Backpacking in Australia: Top 5 Sights in Canberra

Backpacking in Australia: Top 5 Sights in Canberra

As the six year mark on my last few days in Australia hit home this week, it is time to reflect on one of my favourite cities in Australia – the capital city itself. Canberra. Aside from my time exploring Sydney, the Blue Mountains and serving schooners in Parramatta, we next headed to Canberra for a few nights.

Australian Art Gallery National Museum Canberra

These are my favourite sights in the Australian capital city, a city well worth a few days of your time and also nicely off the wall from the normal backpacking circuit. Those who skip the capital, I feel are making a big mistake. There is an easy top five sights to tick off and a whole load more to explore here.

1.Canberra’s Carillon
This monument by the river is a large musical carillon. It is situated on Aspen Island and is Australian’s national carillon with 23 bells in it. The chimes of them across the city is relaxing.

By Canberra’s Carillon

2.Australian War Memorial
Probably the highlight from any visit to Canberra is the huge Australian War Memorial. It’s a museum dedicated to all the wars that Australians have served in. Compared with some museums in Europe, this is extremely well designed, well organised and informative and I learnt a lot about how many Australians were actually involved in the major World Wars.

Australian War Memorial Canberra Australia

3.Lake Burley Griffin
For a sunset beer and some chill out time, head to Lake Burley Griffin. There are parks nearby and plenty of places to rest.

Relaxing with a beer near Lake Burley Griffin

4.Australian Parliament
Myself and my two travel buddies, Daniel Evans and Neil Macey got a tour of the parliament. We were allowed right inside the actual offices and parliament itself. There is even a souvenir shop inside and you get great views down towards the War Memorial.

View of Canberra’s Parliament

5.Mount Ainslie
For a superb view of Canberra, my mate Evan drove us up to the top of Mount Ainslie. You can see that Canberra is a small city, but that t looks perky and peaceful from such a height.

Capital Canberra Australia

There are always flights to Australia for cheap, and Canberra even has its own airport. We overlanded by bus from Sydney and backpacked to the YHA in downtown Canberra. A huge thanks to my mate Evan Tattam who was on hand to give us a guided tour of his city. And we can also never forget the crazy Wolverine dude who we danced with.

Midnight in Canberra with Wolverine