The Gold Coast is full of many beautiful and interesting places. Here’s a list of a few of the most noteworthy without constraining them to any one particular category.
First up is Bond University. Bond is a private University and certainly one of the most prestigious on the Gold Coast. The grounds are massive as are the buildings on it. They are designed to be both beautiful and architecturally impressive which makes a visiting Bond University something I suggested to all locals who have never been there as well as tourists just stopping through. If you are respectful and quiet you are allowed to walk around the grounds of Bond University and have a look for yourself.
Second is the Gold Coast Arts Centre. This is somewhat of a Gold Coast icon as it’s been around for decades and has hosted dozens if not hundreds of things like Year 12 formals for schools on the Gold Coast probably thousands of excursions as well as hosted tens of thousands of performances, installations, and exhibitions over the years.
Next is Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. Not too many years ago Pacific Fair was an aging shopping centre that was becoming less and less popular after Robina Town Centre had done multiple renovations and upgrades over the years. Now Pacific Fair has spent many many millions of dollars renovating and upgrading the major parts of the shopping centre to turn it into something world-class and extremely impressive. Most notable is the food court which is home to dozens of beautifully designed restaurants as well as a common eating area along with a spectacular outdoor area just alongside it. There is also a kid play zone and hundreds of stores to visit.
4th is what locals called Chinatown in Surfers Paradise. Now, this is possibly one of the least authentic Chinatowns in Australia yet it is still a place you should visit because it is one of the only holy multicultural areas of the Gold Coast. In this mini Chinatown, you can find bubble tea stores, Asian groceries, Chinese as well as Japanese food stores and restaurants, and a host of other small Chinese owned speciality stores.
Finally, you should check out Carrara Markets on the weekends. Their slogan says that they are Australia’s largest market which I’m not sure is accurate, however, it is still worth visiting. There is a large number of fruit and vegetable stores where you can do your weekly Fresh Produce shopping, along with hundreds of small varied stores, everything from hobby cars all the way up to plants and outdoor furniture. Carrara Markets is generally quite busy but if you want to avoid the bigger crowds which form around 9 to 10 a.m. trying to get there around 6 a.m. and you’ll probably enjoy your time a lot more.
There are hundreds of other places you could visit on the Gold Coast and this article is too brief to go into detail about all of those. Depending on your own personal interests and the things you like or dislike that is going to make a big impact on what you will enjoy and what you should see while you are on the Gold Coast.
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