The top 5 ‘must visit’ list for Canberra
As a born and bred Canberran, it’s sometimes easy to take for granted just how amazing my home city is. However, as someone who provides web design services in Canberra, I was recently running through the list of great national attractions in my own backyard by visiting each of their websites. I thought to share this top five list as a way to introduce Canberra as a destination for people across the globe.
The capital city of Australia, Canberra is home to more than 350,000 people. It was originally selected as the capital in 1908 as a compromise between the two other major cities; Sydney and Melbourne. If you are planning a trip to Canberra, then you must check out these 5 wonderful places to visit.
1. National Portrait Gallery
This had to be my number one destination as the gallery is a long standing client of my Canberra web and graphic design business. The National Portrait Gallery has a mission to capture the history, identity, creativity and culture of the Australian people through portraits. The gallery offers over 400 images of people who have been instrumental in shaping the Australian culture as it is known today. The gallery opened in December of 2008 and is also home to lectures, educational events and traveling exhibits. Visit their website and check out the amazing design that shows exquisite fine art up close. This adds to the luster of visiting in person.
2. Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial serves both as a memorial and a museum honoring all of those who fought, were injured and lost their lives on behalf of the country. The museum chronicles wars fought in the Colonial Period, from 1788 to 1901, through both WWI and WWII, to the current peacekeeping missions that Australia has been involved in since 1947.
3. Questacon: Australia’s National Science and Technology Center
If you love learning about science and the cutting edge of technology, then you must visit this center. Exhibits include: “Q-Lab” which covers basic scientific concepts such in the areas of chemistry and biology, “Imagination Factory” which covers mechanical engineering and “Awesome Earth,” which takes a look at the natural wonders of the earth. This is an exceptional place to visit if you have kids.
4. National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia hosts a wide array of collections. Australian fine art, automobiles, Australian clothing and collections from the greatest Australian sports stars are just some of the exhibits on hand. With such a large scope of content, there is truly something for everyone. They also have rotating exhibits and collections; every few months, there’s something new.
5. National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is an exceptional place to visit, because it has fine art works not only from Australia, but from all over the world. The gallery works in concert with other governments to borrow pieces of art so that Australian residents can see some of the great works of all time right in their backyard. The collection ranges from indigenous art from Aboriginal tribes, to Australian paintings, sculptures and photographs, to European Renaissance art.
That’s my top five, but of course there is a lot more to do and see in Canberra.
About the Author
Steven De Costa is the Executive Director at Link Digital, a full service digital agency providing Canberra web design. He has experience with, and provides leadership in, all areas of digital operation including management, governance and strategy through to HTML, programming, Flash animation, QA Testing, design and marketing.
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