Canberra Australia Info

Canberra Australia

Canberra is a totally planned city. Designed by Walter Burley Griffin, who won the international competition, Canberra is a city with wide tree-lined avenues and spacious parkland, therefore giving visitors a feeling of spaciousness and order. Building heights are restricted, and billboards are hard to find. I can see why Canberrans love this city--it is small enough to still maintain the atmosphere of a small town, but due to the large expatriate community, does offer pockets that are very cosmopolitan. But Canberra is one of those cities that grow on you, and so it wasn't really by the third time I visited that I grew to like it. Maybe you would be more lucky.
Best Way to Get Around (i.e. walking, driving, taxis, public transportation etc.) The city layout can be very confusing, so first-time visitors will find it relatively challenging to drive. Of course, as I am used to driving on the opposite site, can be somewhat intimidating, especially at turns, where everything is just totally weird. Canberra itself is based on a system of roundabouts, which, while well-marked, tend to point the driver towards districts rather than streets. So arming yourself with an extremely good map will help, as well as a sense of adventure. Canberra I think is somewhat of a city of contrast. In some areas, the city is totally unfriendly to pedestrians, as many streets were built without sidewalk. However, in other aspects, the lakes, the parks, the numerous green spaces mean that you have plenty of space to wonder around. So what does that mean? Maybe that walking is great if you are wondering aimlessly around, but don't count on it as a means of getting easily from one point to the next? Another possibility is taking the buss--the city's attractions are fairly confined, and traveling by bus will get you to most of the city's highlights with no problem.

"Canberra's carefully planned streets are dotted with parks, civic buildings, museums, and galleries. At the top of the list is Parliament House; a walk around Lake Burley Griffin (named for the city's planner) is pleasant; the National War Memorial worth a visit just for the honor roll, although the museum attached is a strange mix of war glorification and condemnation, but still very interesting. The National Museum, National Gallery, the Australian Institute of Sport, and the Australian National University are all worth a look, but give the National Archives a miss - it’s boring and out of the way."

"Canberra has many of Australia's best museums and art galleries. We chose to visit the War Memorial and Museum during this trip which is situated at the top of ANZAC Parade. There are also the following museums and Art galleries with Canberra:
1. National Museum of Australia at Lennox Crossing, Acton
2. The National Gallery of Australia at Parkes Place, Parkes
3. The Old Parliament House and Portrait Gallery, at King George Terrace, Parkes
4. Canberra Railway Museum at Geijera Pl, Kingston
5. National Dinosaur Museum at Gold Creek Road, Nicholls.
We took a self guided tour of Capital Hill, the centre of the world for Australian Politics We went a RAAF Show at the Fairbrain RAAF Station, just out from Canberra's International Airport, where we got to see through the planes that transport the Prime Minister Worldwide and in Australia. There is also Fyshwick where all the naughty sex shops are and adult video shops - good for a laugh. We also went to a couple of lookouts where you could view the entire city and countryside. The lookouts we went to are the Black Mountain Nature Reserve Lookout and the Mount Ainsilie Nature Reserve Lookout.
Don't eat in the city center if you can help it - it's expensive.
We found a cheap place to have breakfast at was the Central Cafe in Queanbeyan. For $10.00(Aussie), you could order bacon, sauages and eggs, which comes with chips and the plate is piled to overflowing and we couldn't eat it all. We noticed on the menu that the Main Meals had next to them that the they were "A Challenge for the Biggest Eater" so next time we'll have dinner there too.

Another good place to eat is the O'Malleys Bar located within the center of Canberra near Garema Place - although not as cheap, the foods very good. Dale ordered a steak and he said it was fantastic. This is also a good place to have a couple of drinks and meet some of the locals.
The motel we stayed at was great and reasonably priced, cheaper than the youth hostels. It was called the "Aussie Settler Motel" and cost $55(Aussie) per night for a double. It's located at 5 High Street, Queanbeyan. Phone Number (02) 62974711.
Most of the museums and Capital Hill are free admission and museums ask for a donation.
Best Way to Get Around (i.e. walking, driving, taxis, public transportation etc.) We traveled around by car while we were there and found that Canberra was easy to find your way around, if you have a street directory.
While we were there we did notice a lot of people biking and there are places to hire pushbikes if you wish to get a bit of exercise.

There are also plenty of tracks for horses to use and there is probably a place where you can visit that will do horse riding ventures."

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