Canberra is a planned capital city built around a lake, with national institutions, galleries, and museums concentrated in the Parliamentary Triangle. Most major attractions are free to enter, a legacy of the city’s role as the national showcase. This guide covers the essential sights with opening hours, ticket information, and practical tips for getting the most out of a visit. For more detailed information, see our complete Canberra travel guide.
Things to Do in Canberra: National Institutions
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial combines a museum, archive, and shrine in one of the country’s most visited cultural institutions. It is located at the head of Anzac Parade in Campbell, at the base of Mount Ainslie. Entry is free, but timed tickets are required and should be booked online at awm.gov.au. The Commemorative Area includes the Roll of Honour, the Pool of Reflection, and the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. The Last Post Ceremony runs daily at 4:55 PM in the Commemorative Area: arrive by 4:30 PM for a good position. The museum galleries cover conflicts from colonial wars through to current operations, and the aircraft hall displays a Lancaster bomber, a Zero fighter, and a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter. Allow 3 to 4 hours for a proper visit. Parking is free for 4 hours in the underground lot off Treloar Crescent. The memorial is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, closed Christmas Day. For more on this topic, see our Canberra weather by month.
Parliament House
Australia’s Parliament House sits on Capital Hill, buried into the landscape with a grass roof that visitors can walk over. Entry is free, and guided tours run at 9:30 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 2 PM, and 3:30 PM on non-sitting days (check aph.gov.au for the schedule). On sitting days, Question Time in the House of Representatives runs at 2 PM and is open to the public: arrive by 1:30 PM to queue for the public gallery. The rooftop offers a 360-degree view of Canberra’s geometric street layout, designed by Walter Burley Griffin. The marble Grand Foyer, the Great Hall with its Arthur Boyd tapestry, and the Members’ Hall with the Magna Carta monument are the key interior highlights. The Parliament House art collection, with over 6,000 works, is displayed throughout, including the Tom Roberts painting of the opening of the first Parliament in 1901 outside the House of Representatives chamber. The Queen’s Terrace Cafe on the first floor is open to visitors and has lake views. Underground parking is available off Federation Mall. For more on this topic, see our best time to visit Canberra.
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery on Parkes Place East houses Australia’s national art collection, including the largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the world. Entry is free except for major temporary exhibitions. Key works include Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles (Gallery 14), Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series, and the Aboriginal Memorial installation of 200 hollow log coffins. The sculpture garden on the lake side features Fujiko Nakaya’s fog sculpture (operates daily 12:30 PM to 2 PM) and works by Henry Moore and Auguste Rodin. Open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, closed Christmas Day. The adjacent National Portrait Gallery on King Edward Terrace is also free and houses portraits of notable Australians from all fields. Both galleries share a paid parking area off Parkes Place East (AU$3.70 per hour). For more on this topic, see our Canberra events and festivals.
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum on Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula explores Australian social history through objects, multimedia, and architecture. The building itself is a landmark: designed by Ashton Raggatt McDougall, it uses a jigsaw-puzzle motif and bold colours that divide opinion. Entry is free. Core exhibits include the Gallery of First Australians (the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural material), the Phar Lap exhibit (the champion racehorse’s preserved heart weighs 6.2 kg), and the collection of convict love tokens. Open daily 9 AM to 5 PM, closed Christmas Day. Parking is AU$3.70 per hour. The museum cafe on the ground floor overlooks Lake Burley Griffin and is worth a stop for the view alone. For more on this topic, see our Canberra neighborhoods guide.
Things to Do in Canberra: Outdoors and Nature
Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin is Canberra’s centrepiece, an artificial 6.6 square kilometre lake created when the Molonglo River was dammed in 1963. The 40-kilometre shoreline path loops the entire lake and takes about 3 hours by bicycle. You can rent bikes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards from the Boat House, Grevillea Park, Menindee Drive, Barton (open daily 8 AM to 5 PM, kayak hire from AU$25 per hour). The Captain Cook Memorial Jet at the central basin shoots water 147 metres into the air and operates daily 11 AM to 2 PM. Swimming is permitted in designated areas: Yarralumla Beach (Alexandrina Drive), Black Mountain Peninsula, and the Acton waterfront are the three supervised swimming zones during summer. The lake is stocked with golden perch and Murray cod for fishing; a NSW recreational fishing licence (AU$7 for 3 days, AU$14 for a month) is required even though you are in the ACT. For more on this topic, see our where to stay in Canberra.
Mount Ainslie Lookout
The Mount Ainslie summit at 843 metres elevation provides the classic postcard view of Canberra: Anzac Parade, the Australian War Memorial, Old Parliament House, and new Parliament House aligned in a straight line. The summit is accessible by car via Mount Ainslie Drive (free parking at the top) or by a 30-minute walk up the paved track from behind the War Memorial. Sunrise and sunset are the best times for photography. The track is lit but unsealed in sections: wear sturdy shoes. Binoculars are useful for spotting kangaroos on the slopes at dawn and dusk. Mount Ainslie is part of the Canberra Nature Park, and the summit area has interpretive signs explaining Walter Burley Griffin’s design geometry. For more on this topic, see our Canberra travel tips.
National Arboretum Canberra
The National Arboretum occupies 250 hectares on the western side of Lake Burley Griffin, six kilometres from the city centre. It contains 94 forests of rare, endangered, and symbolic trees from around the world. Entry is free, but parking costs AU$3.70 per hour. The Village Centre houses a cafe, the Sprout children’s indoor play garden, and a gift shop. The Himalayan cedar forest and the cork oak forest are the most photogenic sections. The Pod Playground, with its giant acorn cubbies and climbing nets, is one of Canberra’s best free attractions for children under 12. The dairy farmers’ hill lookout offers the best view across the lake. The Bonsai Collection and Penjing Collection is on the lower level of the Village Centre and is unexpectedly fascinating, even for non-gardeners. Open daily, hours vary by season: 6 AM to 8:30 PM in summer, 7 AM to 5:30 PM in winter.
Things to Do in Canberra: Science and History
Questacon – National Science and Technology Centre
Questacon on King Edward Terrace is Australia’s national science centre, housed in a distinctive barrel-vaulted building near the National Gallery. Tickets cost AU$24.50 for adults, AU$17.50 for children aged 4 to 16, and AU$72 for a family of four. The centre has eight galleries over three floors, including the earthquake simulator, the free-fall slide (a 6-metre vertical drop demonstrating gravity and friction), and the lightning room with a 1.5-million-volt Tesla coil that fires on the hour. The Mini Q area on the ground floor is designed for children aged 0 to 6. Allow 3 hours for a proper visit. The centre is open daily 9 AM to 5 PM, closed Christmas Day. Book tickets online to skip the queue on weekends and school holidays, when wait times at the entry can reach 45 minutes.
Royal Australian Mint
The Royal Australian Mint on Denison Street, Deakin is where every Australian coin is produced. Entry is free. The factory viewing gallery overlooks the production floor where you can watch robots and presses stamp out coins. The highlight is the opportunity to mint your own AU$1 coin using the visitor press for AU$3. Open weekdays 8:30 AM to 5 PM, weekends and public holidays 10 AM to 4 PM. Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. The gift shop sells proof sets and commemorative coins. A visit takes about 1 hour. Free onsite parking.
National Zoo and Aquarium
Australia’s only combined zoo and aquarium, located on Lady Denman Drive in Yarralumla, about 5 km west of the city centre. Tickets cost AU$49 for adults and AU$29 for children aged 3 to 14. The zoo is privately owned and known for its big cats (including a white lion pride) and the largest collection of big cats in Australia. The aquarium section is modest but has a walk-through shark tunnel. Behind-the-scenes animal encounters and keeper talks run throughout the day: the cheetah talk at 11:30 AM and the sun bear feeding at 2:30 PM are the most popular. The Jamala Wildlife Lodge, an on-site luxury hotel where rooms overlook animal enclosures, starts from AU$1,200 per night and books out 3 to 6 months in advance. The zoo is open daily 9:30 AM to 5 PM, last entry 3:30 PM.
Things to Do in Canberra: Day Trips
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is a 54-square-kilometre protected area 45 minutes southwest of Canberra, off the Cotter Road and Tidbinbilla Road. Entry costs AU$14 per vehicle. The reserve has 22 marked walking trails ranging from the 15-minute Koala Path (boardwalk through a koala enclosure) to the 5-hour Camelback Trail. The Sanctuary, a 2.1-kilometre loop wetland, is wheelchair-accessible and has superb birdwatching: platypus are regularly seen at dawn and dusk. The reserve is home to a breeding program for the critically endangered Northern Corroboree Frog and Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby. The Visitor Centre sells maps and snacks. Open daily 7:30 AM to 8 PM in summer (AEST), 7:30 AM to 6 PM in winter. Mobile phone coverage is patchy inside the reserve; download offline maps beforehand.
