With the Sunshine Coast to the north and the Gold Coast to the south, Brisbane has long been a natural waypoint for visitors seeking a slice of South Pacific paradise on Australia’s eastern shores. But the country’s third-largest city deserves to be a destination in its own right. Fans of fine art and live music will revel in the diversity of the city’s offerings, and nature lovers will delight in discovering the local wildlife sanctuary filled with arguably the cutest creatures on the planet — koalas. Some new bars and restaurants have recently introduced big-city sophistication to this subtropical metropolis, but you needn’t trade your flip-flops for formal footwear just yet. The warm and welcoming capital of Queensland, Australia’s Sunshine State, is still as casual and easygoing as ever.

FRIDAY

3 p.m.

1. Bank on the Arts

A good introduction to the city begins in the South Bank district, which hugs the south bank of the Brisbane River. The area brims with attractions — a curious artificial beach, riverside parks, a spinning Ferris wheel — but most notable is the culture-rich complex that houses a pair of the city’s finest art venues: the Queensland Art Gallery, or QAG, and the Gallery of Modern Art, or GoMA (Stanley Place; qagoma.qld.gov.au). The two galleries, separated by about 150 yards, are co-hosts of the seventh Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, an event that highlights works by artists from across India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other traditionally underrepresented nations. Later this year, the three-story GoMA will present “My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art From Black Australia,” which is being billed as the largest-ever exhibition of contemporary indigenous Australian art (June 1 to Oct. 7).

7 p.m.

2. Going Public

Come quitting time, office workers are quick to exit the central business district. But Public (Upper Level 1, 400 George Street; lovepublic.com.au), a restaurant that opened there last year, has been luring people back after dark. Although its location on the second floor of a nondescript office building would suggest otherwise, this attractive restaurant is a stylish spot to dine. Pendant lamps with amber-hued filament bulbs hang above the bar, and the dining room is filled with wood-topped tables and tall leather banquettes that create an intimate atmosphere despite the soaring ceilings. The restaurant’s menu of sharing plates draws inspiration from around the globe, and the beautiful dishes — wagyu tataki with sake and sesame, Hawaiian potato curry with coconut and litchi — look as good as they taste. Dinner for two, about 80 Australian dollars, about the same in U.S. dollars.

10 p.m.

3. Brilliant Brewpubs

A spate of recent bar openings has dramatically improved Brisbane’s drinking options. The city imported a bit of Melbourne-style cool with the 2011 opening of Super Whatnot (48 Burnett Lane; superwhatnot.com), a small, chic bar tucked on a narrow service road downtown. This bi-level spot has a gorgeous interior with exposed brick walls, polished wood floors and a cozy nook of black banquettes downstairs. Upstairs, the denlike loft overlooks a bar that boasts a fine selection of craft beers from around Australia, including Tasmanian Moo Brew Hefeweizen and Stone & Wood Pacific Ale from nearby Byron Bay. Another watering hole that opened in 2011 is the Scratch (8/1 Park Road; scratchbar.com), an unpretentious craft beer pub that rotates the brews on its four regular taps and one hand-pump tap daily. The location is a hike from downtown, but beer aficionados will find the trek worthwhile because the excellence of the tap offerings is exceeded only by the passion and knowledge of the friendly bartenders.