Visiting Canberra - Australia's Capital City

Canberra is worth a 1-2 days stop for most visitors on extended trips to Australia. Along with being our capital city it is also home to our best museums and galleries, most of which are free to enter. A lot of people say they find Canberra a little strange, perhaps because it's so orderly, but when you know where to go it can be a really beautiful place.

When should you go?
Canberra is most beautiful in either the autumn when the city is covered in gorgeous autumn colours or spring during the annual Floriade Flower Festival. Floriade runs for 3 weeks from late September through to the middle of October each year. At either of these times budget accommodation should be booked in advance because the city really fills up on the weekends.

The city has 4 distinct seasons with winter temps ranging from 1 degree (34F) - 12 degrees (54F) and summer from 12 degrees (54F) 27 degrees (81F).

Choosing where to stay in Canberra is not too difficult really as there are quite a lot of hotels and motels in the city. At times, such as during the Floriade Festival and other major events the best accommodation does get booked out so when planning your visit check the Visit Canberra Events Guide to see what's happening. If there is a major exhibition ending or any type of festival it might be wise to book your accommodation early.

The main accommodation hubs are in Civic (the city), Dickson (with its great Asian restaurants), Kingston and Manuka. I have stayed in all of these locations at various times and all have benefits. Dickson is great for cheap dining at night and it's very close to the centre. Kingston has some nightlife and nice restaurants. Manuka has some of Canberra's best restaurants and a cinema. Being in the city is good if you are not travelling by car and need to rely on public transport. You can search for accommodation on the Canberra Tourism website.

If you want to learn more about our cultural history this is the place for you. From the architecture of the building to the items they display this place is modern, interesting and innovative. There are free tours several times a day and they really are worth taking, the guides explain much that you will probably miss if you visit independently.

Insider tip: Try to see the Circa Theatre at the beginning of your visit as it provides a great introduction to the museum.

Our current Parliament House was completed in 1988. It has over 4500 rooms and as it is built into a hill, its roof is made of grass! The 81m flag pole is visible from much of the city making it pretty easy to find. The building is quite beautiful with lots of marble and natural wood.

If you are interested in politics or architecture the free tours - that luckily only cover a small portion of the 4500 rooms - are great. The tour guides explain the significance of the colours used and the design itself along with information about how the Australian Government works. If Parliament is sitting you are often able to sit in the public galleries and watch it going on. There is also one of only four of the original copies of the Magna Carta on display.

Make sure you visit the gift shop here, it has a great collection of Australian books and other unique souvenirs.

Insider tip: Take the elevator to the roof for a great view over the city.

The National Gallery has recently opened a new Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Galleries to host its excellent collection of indigenous art and artifacts. Other works you should try to see are Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly series and some of the works of our "Australian Impressionist" artists like Tom Roberts, Charles Conder, Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton.

Insider tip: The Sculpture Garden is a perfect spot for a picnic lunch - with 22 sculptures by Australian and international artists most notably Rodin and my favourite the fog sculpture by Fujiko Nakaya. I have to confess a funny story here... I was visiting the garden with a large group of international students a few months after this piece had been installed and I thought it was the sprinklers for the gardens and made all the kids pack up their picnic lunches and move away. It was several months before I realised my mistake.

The Australian War Memorial is a must see even for those not interested in military history. It is considered by many to be the best war museum in the world. There are 10 galleries covering every conflict Australian Troops have been involved with from the Boer War to the current missions in the Middle East.

The stand out exhibits for me are the Anzac Hall with it's Light and Sound shows, the Discovery area which features 5 different environments for you to walk through from a submarine to a trench and the wall of photographs of the soldiers who died while in the Pacific in WW2.

Insider tip: We usually time our visit in the afternoon so we can be here for the last post which is played each afternoon outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After exploring the galleries in the museum it provides a very sober end to your visit.

Photo from Flickr c Frans de Wit

My Favourite way to end a day of sightseeing in Canberra is to grab a bottle of wine and a picnic and head up to Mount Ainslie behind the Australian War Memorial to watch the sunset over the city and Black Mountain Tower. From this viewpoint you can see the layout of the city that was central to the planning and design of Walter Burley Griffin.