Canberra - Parliament House and the National Capital

Australia'S Purpose Built National Capital, Centred On A Parliament House Built Into The Top Of Capital Hill, With The Australian War Memorial Sighted Directly Along The City'S Design Axis And The National Gallery, Library And High Court Grouped Around The Lake · Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Canberra is Australia's purpose-built capital, planned from scratch in the 1910s by the American architect Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin on what was then an empty sheep paddock, which is why the whole city reads as one deliberate design rather than an organic town. Parliament House is the centrepiece, opened in 1988 and built into the top of Capital Hill so a grassed roof lets visitors walk right over the building and look down on the flag mast above it. Anzac Parade runs dead straight from Old Parliament House to the Australian War Memorial, lining up the Memorial, the lake and the new Parliament House on one sightline you can stand on and see for yourself. Around Lake Burley Griffin sit the National Gallery, the National Library, the High Court and Questacon, most of them free or low cost, while Mount Ainslie and the Black Mountain tower give elevated views over the entire plan. It rewards a visitor prepared to treat the city itself as the attraction, not just one building inside it.

The purpose-built capital in a valley of the Australian Capital Territory, centred on Parliament House atop Capital Hill and the lake below it, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Parliament House is open to the public most days with free entry and free guided tours, though the building closes outright on some public holidays and access tightens during major security events - check the current calendar before relying on a specific day. The public galleries for Question Time only operate when either chamber is actually sitting, which is a limited part of the year, so a visit built around watching parliament can arrive to an empty chamber if the sitting calendar is not checked first. The Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery keep standard daily hours and close only on Christmas Day. The Last Post ceremony at the War Memorial runs every single evening without exception, rain, heat or public holiday included.

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