Canberra Attractions

It is better not to try do your sightseeing by car, since the complicated layout of the city makes finding your way difficult. A good solution is to take the Canberra Explorer Bus, which does a 25 km tour of the city taking about an hour. Buses leave from the Visitors Information Centre in the Jolimont Centre (Northbourne Avenue) at hourly intervals 9:45am - 3:45pm. There are 24 stops at which passengers can leave the bus and rejoin it.

The Canberra Theatre Centre is made up of two major venues, the Canberra Theatre and the Playhouse. The Canberra Theatre seats 1244 while the Playhouse holds up to 622. Along with these two venues is the much smaller experimental theatre, the Courtyard Studio, which accomodates 90 people.

In Civic Square is a copper statue, Ethos, originally cast in 1962 as The Spirit of the Community. Opposite it is a three-dimensional representation of Canberra's coat of arms cast in copper and zinc.

A sculpture of Thespis is located outside the Theatre Centre.

Region of Canberra located south west of Capital Hill between Adelaide and Melbourne Avenues.

Region of Canberra located south of Capital Hill, between Melbourne and Canberra Avenues.

The General Post Office on Alinga Street has Australia's largest and most valuable collection of postage stamps.

Around London Circuit, on City Hill at the end of Commonwealth Avenue, are concentrated the business firms and banks. The Sydney and Melbourne Buildings with their colonnades were erected in 1926-7, on a site then surrounded by wide treeless plains.

Region of Canberra located north of Capital Hill and south of Lake Burley Griffin between Commonwealth and Kings Avenues.

Region of Canberra located north of Capital Hill and west of Anzac Parade between Vernon Circle.

The (Royal Australian) Mint is on Denison Street in Deakin district. All Australian coins are minted here.

In the foyer of the Mint is a small museum, with a souvenir shop. Visitors can watch the manufacture of coins from a gallery and mint their own $1 coins, while a display traces the history of Australian coinage.

The Serbian Orthodox Church in the Forrest district is famed for its wall paintings (by Karl Matzek) and its gold-leaf ceiling.

St John's Church was built in 1841 at the expense of Robert Campbell. It has fine stained glass. In the churchyard are the graves of early settlers. The schoolhouse belonging to the church (built in the 1840s and rebuilt in 1864 after a fire) now houses a museum.

The old St Kilda merry-go-round, a favorite with children, is in Petrie Plaza.