minutes on weekends. Passengers can hop off at the Eagle Street Pier stop and walk the riverside boardwalk through the City Botanic Gardens, another free-entry site.
About 600 trombonists gathered in Queensland over the weekend for a world-record attempt, according to Guardian Australia. While the record push itself is not free to join, the public can watch rehearsals and the final attempt, expected later this week, from the sidelines at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on Merivale Street. Spectator areas are unmarked but accessible from the South Bank parklands.
The Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, about seven kilometres west of the CBD, also offers free entry and a network of walking trails. The lookout at the summit provides a panoramic view of the city skyline. Car parking costs $2.40 per hour, but visitors who walk or cycle in pay nothing.