The Gardens

I'm quite convinced that this place is magical. At the bottom of the hill atop which I live, the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens are located.
Any full description I could give them would hardly do them justice, so I believe I'll collage my own opinions and others.

The Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha are Queensland's premier subtropical botanic gardens. These 52 hectare gardens are situated seven kilometres from the city centre.
The Brisbane Botanic Gardens are open every day.
From April to August they close at 5pm.
Entry to the gardens is free.

THE GARDENS.

Tropical Display Dome: the water hasn't been changed for a while, but
Japanese Garden: a place where it's easy for one to spend an hour watching a parade of ants, or contemplate how the fish in the pond become so well-rounded on their measly diet.
Bonsai House: I WANT TO BE A BONSAI TREE.
Fern House: it's almost criminally fun (and probably not actually acceptable) to run your hands through all of the plants...
Arid Zone and Cactus House: However, if you try to do the same in the arid area, you will end up with an inch-long spine protuding from your palm. True story; I was attacked by a cactus and now have the scar to prove it.

As for the rest of the gardens, just wander around and try to figure out which garden is which.
Exotic Rainforest
Australian Rainforest
Fragant Plant and Herb Garden
Temperate Garden
Lagoon and Bamboo Grove
Australian Plant communities
National Freedom Wall

(Just quickly: the lavendar patch is lovely when it's in bloom: I always take a sprig and think of the inspiration and art Van Gough would have drawn from the mass of purple.)

THE RESTAURANT. The Botanic Gardens have a fully licensed restaurant and cafe with the dining capacity of 150 people at any time. Dining is a breath of fresh air in a relaxing and tranquil setting in the midst of the beautiful Botanical Gardens. Modern Australian cuisine is served in the main restaurant with light snacks, devonshire teas and ice creams available from the cafeteria.
I always feel inclined to stroll down to the Magnolia Room (a glassy, fancy, floral room with pseudo-Victorian decor) in a corset and with a parasol in hand and order a single lemon or jam tart and a large pot of chai, then proceed to sip it daintily and pretend I'm fancy and shit. I might actually do that someday, but I'm leaning towards hiring the room for a perfectly lovely dinner party instead. The restaurant area is often used for weddings, and considering how beautiful the servery, bar and dining area is, the added function atmosphere, a nice menu and some interesting guests would make an organised night goreously elegant and decadent.
If you're not feeling so fancy, then you can't go past ordering a chocolate milkshake and some hot chips, and having lunch on the hillside just below the restaurant. However, a word to the wiser: DO NOT FEED THE IBISES. The bastards will never leave you alone if you do.

THE PLANETARIUM. My favourite part of the entire place, and perhaps my favourite place in the world.
"More than one million visitors have attended star shows in the Planetarium's Cosmic Skydome which is located in the picturesque Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha... a place to learn about the southern sky and much more".
The vast majority of birthday presents for my friends are bought at the gift shop, which has a surprisingly large array of bizarre trinkets. However, be aware that playing excessively with all the toys is unacceptable, even if it is near impossible not to. Tickets cost the equivalent of a movie ticket (around $11), but the experience inside is truly worth it: think few other viewers, comfortable chairs, and an eye-opening show that seems to always be accompanied by the dulcet tones of Ewan McGregor or Harrison Ford.
Even if you miss the closest showing and have hours to spare before the next one, wandering around the circular building is supremely interesting. In itself a gallery of sorts, contained amidst the large, framed Hubble-shots and compulsory fast facts are trvaesties including a perfect replication of Neil Armstrong's space suit, several screens and mini-theatres showing intriguing shorter shows, delicate neon-models of the galaxy, fragments of meteors and several fossils, and 1950's and 60's space comics that make my kitsch-radar go crazy.
It's all so wonderful and small and adorably geeky, you really must go get a poster and some fun space facts to use as conversation at parties.