Canberra is Australia's federal capital. Established as part of Australia's federation in 1901, Canberra houses the national parliament, federal government departments, the High Court of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, and several other important institutions.

Canberra is comprised of five large "town centres" that lie in the valleys of the Canberra region. These are Central Canberra, Belconnen, Woden, Tuggeranong and Queanbeyan (actually in New South Wales). For tourists, Central Canberra is the only major area of interest, but the presence of the other centres will explain why the size of Canberra's population seems so out of proportion with it's low-built appearance. These other centres are also en route to local wilderness from central Canberra.

Canberra is very different from most Australian capital cities. Firstly, it is relatively young (established ~1927) and secondly, it's planned development has excluded the presence of buiildings on any surrounding hilltops, or that are over fifteen stories high. Thus visitor's may be slightly under-awed by Canberra, but don't just turn around. Explore the sites and appreciate the presence of so much wilderness within a city. You will realise that Canberra is a great place to explore, relax, and learn.

It's also fun to note that the 'mall' running between the War Memorial and Parliament looks familiar. This is because much of Canberra was designed by a US Architect and the mall in Canberra is reminicent of the mall in Washington DC, specifically the reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.