Visiting Canberra

Canberra June 2024 

Wed 26 June arrive early afternoon. Meriton Suites, Allara St Canberra 

Thur 27 June Up and going because we're going to IKEA for breakfast. Something we've never done!  Then Fyshwick Markets, and op shops. 

Fri 28 June Lunch with the Caseys. Maybe Salvos at Jamison, on the way to Belconnen. opens 9am - 5.30. Great to catch up with family at their favourite Chinese restaurant, then back to their place for a cuppa and talk away most of the afternoon.

Sat 29 June  The National Film and Sound Archive, NFSA, is open daily from 10am to 4pm except for Christmas Day. Admission to the NFSA building is free. parking is available on the NFSA premises between McCoy Circuit and Ellery Crescent (paid parking Monday to Friday, up to three hours) There is also limited free street parking on Liversidge Street. We drove there, even though it wasn't too far but with light rail construction between our hotel and there, we weren't sure how walking would be. Got there before opening and got a parking spot easily enough. Free on the weekend. TEMPLE. awe-inspiring beauty of native cockatoos. Slow-motion visuals play across a triptych of towering screens. Admission was free. 

From there we drove across Lake Burley Griffin to Australia's Parliament House where we arrived in time for a free guided tour that we still had to book online. $7 parking on weekends, but we drove down the road a bit and found a free parking bay. Parliament House is a huge and very interesting place and the tour was well worth it. Portraits and stories of all the former Prime Ministers and an amazing Lego Parliament House.

Sun 30 June National Museum of Australia. Daily 9am - 5pm. Lawson Cres, Acton. Cafe 9am - 4pm. Parking $3.80ph or $16.50 per day. but free on the weekends! Winning! 

Tony Armstrong's Extraordinary Things. See the objects from the ABC TV show. Could have done the  Antarctica Experience. Saturday and Sunday, $20pp bookings required. OR Beyond the Milky Way. Saturday and Sunday, $20pp bookings required. OR the Highlights tour. Daily 1 - 2pm, $20pp. exploring highlights from each of our permanent exhibition galleries, but we found enough to amuse ourselves without doing those. The Christina and Trevor Kennedy Garden is a place of welcome and a space to rest and reflect or play and explore. Probably would have been worth a look but it was raining.

Mon 1 July National Gallery of Australia. Daily 10am - 5pm. Parkes Pl East. You need a free general entry ticket to visit the Gallery. Tickets can be booked online in advance. Car parking expensive 6 - 7 hours $28.  I've complained bitterly at the cost of carparking at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, it's the most expensive of all the places we planned to visit. Seeing as we didn't have to pay to park at the NFSA or the National Museum because we went on the weekend, and public transport hasn't cost us a cent with our 'old mates' card, we decided we could suck up the cost of the carpark at the art gallery. Imagine my delight when we arrived at the carpark and the ticket machine wasn't working! Winning!! We've really enjoyed our visit to Canberra and seeing where our taxpayer dollars have been going all these years. 😅 Even the weather has been milder than expected. So today, on the list was the Vincent Namatjira 'Australia in Colour'; 'A Century of Quilts' for the Rajah Quilt, made by the convict women on the HMS Rajah in 1841, presenting a rare opportunity to see a historically and artistically significant group of works; the Sculpture Garden on the lake and the Ouroboros in the forecourt, whilst still being installed it was visible through the worksite fence; Gauguin's World; and whatever else we happened to see, which included the famous Jackson Pollock 'Blue Poles' and a large Monet waterlillies. We'd seen a doco on tv quite a while ago about some small but significant Cambodian bronze and gold sculptures that were revealed to have been stolen by looters and supplied to an art dealer who then on-sold them. Accordingly, they have been symbolically returned to the Kingdom of Cambodia but remain on loan in Australia until 2026. I'd forgotten to try and find them, but we stumbled upon them in a display near a lift.   

Tues 2 July Head home.   If we finish early on any day, which we did but I forget which day it was, there's a museum/art gallery near our accom. Canberra Museum and Gallery, 176 London Cct. featuring Riverbend, Sidney Nolan's nine panel work; Backyard Archaeology; The Nolan Collection; Pop up Royal Aust Mint Shop. 

Food *recommended by Jenny 

*Hi, Bamiyan is the Afghan restaurant. Arte 62/10 Lonsdale St, Braddon ACT 15 min walk from Meriton. 

 *White Chaco the Japanese with great Ramen. g10/27 Lonsdale St, Braddon ACT 20 min walk from Meriton. 

Fricken (chicken) 58/10 Lonsdale St Braddon. closer than Chaco Miss Van's. SE Asian student area. 4/113/119 marcus Clarke St Canberra. 15-20 min walk Light rail to Dickson - 

*Trev’s is great for breakfast in Dickson and Asian Noodle House and Dumplings House in Dickson are great. 

Tak Kee Roast Inn 10 Woolley St Dickson. Looks really good. 

Two Sisters Lao Thai Cuisine 38 Badham St Dickson Have eaten there on previous visits and it was good.

Canberra Tradies Club Dickson. Civic Pub, 8 Lonsdale St, Braddon. 15 Min walk from Meriton Mama's trattoria, West Row, Canberra City 02 6248 0936 

 Blu Ginger. Indian. 2/5-21 Genge St, Went there when we stayed in Ainslie. 

 Civic Asian Noodle House 34 or 49 Northbourne Ave, just off London Cct. cheap and cheerful. Went there and it was good.

Gewurzhaus - Canberra Centre. And Anita's outside. need to buy Aleppo pepper 

Op Shops. Salvos Mildura St Fyshwick. Closed Sunday. 5 Hibbertson St. Gungahlin. Closed Sunday 53 Bowman St, Jamison, on the way to Belconnen. Closed Sunday Vinnies 47 Boolimba Cres Narrabundah. Closed Sunday. 32 Hoskins St, Mitchell. Open 7 days. 1/9 Woolley St, Dickson. open 7 days. Thurs Fri Sat till 8.30pm. 3 Lonsdale St, Braddon. open 7 days. Thurs Fri Sat till 8.30pm. Red Cross Shop 165 City Walk, open 7 days. Dirty Janes. 80b Collie St, Fyshwick. 2609 Drive to the back of the Domayne Carpark ~ you'll find us down the ramp. vintage lover's paradise For another time - https://www.sheshapeshistory.com.au/ Geoscience Australia is open to the public from 9am – 5pm on Monday to Friday with free entry and parking. Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Drive Symonston ACT over Fyshwick way.