Experience the best of Ipswich

Ipswich stands on the Bremer River about 31 km south-west of Brisbane. Coal, wool and the railway workshops built the city, and its centre keeps many nineteenth-century banks, churches and timber Queenslander houses raised on stumps. The Workshops Rail Museum in North Ipswich occupies the old locomotive works and tells the story of Queensland's railways, with restored steam engines and carriages.

Queens Park, close to the centre, is the city's large public park, with big old trees, lawns and walking paths. Around the city, the farmland of the Lockyer Valley spreads to the west and the volcanic ranges of the Scenic Rim rise to the south, with Moogerah Peaks and Main Range national parks about an hour's drive away. Lake Moogerah, below the jagged peaks, is a popular spot for picnics and boating.

The Lockyer Valley is one of Queensland's main vegetable-growing districts, and its potatoes, onions and other crops fill the farm stalls and markets of the area. Afternoon thunderstorms break up the hot, humid summers, while winters are mild, dry and sunny, which makes May to September the easiest time for walking in the ranges. Autumn and spring are gentle as well.