Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
A city of towers by the sea.
An introduction to Surfers Paradise, where Q1 rises above the beach and the light rail runs along the boulevard.
On this page
Read the city from above
Surfers Paradise lies about 78 km south of Brisbane, on a continuous surf beach. Its towers line the coast, and the Surfers Paradise Foreshore, completed in 2011, fronts the beach.
A city guide can give context without turning a neighbourhood into a backdrop. From the deck, notice how the towers follow the beach, how canals reach inland and how the light rail threads between them.
A tower with a story
Q1’s shape draws on the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch and the Sydney Opera House. The deck near its top is enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass, with a glass ceiling over most of it.
Begin with a detail and ask what it is for: a spire, a glass panel, a lift that carries 15 people comfortably. A photograph alone cannot tell you how a tower was engineered or who built it.
A SkyPoint chapter
SkyPoint shows a different side of the Gold Coast: the beaches and waterways seen whole, from about 230 metres above the ground.
Look at the meeting of the two: a strip of towers built along the sand, and the river and canals behind it.
Make room for context
Pair this city reading with the tower’s history and the Journal. This is an introduction for visitors, not a claim that our team manages these places or represents the people who built them.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
- Wikipedia: Surfers Paradise, Queensland
- Wikipedia: Q1 (building)
- SkyPoint: Visit SkyPoint and frequently asked questions
Links lead to the original publishers.
