After being born in and living in Canberra (Indigenous name: Ngambri) for 21 years, I (Katherine) am well and truly a local. While I don’t live there anymore, I still know all the best cheap things to do in Canberra.
Now believe me, I know all about what people say about Canberra being boring. If I’m honest, some of it is true (hence why this city gal lives in Sydney now). But, there are some wonderful things to see and do for a couple of days, including two great festivals that are really worth seeing. No matter how long you’re visiting for, we’ve got some great tips for you for your visit to Australia’s capital!
In This Post: the Best Things to do in Canberra:
- Walk around Lake Burley Griffin
- Museums
- Questacon
- The Arboretum
- Kingston Markets (and Brod Burger!)
- The Botanic Gardens
- Mount Ainslie
- Enlighten and the Balloon Festival
- Floriade
Our Favourite Things to do in Canberra
Lake Burley Griffin
Cost: Free
One of our favourite things to do in Canberra is walk around Lake Burley Griffin. You may know that Canberra was built from a plan. The government held a competition in 1911 to find the winning design. The winner of the competition was Walter Burley Griffin, although his wife Marion Mahoney Griffin also had a big hand in the design. Lake Burley Griffin is man-made, and was always intended to be an important part of the city.
The Lake Walk
There is a section of the lake towards the eastern side where you can walk around. The route goes between the Kings Avenue Bridge and Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. It takes about an hour but there’s heaps to see along the way so it can take longer.
You can start your walk at any point as it is a complete loop. We like to start at Patrick White Lawns as there is easy parking nearby. Heading north across Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, you’ll reach Commonwealth Park, which is where Floriade is held each year (more on that later) and is worth a wander around.
Continuing along the water is Blundells Cottage, one of Canberra’s oldest homes built in the 1860s. The cottage is open Saturdays and Sundays 10am-2pm and is free to enter. Next along the water is the Carillon (a bell tower) standing on an island. As of mid 2024 the island was shut for refurbishments. However when it reopens its a great place to visit and relax.
After crossing the Kings Avenue Bridge back to the south side, you’ll see the National Gallery of Australia. This is a free art museum open 10 -5 every day with the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. It also has a wonderful garden with sculptures and a fog exhibition every day between 12:30-2pm. Walking through the fog is also a great way to cool down on a hot day.
Continuing back towards the Patrick White Lawns, you’ll find the jetty and the international flag display. There really is heaps to see and do along this walk even though it isn’t that long. It’s also a beautiful spot as you’re by the water, especially if you choose a nice day!
Museums
Cost: Free
Canberra has so many museums and galleries and luckily, so many of them are free! You could spend several days exploring the endless exhibits in the museums. Especially in the crisp winter, visiting museums is one of the best things to do in Canberra.
Most of Canberra’s museums sit within the National Triangle or the Parliamentary Triangle. This is an invisible area starting at new Parliament House and going triangularly across the water. Within the triangle you can find The National Gallery, Old Parliament House, New Parliament House, The National Library, The National Portrait Gallery and The High Court of Australia. It is free to visit all of these buildings and they all have amazing things to offer, from the art and history to the cafes and gift shops.
Just across the water from all of those attractions is the War Memorial with it’s iconic dome. This museum takes visitors through Australia’s contribution to some of the wars throughout history. It has some impressive galleries and a long wall of names of fallen soldiers that you can put a poppy beside if you know anyone. It is free to enter but you have to book timed tickets before you visit at their website here.
Questacon
Cost: $23 for adults or $17.50 for students
Now, ask anyone from Canberra what they did as a child, or anyone from Sydney what they remember from their school trip to Canberra, and they’ll all say the same place: Questacon. Questacon is a science and technology center and is one of the most popular things to do in Canberra. Most of the exhibits and talks are aimed at children, but can be enjoyed by anyone. Opening hours are 9am to 5pm every day and tickets are cheaper when bought at the entrance rather than online. It is $23 for adults or $17.50 for students and is definitely worth it if you’ve got time to visit.
There’s heaps of great things to do and cool exhibits to see. One of our favorites is the earth room that has a caged lightening show. Then there’s Excite@Q with a freefall, which is a bit scary but super fun. There is also a science room and then a couple of rooms with temporary exhibits that change every now and then. Then there’s our favourite: the science shows! These are on every couple of hours in the theatre downstairs, and the topic changes frequently, so you’ll have to see what’s on when you’re there.
While Questacon is more for kids, there is heaps to enjoy as an adult too, especially if you love science. We’ve gone more than once as adults and we always have a great time!
Visit the Arboretum
Cost: Free
The National Arboretum is a nice place to visit if you’ve got some time as it has a great view over much of Canberra. Unfortunately, this is where the public transport in Canberra fails it’s tourists, so this is just one for those with a car. You could catch a taxi/ uber there, but you’d have to decide if it’s worth the cost for your budget. The main parking (the first one you’ll reach inside the Arboretum) costs, but there is some free parking further up the hill.
The Arboretum is 250 hectares and has over 44,000 endangered and rare trees. There is a wonderful view over Canberra including Lake Burley Griffin, Black Mountain Tower and Telstra Tower. The beautiful main building called the Village Center also has a great café and gift shop.
Just outside the Village Center is a small indoor building with a bonsai collection which is cool to look around. On the other side of the center is an incredible playground designed to look like giant acorns and if there are no kids on it, have a quick play!
If you’re looking for different things to do in Canberra than what most people see, this is definitely the spot for you. It really gives you a sense of how small Canberra is as a city.
Kingston Markets (And Have a Brod Burger!)
Cost: Free (Unless you buy something!)
A visit to the Kingston bus depot markets is a great way to spend an hour of your Sunday. Just beyond the Kings Avenue Bridge, the market is open every Sunday from 9:30am to 2:30pm. The market is split on two levels of a converted bus depot. Inside you can find books, clothes, hand made items, plants and so much delicious food. Our favourites are the salted caramel macaroons from a bakery near the entrance, the fudge stall, the juice stall and the Laos cuisine. But it is all amazing so make sure you visit while hungry!
The whole market will probably take an hour or so to wander around. You could easily couple it with a walk around the lake. It’s only a 20 minute walk (the opposite way from the lake walk we discussed earlier) from the Kings Avenue Bridge along the water and a lovely park. Also next to markets is the Kingston Foreshore which is a great little waterside walk with some fantastic restaurants.
Brod Burger
Cost: $9-$23.50
If none of the food at the markets entices you, head next door to Canberra’s famous Brodburger. This burger place started out as a little red caravan in a nearby park, and felt like a local-only secret. They eventually got so popular that they opened the Kingston restaurant and now have 4 locations. They have so many burgers including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options as well as hot dogs, onion rings and hot chips. The food is delicious and it really is the perfect thing to have on a visit because it is a firm Canberra tradition.
The restaurant also sits on the outside of the Canberra glassworks, which can also be visited between Wednesday to Sunday 10am-4pm. You can enter by a donation and see the glass artists working on incredible pieces.
Go to the Botanic Gardens
Cost: Free
Time for our classic garden or park recommendation, which we have in almost every blog post. The Australian National Botanic Gardens is open 8:30 to 5pm every day except Christmas and the lovely café is open 9am to 4pm. Getting there is pretty easy as it’s only 2.5km from the city so can be accessed by foot, electric scooter or bike. You can also drive (parking is paid and not cheap), and buses go nearby, so there’ll be an option to suit you.
It’s a really nice place to walk around and has heaps of different sections to look at. There’s a red centre garden, a rock garden, gardens based on Australian plants, a eucalypt lawn and a rainforest walk. Around the water, you will likely see some water dragons running around which is always fun (but don’t get too close, they have sharp claws). You can also see wallabies, possums, echidnas and lots of local birds but please remember not to approach any of them. Snakes can also be seen (which I personally hate), but the garden is very busy so they’ll usually stay hiding!
Mount Ainslie
Cost: Free
You can see pretty much the whole city from up here, it is THE Canberra lookout. Mount Ainslie sits in the Northeast of Canberra and has an elevation of 843 meters. There are two ways to get up, walking and driving.
For the walk, it begins behind the Australian War Memorial which can be easily accessed by bus so it’s easy to get to the start of the walk. The walk itself is about 4.5km return but do keep in mind it is quite steep. Towards the top there is also a decent amount of stairs. Also as the walk is in the bush, it is common to see snakes and lizards, especially if you’re there in the warmer months. However don’t worry too much, this is one of Canberra’s most popular walks so there will be lots of people around.
To drive to the top, you’ll just have to drive past the War Memorial on the way to the airport, then there is a left turn up the hill. It only takes a couple of minutes to drive up and there is free parking at the summit.
The view over Canberra is wonderful and you can really see it’s pre-planned design from above. One of the fun facts every Canberran knows is that there is a straight line from the dome of the War Memorial, up the mall, which goes straight to the seat our Prime Minister sits in at new Parliament House. This is really clear to see from Mount Ainslie and you can also see the city, Black Mountain Tower and even the airport.
Between the Arboretum and Mount Ainslie, you can get a really good experience of Canberra from above. As a capital city, it really is quite small and immersed in the nature that surrounds it. We would definitely recommend getting up above the city as one of our favourite things to do in Canberra.
Experience Enlighten and the Balloon Festival (March)
Cost: Free (Unless you buy some food or get in a balloon)
Enlighten is one of Canberra’s festivals that I always try to go down and see. It runs during the first half of March and lights up some of the iconic buildings in the National Triangle. Every evening when it gets dark, six famous buildings are lit up with moving and changing illustrations showing Australia’s culture and storytelling. You can easily walk between all the buildings and it won’t take more than an hour to see them all. On the way there are also small and interactive illuminations that are cute.
As well as all the cool lights, there is a huge area full of food trucks for you to get some dinner or dessert. There is also a Night Noodle Market that runs for part of Enlighten, where heaps of Asian food trucks set themselves up in the National Triangle. There are some other events during Enlighten such as a film festival called Lights, Canberra, Action, (great name I know) and Symphony in the Park. It also falls over a public holiday called Canberra Day where there are celebrations.
Canberra Balloon Spectacular
Cost: Free
We can’t forget my favourite part of Enlighten, the Canberra Balloon Spectacular. This is probably one of the most popular things to do in Canberra at this time of year. This runs for around 10 days and is an early start with the balloons taking off from around 6:30am. But believe me, we are not early risers and I’ve always considered this worth it (although Krissie might say otherwise). Around 25 balloons inflate and take off from the Patrick White Laws with hundreds of people joining to watch. They then fly over Canberra and if you can’t make it to the lawns, you can get a great view from on the lake near Commonwealth Park too.
The one difficulty with seeing the balloons is that you won’t know if they’ll be taking off at all until 6am on the day, by which point you should already be on your way. The best thing to do is check the weather the day before, and if it’s looking alright, set your alarms. At around 6am, the decision will be announced on the Enlighten website and Facebook page, and you can be ready to leave if they’re going ahead. You’ll have half an hour to get somewhere to see them, which should be enough time since Canberra is not very big.
The event is free for spectators and by 7:00 or 7:30am all the balloons will be gone. You can then enjoy the various breakfast tents and trucks dotted around the lawns. Or you can go home and get back into bed! If you want some adventure you can also go up a balloon. There are various companies and it will cost you around $400-500 per person.
Floriade (September-October)
Cost: Free! (& $25 for NightFest)
This is my FAVOURITE event the city, and one of the most popular things to do in Canberra for locals and tourists. Floriade runs from mid September to mid October every year and is completely free. Floriade is the largest flower festival in the Southern Hemisphere with around 1 million bulbs planted each year. It is held in Commonwealth Park, which is super easy to get to from the city, and is open 9:30-5:30pm every day. Every year there is a theme and the flowers are planted in garden beds that create pictures when seen from above.
The flowers are spread out over the park and there are so many other things to do as well. Stage 88 is the main stage where there is always something happening. This is where local bands, dance clubs and choirs will perform. There are also talks and workshops held here and a huge grass area to sit and enjoy it all. If nothing interests you at the main stage don’t worry, there are heaps of smaller tents all around the park with other performances and workshops happening all day, every day.
As for food, there are heaps of delicious options on offer or if you want to save some money, you can bring a picnic to Floriade too. There are also lots of shops selling gifts, garden accessories and take home snacks. Lastly, there is a whole section with rides (tickets can be bought on site for individual rides) including a Ferris wheel where you can see all the garden bed designs from above!
Nightfest
For a couple of nights each year, Floriade holds its paid evening event, NightFest. Adult tickets are $25 each and must be bought in advance on their website. NightFest has illuminated exhibits and lots of entertainment and is a fun night out. Even if you are planning to go to Nightfest, we would also recommend seeing Floriade during the day, as the flowers really are the highlight.
I hope this list has given you some great ideas to fill your time in Canberra and I truly hope you enjoy your stay in my home town. Also, with all this fun stuff to keep you entertained, hopefully you can break the cycle of people calling Canberra boring!
Leave a Reply