St Lucia and Toowong are major student hubs that blend modern student living with rich history, all within proximity to the University of Queensland campus.
Highlights
The University of Queensland (UQ) campus is located in St Lucia, making these two neighbourhoods popular and affordable choices for students.
The UQ campus has a number of busy student hubs that are open to students and visitors alike. Spend some time at the UQ Art Museum and discover over 4000 works of Australian art from the colonial period to now. With free entry, the museum offers numerous exhibitions throughout the year, as well as workshops that are free to attend.
Then, head to the Schonell Cinema & Theatre, a campus venue that hosts regular theatre performances, events and cinema screenings. Be sure to stop in at the Pizza Caffe for thin and crispy artisan pizzas with a happy hour every weekday between 1pm and 3pm.
Hawken Drive in St Lucia is just a short stroll from the UQ campus and is lined with restaurants and takeaway eateries. La Porchetta is a popular Italian chain with affordable gourmet pizzas, pastas and salads. There’s also Chez Tessa for Vietnamese takeaway, Thai Nakonlanna, Beijing BBQ House, Saint & Co for breakfast, and Hey Juice for late-night bubble tea.
Hundred Acre Bar is a multi-storey bar and restaurant that lives up to its name. Located in the St Lucia Golf Links, it serves modern dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that you can enjoy with panoramic views of over one-hundred acres of green golf course. Genkotsu Ramen in Toowong has authentic Japanese food for cheap, including huge bowls of ramen, gyozas and steaming sides of rice.
Toowong Village is easily accessible by bus and train. You’ll find a wide range of shops and facilities here, including supermarkets and department stores, a medical centre, hairdressers, a public library, banks, cafes and retail stores. The centre also offers free wi-fi and parcel pick-up from Coles so you can shop for your groceries and pick them up later.
For a fun night out, students gather at the Royal Exchange Hotel, a fantastic venue to meet and socialise with other local and international students. The RE (as the locals call it) is famous for its university nights every Wednesday and Sunday. With cheap drinks, resident DJs and regular themed parties, it’s the place to be for a good time.
Community facilities
Toowong and St Lucia are extremely student-friendly suburbs and have numerous student hubs across the area. Toowong Library is located inside Toowong Village and is an ideal place for study and research. As with all Brisbane libraries, the wi-fi is free and you’ll find huge print and digital catalogues to browse through, as well as printing services and public computers at the ready. It also has Chinese, Hindi and Spanish collections.
The UQ Aquatic Centre in St Lucia offers heated pools that are open to the general public, where UQ students get in on a discount rate. Swim or take a swimming lesson for any age or ability. The UQ Sport Fitness Centre is a multi-storey gym with cardio and weight equipment. You can also make use of the nearby Tennis Centre and Athletics Centre, and take first aid courses.
Myhealth Medical Centre in Toowong Village offers several services and is open after hours, while SmartClinics on Sherwood Road is open Monday to Saturday with multilingual doctors available.
Unique experiences
Anzac Park in Toowong has rolling hills, a duck pond and quiet, shady spots to relax beneath leafy trees. There are plenty of picnic tables and barbeque areas to have a social outing with your friends, as well as walking and cycling tracks that wind through the park.
The UQ Anthropology Museum showcases a huge catalogue of artefacts relating to the study of humans. You can find all sorts of objects here, including paintings, clothing, hunting weapons and musical instruments. There’s also a large photography collection, as well as artefacts reflecting the impact of colonialism on Aboriginal people.
The Physics Museum is packed full of interesting scientific tools and devices that date back to the opening of UQ in 1911. The museum houses optical, electrical and acoustical equipment, as well as a large collection of books and instruction manuals.
The RD Milns Antiquities Museum is part of the Classics and Ancient History department at UQ. Currently, the museum houses the largest collection of Mediterranean artefacts in Queensland, with a catalogue of several thousand. Many of the objects date back around 3500 years and are made of various materials including pottery, stone, metal and glass.
