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

Enjoy a Splash in One of Brisbane's Outdoor Pools

Come spring and summer in Brisbane, everyone is always searching for ways to cool off. Hiding in air-conditioned comfort is one approach to beating the heat, but having fun outside is all part of living in Queensland. That's where Brisbane's outdoor pools come in, offering the ideal way to escape the warm temperatures while still enjoying the city's sultry climate.

Throughout the length and breadth of the city, there's plenty of places to take a dip, both during sun-strewn hours and balmy evenings. So where should you and your other half enjoy a swim, splash around and soak away the scorching temperatures? Brisbane has options.

Here's one: there's much to enjoy at the city oasis that is the Spring Hill Baths, including central location, the year-round operating hours and the heated waters, just to name a few of its many conveniences. There's also aqua aerobics classes, if something more than a waterlogged chill-out session is your thing.

Here's another: nothing says inner-city swimming like Streets Beach at South Bank Parklands, as man-made as that beach may be. Perhaps the vantages over the brown Brisbane River make it seem more appealing, or perhaps it's the holiday-like vibe that emanates from the sight of sand and water so far from a coastline; either way, Brisbane's only beach in the middle of the city is a lagoon-like landmark.

Under $50

Check Out the Latest and Greatest in British Cinema

At the 2024 British Film Festival, when you're not watching movies starring Saoirse Ronan, Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh and Barry Keoghan, you'll be catching the latest performances from Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Pierce Brosnan and Helena Bonham Carter. There's never any lack of big-name talents gracing the screen at Australia's annual celebration of the UK's latest and greatest contributions to cinema, but this year's is particularly jam-packed — so much so that there's not just one feature boasting Ronan among its cast, but two.

Blitz, which sees the Foe, Little Women and Ammonite actor team up with 12 Years a Slave, Widows and Small Axe filmmaker Steve McQueen, is the British Film Festival's 2024 opening-night film — but it's still playing afterwards. The period drama heads back to World War II, and is a key part of the fest's month-long run at Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace James Street until Sunday, December 8.

The second Ronan-led flick on the full 2024 British Film Festival comes courtesy of page-to-screen adaptation The Outrun, where the four-time Oscar-nominee plays a recovering addict — and there's plenty more highlights on the program from there. Hard Truths sits in the fest's centrepiece slot, reuniting iconic director Mike Leigh (Peterloo) with his Academy Award-nominated Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Surface). Also boasting the coveted pairing of an impressive helmer and an exceptional on-screen talent: Bird from Andrea Arnold (American Honey), which is where Keoghan (Saltburn) pops up.

As for Fiennes (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), he stars with Juliette Binoche (The New Look) in The Return, a British spin on Homer's Odyssey. Law (Peter Pan & Wendy) plays King Henry VIII opposite Alicia Vikander (Irma Vep) as Katherine Parr in Firebrand, while Brosnan (The Last Rifleman) and Bonham Carter (One Life) feature in romance Four Letters of Love. Other standouts for you and your plus one to catch include the century-hopping dark comedy Timestalker from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace alum Alice Lowe, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (You Hurt My Feelings) facing death in Tuesday and, on closing night, the highly anticipated We Live in Time, as led by Pugh (Dune: Part Two) and Garfield (Under the Banner of Heaven).

Under $100

Celebrate Berries in Stanthorpe

Stanthorpe is known to celebrate its apples and grapes, hosting an entire festival that's all about the two kinds of fruit. But they aren't the only types of only fresh produce that the town, and the Granite Belt region, is famous for. So, that's where the Stanthorpe Berry Festival comes in.

Returning for 2024 on Saturday, November 16 at Weeroona Park, this sure-to-be-colourful events adores berries in all their forms — but especially strawberries, raspberries and blueberries grown locally. Yes, you know what you and your special someone will be eating (and plenty of it), including strawberry ice cream.

The festival also features berry food stalls, boutique markets, chefs hitting the stage, a competition to find the best strawberry or mixed berry jam, and a scones and jam eating food-eating contest.

Or, you can get sipping thanks to the region's wineries and brewers, meet berry farmers, listen to live tunes and take part in a berry-themed dress up.

Under $150

Say Cheers to All of the Wine — and Cheese

Imagine a room filled with pinot noir, with red drops after red drops from wineries around the country poured for you and your date's sipping pleasure for hours. If that's your preferred type of vino, it likely sounds like your idea of boozy heaven. There's no need to just dream up the concept, however. Thanks to Pinot Palooza, it already exists, has been doing the rounds in Australia for more than a decade, and has locked in its return for 2024.

A guiding principle here: that being spoilt for choice can be overrated when it comes to deciding which wine varieties you feel like at any given moment. So, let this event do the picking for you. Pinot Palooza celebrates exactly the type of vino that's in its name, and makes the sound of a light- to medium-bodied red wine sloshing around a glass its standard soundtrack, including in Brisbane in spring.

Expect to hear that noise a whole heap — before the pandemic, the Melbourne-born wine-tasting festival had notched up an estimated 65,000 tickets sold globally. In 2024, Pinot Palooza is hitting up the Exhibition Building at Brisbane Showgrounds for a two-day stint across Friday, November 15–Saturday, November 16.

Up to 100 wineries will be taking part in 2024, up from more than 50 winemakers last year, and surveying everything from organic and vegan to biodynamic and low-intervention drops. As always, attendees will spend their session swirling and sampling that huge array of pinot noir, and making the most of up pop-up bars and food stalls between drinks. In Brisbane, though, a cheesy time also awaits. While dairy fest Mould has already taken place in the River City in 2024, it's teaming up with Pinot Palooza in October to give the Queensland capital a hybrid Pinot Palooza x Mould fest.

One Big Blowout

Get Your Eurovision Fix Live Without Leaving Brisbane

Thanks to Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, Isaiah, Jessica Mauboy, Montaigne, Sheldon Riley, Voyager and Electric Fields, Australia is no stranger to heading to Eurovision. In November 2024, the iconic song contest is coming to us instead. For the first time ever since beginning in 1956, Eurovision is touring, with an Aussie show now locked in for Brisbane before spring is out.

London, Paris, Stockholm, Madrid, Warsaw and Amsterdam are also on the itinerary before and after Eurovision on Tour's Down Under gigs, but its visit to Australia is different. This is the only country receiving multiple concerts, spreading Europop across the nation's east coast — in Sydney and Melbourne as well.

The concept dates back to 2019, but the pandemic initially got in the way. After that, it took two years of negotiating to lock in the setup. Now that Eurovision on Tour is officially happening, it'll play The Tivoli in Brisbane on Wednesday, November 13 with 18 performers.

On the lineup: Australia's own Im and Silia Kapsis, with the latter competing for Cyprus this year. Attendees can also look forward to 1991 winner Carola from Sweden, 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest from Denmark, and everyone from the UK's Nicki French, Portugal's Suzy and Malta's Destiny to Efendi from Azerbaijan, Ovi & Ilinca Bacila from Romania, and both Rosa López and Soraya from Spain — plus Italian African pop star Senhit.