BRISBANE FOR… families, lovers, foodies & sports fans

Families: ‘Big, loud, fun’ is the tagline for the Workshops Rail Museum, where kids 2-12 years can drive a diesel or a tilt train, and the nippers’ railway adventure playground has goods trains, boom gates and a central station. Everything in this award-winning museum is designed to be touched, climbed on, pushed or pulled. North Street, North Ipswich, theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au

Lovers:  What better way to declare your heart than to bedeck your beloved with vintage-inspired jewels by celebrated jeweller Chelsea De Luca? Nope, we can’t think of anything to top that.  Local gal Chelsea’s following includes Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow, 76 James St, chelseadeluca.com.au

Foodies: The Spring Cooking School’s express one-hour tapas classes will help you keep up with the Hyphen-Jones at your next cocktail party, and have a great lunch at the same time. The three-hour classes with guest chefs cover, for example, the secrets of bouillabaisse or red duck curry, 26 Felix St, CBD, spring.com.au

Sport fans: Take a 1½ hour sunset kayaking trip up the Brisbane River to see the city light up, then reward yourself with a plate of fresh ocean king prawns and an icy beer or Aussie wine in the classic Brissy marriage of Paddle &Prawns. Every Friday night, riverlife.com.au 

Sun Herald www.smh.com.au