Canberra

Canberra is a planned federal capital in the Australian Capital Territory, serving as Australia's administrative center between Sydney and Melbourne. The city extends around the artificial Lake Burley Griffin, with broad boulevards radiating symmetrically from the central government buildings on Capital Hill and connecting parkland to public institutions.

Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin designed the city in 1913 after winning an international competition for planning Australia's new capital. Parliament moved here from Melbourne in 1927, though many government buildings and residential neighborhoods were completed only decades later.

Federal workers and government staff fill the central avenues during weekdays, giving the streets a calm, administrative quality that softens during weekends. Families gather along the lake foreshore and inside the national museums, where education and quiet exploration define the local culture more than nightlife or shopping crowds.

The city experiences four distinct seasons, with warm summers around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and cold winter nights often dropping below freezing. Public transport connects major districts, though many visitors prefer a car to cover the expansive distances between museums and memorials.

The National Library of Australia holds Captain Cook's journal and over 10 million other items documenting the country's past. Visitors can browse through old maps and manuscripts in public reading rooms, tracing centuries of exploration and settlement.