ACT
The Australian Capital Territory is the home to Australia’s capital city, Canberra, the hub of Australian political life and a treasure trove of historic and cultural artifacts.
Any Canberra visit should start with the Parliamentary Triangle, impressive urban design by American architect Walter Burley Griffin. Watch live debates and Q&As in the public gallery of Parliament House, a modern structure featuring a roof garden of lush turf. At the Old Parliament House, see the historic Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Smell flowers at the National Rose Garden and enjoy views from a Lake Burley Griffin cruise.
The National Gallery holds some of Australia’s most captivating pieces of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and pivotal works in Australian surrealism, modernism, impressionism and social realism. Channel your inner scientist at Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre. The Royal Australian Mint showcases a historic coin collection and the production of Australian money.
Delve into Australia’s natural history, colonial life and indigenous culture at National Museum Australia. Pore over collections of manuscripts, letters, maps and newspaper archives in the National Library. See the Australian Constitution and exhibitions on Australian life at the National Archives of Australia, and learn about the nation’s role in World Wars I and II in the Australian War Memorial’s poignant exhibits.
Discuss politics with locals in one of Canberra’s many wine bars, pubs and microbreweries, or dance the night away at funky warehouse nightclubs. Spoil yourself with degustation dinners, fusion cuisines and very good coffee. Complete your evening with contemporary theater, comedy or performances by Australian singer-songwriters at Canberra Theatre Centre.
Escape to the wilderness of Namadgi National Park. Grassland, woodland, wet forests and sub-alpine heaths provide habitat for kangaroos, wombats, crimson parrots and threatened species including the corroboree frog and smoky mouse. Explore the rocky outcrops and densely forested valleys by mountain bike or on horseback. See the prehistoric Aboriginal artworks on boulders at Yankee Hat, take in the views from long bushwalks and camp out under the stars.