Five Romantic Brisbane Date Ideas for This Week From Budget to Blowout

Tired of the classic movie and dinner date night combo? Us too. That's why we're always on the hunt for new things to do, scouring the city for not-boring Brisbane activities — ones that are guaranteed to take your next date way beyond done-before beers at the pub.

Whether you're taking someone on a second date or doing your 100th with your significant other, we've got some killer (and, yes, cute) ideas for dates to go on this week, no matter how much money you've got to spend.

Just think of us as your cultural wingman. You're welcome.

Under $20

Stack Up Your Reading Pile

Right now, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre is hosting a sales event of most peculiar stock. Strange things they are, full of pages, rampant with words and with covers of the most beautiful colours. You can't charge them, they don't run out of battery, their brightness is unalterable, and they won't smash when you drop them.

Lifeline Bookfest is back for another round of vintage bargains until Monday, January 27. It's where you'll find everything from Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks to a bit of cheeky erotica, as well as games, DVDs and puzzles. If you and your special someone have been before, you'll know there are warehouse quantities of books for sale – your grade five diary is probably hidden under a copy of Shantaram, and you'll come across at least three copies of Cooking with Days of Our Lives. In fact, over this four-day run, more than one million items will be up for grabs.

As debuted in 2023, this round also features more than 10,000 comics, manga and graphic novels. Prices range from $2.50 to the big bucks, and you'll have plenty to choose from. Whenever Bookfest hits Brisbane, it always brings hundreds of crates of reading materials with it.

You'll still want to bring a trolley and your glasses, obviously, and to clear some space on your shelves at home. And, you'll want to bring your cards, because this Bookfest is cashless. Also, you'll need your own bags, as books won't be wrapped for you this time around.

Under $50

Start Celebrating Lunar New Year

Do you and your favourite person fancy getting an early start on a big citywide festival? And, while you're at it, celebrating Vietnamese Lunar New Year? Before BrisAsia Festival takes over Brisbane for ten days from Friday, January 31–Sunday, February 9, filling as much of this town of ours with as many events as it can — as it does every year — it's marking the changing of the lunar calendar at the Hội chợ Tết Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival.

Your destination: Richlands. Running from 5.30–10pm on Friday, January 24, this LNY celebration is organised by the Queensland Chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, takes place at CJ Greenfield Complex Park, and includes food stalls, lion dances, music performances and a traditional costume parade.

Drop by for Vietnamese cuisine aplenty, arts showcases and possibly even learning a new skill — calligraphy is on the lineup, too.

Entry is free, and also on offer are firecrackers, fireworks, a martial-arts performance and an official festival photo booth to snap some memories while you're there.

Under $200

Slurp Your Way Through an Oyster Feast

Next time that you and your other half slurp down some oysters, you needn't solely opt for natural molluscs served with lemon and Tabasco. There's nothing wrong with that old favourite; however, it has company among the oyster dishes at One Fish Two Fish's returning Oyster Frenzy.

Between Wednesday, January 22–Sunday, January 26 the Kangaroo Point eatery is serving up 2025's six-course oyster feast, taking seafood lovers through six different flavours. Start with the tried, tested and aforementioned combination, then move onto oysters with apple, cucumber and dill; served with tarragon butter gratin; and paired with native pepper berry and oak-aged chardonnay mignonette

You'll also be snacking on a cheesy barbecue mornay variety, plus oysters with limoncello, macerated lemon and caviar.

A sitting will cost you $95 per person. Because oysters are always popular, bookings are essential — with Oyster Frenzy running at 6.30pm Wednesday–Friday for dinner, plus 12.30pm for lunch Friday–Sunday.

James D Morgan, Getty Images

Revisit History Via a Musical Presented as a Pop Concert

One king. Six wives. Centuries of folks being fascinated with the regal story. Throw in pop songs as well, and that's the smash-hit SIX the Musical formula, as Australian audiences discovered in 2021, 2022 and 2023 — and can again in Brisbane until Sunday, February 9, 2025 at QPAC Playhouse.

If you and your partner have ever needed proof that some stories never get old, the ongoing obsession with Britain's royal history provides plenty. In IRL, it's relentless. On screens and stages, a slice of regal intrigue is regularly awaiting our viewing, too, interpreting and remixing the past in the process. The Crown might've taken ample artistic license with reality, but it's got nothing on the empowering pop-scored twist on the 16th century that's been wowing audiences in SIX the Musical.

This theatre sensation gleans a few cues from well-known history, adds toe-tapping tunes and makes stage magic. If you think that you know the stories of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr, then you probably do — even those with little interest in Britain's past kings and queens are likely aware that Henry VIII had six wives — but SIX the Musical's version isn't about telling the same old tale.

First premiering back at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, then jumping to London's West End — and winning Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Costume Design, plus a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album, along the way — SIX the Musical gleans inspiration from one of the most famous sextets there's ever been. It also finds its own angle despite how popular the Tudor monarch's love life has been in pop culture. SIX the Musical is presented as a pop concert, in fact, with the Catherines, Annes and Jane all taking to the microphone to tell their stories. Each woman's aim: to stake their claim as the wife who suffered the most at the king's hands, and to become the group's lead singer as a result.

Under $250

Say Cheers to 2024's Best Gins

There's never a bad time to drink gin. If you and your significant other are fans of juniper spirits, any day ending in 'y' is a great day for your favourite tipple. But Brisbane's annual Ginuary Festival picks one date on the calendar, pours plenty of the beverage in the spotlight and turns it into a celebration. In 2025, all that gin sipping is happening on Sunday, January 26.

We recommend that you arrive thirsty, as always — and that you prepare for plenty of company. This shindig goes gin crazy and attracts a crowd. Covent Garden in West End is behind it, which is where the fest is being held this time around.

Prepare to sip your way around eight gin degustation stations, at your choice of two sessions: from 12–3pm and 5–8pm. All samples are included in your ticket price, as are three hours of drinks, gluten-free canapes and live tunes. Also, you have options ticket-wise. A regular pass costs $99 and gets you access to the gin stations and their tastings. Or, go VIP from $119 for early entry (from either 11am or 4pm).

While any fest can say cheers to gin just because, Ginuary is also counting down 2024's Hottest 100 Gins, as it does every year. Accordingly, whichever ticket you go for, you'll still get to enjoy the best juniper-fuelled Australian and New Zealand tipples. You can vote online in advance, then revel in the results live on the day.

Top image: James D Morgan, Getty Images.