Mucky

Hi,
As part of our tour from Sydney we have decided to take a couple of days out to explore Canberra.

I am considering the Rydges Lakeside hotel in Canberra for our 2 night stay.

Is this a centrally good location?

What other things can you recommend to do in Canberra, places to eat etc.

We are planning to hang on to the car while we are there, no point in giving it up for 2 days then have to get another, so is parking adequate?



Muck

longhorn55

When will you be in Canberra? Floriade, the annual flower exhibition, runs from Sept. 12 to October 11th and we always enjoyed visiting it. If you like musuems, you've got the Australian War Memorial (a must in my book), the Australian Gallery of Art, the National Museum, Questacon, etc. Parliament House and Old Parliament House are both worth a visit as well. If you like the outdoors, there's great hiking/scenery/wildlife at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Namadgi National Park. There's much too much to see and do in two days, so you'll have plenty to fill your time.

Neil_Oz

Yes, mucky, you won't run out of things to do in two days.

The Lakeside is as central as you'll get, Mucky, on the edge of the commercial centre ("Civic") and walking distance from the National Museum and Commonwealth Park. Parking has become tight in Civic, but you can walk there.

I'll second the attractions mentioned (longhorn, I think you meant the National Gallery of Australia, though?). It's a short drive to the War Memorial (and also to the National Botanical Gardens, on the slopes of Black Mountain, which if you're a flora freak hosts an extensive collection of Australian native plants). On the summit of Black Mountain is Telstra Tower, with great views from its observation deck. Parking is no problem at any of these sites.

Across the Lake is the area known as the Parliamentary Triangle, which hosts the NGA, National Portrait Gallery, National Library of Australia, Questacon (a hands-on science museum popular with kids), Parliament House, Old Parliament House and the National Archives. You can park at at any of these sites and walk to the others. Most have a cafe attached.

If you're a sports freak you can also visit the Australian Institute of Sport, a 15-minute drive from Civic (not having even the ghost of an interest, I can't personally vouch for its entertainment value, though).

For eating in Civic there's a good selection of cafes and restaurants on the the West Row and London Circuit frontages of the Sydney Building and plenty of coffee shops on Bunda Street (get directions from hotel staff). Better though is the busy Manuka centre, 1 km east of Parliament House, and for Asian restaurants the Dickson shopping centre, about 4 km north of Civic. Parking is tight at both, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, but with persistence you'll find a spot. Parking fines are heavy, though, so be aware that fees usually apply 08:30-17:30 and on Fridays (late shopping night) 08:30-21:00.

Most of the complaints I've had from people who get themselve slost driving in Canberra are from people who seem to think that they can drive into a sprawling city of 350,000 people and find their way around by ESP or magic - so do equip yourself with a street map.

Current attractions at the time of your visit can be found at www.visitcanberra.com.au. Have a great time....

Neil_Oz

I forgot to mention that another spot with great views of the city is the summit of Mt Ainslie. From the War Memorial drive east on Fairbairn Avenue (i.e. towards the airport) about 1 km and you'll see the turnoff, to the left.

Susan7

I've stayed a quite a few times at Rydges Lakeside, you get great views from the upper levels. The breakfast has always been disappointing, lots of cold things that should be hot most times I've stayed.

I prefer the older style Canberra Hotels on the other side of the lake such as the Hyatt and Hotel Kurrajong. Olims is also very good value on the city centre side.

Mucky

Thanks
That's good information.
I got a fairly good deal at the Rydges, (skipped brekkie..thanks for the tip)the others looked good but at this moment in time a little more expensive, but I have checked the cancellation policy and will monitor wotif closer the time.

Canberra driving.
We live in a similar sized capital city, so I am not really phased about driving in Canberra I have a map but I am thinking about upgrading my UK Sat nav with Aussie maps, but it seems an expensive method to me, so is it normal to hire them with the car?

Are there any toll charges or tickets I need to buy to drive in the Canberra area?


Thanks

Muck

longhorn55

Yes, Neil, I did have a brain freeze there with the name of the gallery. I get confused sometimes because NGA in Canberra is the "National Gallery of Australia" and NGA in Washington, D.C. (where I now live) is National Gallery of Art. So I combined the two and came up with a real mess!

Neil_Oz

Muck, there are no tolls on Canberra roads, indeed none closer than Sydney, which is full of weirdly uncoordinated toll roads (e.g. I have an electronic billing account that works for the M7 but is no use on the M5). But don't get me started on those wonderful "public-private partnerships" that have infested the city's infrastructure projects.

Sorry, it's been a while since I rented a car in Australia, and I'm a GPS Luddite anyway - hopefuly someone else can answer that question. (We resolutely resisted a GPS when we undertook a 5-week/5000-mile driving trip in the US and Canada a while back, and navigated a number of large cities and many smaller ones without getting lost - well, not very lost. I remain committed to paper maps.)

longhorn, I knew what you meant - just thought I'd better clarify it for Mucky's sake.

Susan, that's good feedback on the Lakeside. Living in the city means that I don't get to stay in its hotels, so I'm not much use on that front.

Muck, you can always breakfast in Civic - plenty of choices about a 10-minute walk from the Lakeside. Olim's Ainslie Hotel is a good location, corner of Ainslie and Limestone Avenues and another 10-minute walk to Civic (or the War Memorial). The Hyatt is a lovely hotel, a restored and extended low-slung 1920s Art Deco-ish building, but of course you'll pay for the ambience. It's worth dropping in for afternoon tea though. There's ample parking on the City side and the rear.

lavandula

Hi Muck,

Lots of good tips - I also want to endorse the NGA. Let me add that cars are a must in Canberra - the scale of Canberra is grand, and sort of empty, and the only public transport is a bus system which is okay but probably cumbersome between the various attractions you might want to see.
Yes, it is normal to hire a GPS with a car - we did this in Victoria and it seemed very common at the time.
It's very easy to drive in Canberra, and there are few traffic problems - the roads are a little congested in the morning leading up to 9am, but compared to other places I would not really call them traffic jams. What is quite devilish in Canberra is the roundabouts - there are lots of them (large ones) and you have to have your wits about you when navigating them (how often have I missed a turn or been in the wrong lane to get off ...).

Lavandula

Kay2

We navigated Canberra in January with just a map and some preprinted directions I got off the Internet for some specific destinations I knew we wanted to see. The city is relatively easy to navigate, except as mentioned the large roundabouts which combined with some boulevards and the lake means sometimes you can't get there from here even when you can see it.

We did drive to the War Memorial and Parliment House and parked for free at each. We spent a long time at the War Memorial museum with free guided tour. We could have fit in one or two more stops that day at most.

We also did the day trip mentioned to hike amongst the kangaroos in Namadgi, see the duck billed platypus at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, and the space tracking station. Not enough time in one day for the farmstead along the route too.

I can't recommend about food because we were so busy and stayed out so late that we stopped at a grocery for prepared food one night, sandwiches another, and bought breakfast fixings that we kept in our apartment. We did have a good lunch in the War Memorial cafe.

Susan7

My favourite Canberra restaurant is Ottoman, they have opened a "branch" in Sydney but it's not nearly as good. Chairman and Yip I've been to a few times and it seems to be reliably good. There's a restaurant in old parliament house that gets great reviews.

Also driving to Canberra the Lynwood Cafe at Collector is well worth the detour. The National Portrait Gallery (new building, next to NGA) has a great cafe, very good coffee and excellent cakes.

Neil_Oz

The restaurant at Old Parliament House is called The Ginger Room. I haven't eaten there myself but my good wife reports that while she enjoyed it, it doesn't stand out in comparison with other above-average (in terms of food and price) places in Canberra.

I second The Chairman and Yip, a mod-Asian place in Bunda Street, Civic. Last time we ate there we booked for their early bird special, which is good value. If you plan to eat dinner out and have a particular place in mind it's advisable to book on Friday and Saturday nights. Otherwise you can just wander around and take pot luck.

If you like Cantonese food I can recommend the food and the service at the Ruby at Dickson; or in the same area the Taj Agra (Indian), Rasa Sayang (Malaysian-Chinese) and Pho Phu Quoc (Vietnamese) are all reliable.

Are you bringing the family? If so you might want to consider a 2BR serviced apartment. There's a Medina complex in Kingston, 1-2 km east of Parliament House and close to shops, restaurants and, on weekends, the Old Bus Depot Markets, which is good for handcrafted souvenirs and food-on-the-hoof. I can't speak for this particular property, but have found Medina apartments in other cities reliable.

For my money the roundabouts that present the best chance of confusion for visitors are the ones that circle Parliament House (Capital and State Circles). But if you plan to visit PH you can avoid the problem by driving straight up to the House from either Commonwealth Avenue bridge (stay in the RH lane) or Kings Avenue Bridge (middle lane). There's also London Circuit in Civic, but if you miss your turn off it, you can simply do another circuit.

lavandula

Kingston and Manuka shops also have a plethora of good restaurants.

And while I'm thinking about it, petrol is hard to find in Canberra, so grab it when you see a petrol station. Maybe others can shed some light on the locations...?

Neil_Oz

Good point, lavandula. It depends which direction Mucky will be entering the city from - if he lets us know I can try to point him in the right direction.

In Canberra we like to segregate different activities into ghettos. That's why the brothels and XXXX sex shops are in areas designated "light industrial", for example.

But that's probably information overload for clean-living Fodorites - although it's probably part of the briefing kit for newly-arrived diplomatic staff.

Mucky

Hi
Thanks for the great info so far.

Neil, I have looked at the map and it seems likely that we will be coming in from the Gouldburn direction, Majira Rd ??

Shouldn't need to see the brothels and sex shops lol but you never know !!

Family not traveling, just me and Mrs Muck this time.
Thanks for the many restaurant tips, I am listing them in my little book. They sound gorgeous and so interesting.

Good tip about fuel too!, we will make sure we keep the car tanked as much as possible.

Still working on the finer details of where to go, suffering from overload, what with Hong Kong, Thailand,Sydney area and Canberra all to think about lol.

Roundabouts are everywhere here in Cardiff, and you drive on the correct side of the road too, so I don't anticipate much problem with that to be honest. But you never know !! lol

I am really looking forward to this part of the trip, as it was not on our original plan. I have the same excited feeling as when I arrive in France and just disappear into the French Countryside never knowing what I will find or where I will end up. It's so interesting !!

Thanks

Muck

Neil_Oz

OK, Muck, if you're entering via the Federal Highway there's a service station on the left at Eaglehawk, just before you cross the NSW/ACT border (and after which you can take a left onto Majura Road (signposted to Fyshwick and Cooma, if I remember rightly).

But if you're staying at the Lakeside or anywhere in inner north/south Canberra it would be better not to take Majorua Rd but continue on the highway, which becomes Northbourne Avenue and runs straight into Civic (and continues across the Lake as Commonwealth Avenue).

After entering the built-up area you'll strike a major intersection at Dickson, and after that you can if you wish pull into the visitor information centre and stock up with the usual stuff. If you stay at the Lakeside it would be best to follow Northbourne until you hit London Cct, turn right and then right again onto Edinburgh Avenue.

Mucky

Leaving Friday,
Just been reading through this thread again and printing.

Thanks for the great info.

Muck

nevets

Hi Muck

A great place for Brekky in Canberra is a cafe on the corner of London Circuit and East Row. My Partner and I always eat Brekky there when in Canberra 2/3 times a year.

I cannot remember the name but it's nestled in under a huge tree.

Food is great (cinnamin toast is best in world), staff are lovely and parking is just across the road if there early enough.



Nevets

margo_oz

Didn't I read recently that the Lynwood Cafe, at Collector, has closed?

Susan7

That would be a great pity, I was there in July and it was still open.