Canberra weekend guide: museums, lake and markets

This Canberra weekend guide fits the capital's best sights into two easy days. Spend Saturday at the National Gallery, the National Museum and Parliament House. Spend Sunday by the lake, then browse the Old Bus Depot Markets, which only run on Sundays. Most big sights are open to the public every day, so you can swap the days if the weather turns.

Hours below come from each place's own website as it stood in late February 2018. Check them again before you go.

Sources for this section: National Gallery of Australia, Visit page; National Museum of Australia, Planning your visit; Old Bus Depot Markets website.

The plan at a glance

Do not try to see every museum. Canberra is spread out, and a slower pace works better than a packed list.

Sources for this section: National Gallery of Australia, Visit page; National Museum of Australia, Planning your visit; Old Bus Depot Markets website.

Saturday morning: the National Gallery

Start at the National Gallery of Australia on Parkes Place. It is open from 10am to 5pm daily, and closed on Christmas Day. Check the Gallery's website for which exhibitions are on and whether any charge applies.

Outside the building, the Gallery's website lists the Sculpture Garden, the Fern Garden and the Skyspace under its outdoor areas. Save time for a walk outside once you have finished inside.

Sources for this section: National Gallery of Australia, Visit page (opening hours, address, outdoor areas).

Saturday midday: the National Museum

The National Museum of Australia sits on Acton Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin. It is open from 9am to 5pm daily, and closed on Christmas Day. General admission and the permanent galleries are free. Some temporary exhibitions and special programs have a charge.

One charged show is Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters. It tells the story of the Seven Sisters Dreaming and runs from 15 September 2017 to 28 February 2018, so this weekend is nearly the last chance to see it. The Museum's cafe is open from 9am to 4.45pm daily if you want lunch.

Parking costs money at the Museum on weekdays only. Pay parking applies from 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, so a Saturday visit avoids it.

Sources for this section: National Museum of Australia, Planning your visit and Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters exhibition page.

Saturday afternoon: Parliament House

Parliament House opened on 9 May 1988 and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It sits on Capital Hill, at the southern point of the national triangle, and it is the working home of Australia's parliament. Opening times and tours change with the sitting calendar, so check the Parliament's own website before you go.

Allow about an hour for the visit. The building sits a short drive from the lake, so Saturday afternoon works well after the Museum.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Parliament House, Canberra.

Sunday morning: Lake Burley Griffin

Lake Burley Griffin is the heart of the city. It is named after Walter Burley Griffin, whose design inspired it. Scrivener Dam was closed in September 1963, and the lake reached its planned level on 29 April 1964. The lake is 11 km long and has a shoreline of 40.5 km, which is too long to walk in a morning.

Pick one short piece of shore instead. Two sights are worth the stroll. The Captain Cook Memorial Jet shoots water high above the central basin. The National Carillon, on Queen Elizabeth II Island, has 55 bells. Both were opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 April 1970.

The Museum also stands on the lake shore, so a Saturday walk from there is easy, too. The Museum's own page says bicycle and walking paths run along the lake shore from the city to its door.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Lake Burley Griffin; National Museum of Australia, Planning your visit.

Sunday midday: Old Bus Depot Markets

End the weekend at the Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston. The markets describe themselves as Canberra's Sunday best and open every Sunday from 10am to 4pm. They fill an old industrial building with handmade goods, clothing, jewellery and food stalls.

The stall directory has groups for jewellery, fashion, homewares, food, kids, art and photography, and crafts from other countries. Eat there too: the website lists a section on eating at the markets. Because the markets run on Sundays only, plan your Sunday around them and not the other way round.

Sources for this section: Old Bus Depot Markets website (home page and stall directory).

Before you go

• Check the dates. The Enlighten Festival runs from 2 to 18 March 2018 at venues around the city.
• Pick the right days. Swap Saturday and Sunday if rain is due, since the lake walk suits dry weather best.
• Bring layers. Much of this plan is outdoors or on foot between buildings.

Canberra was also named number 3 in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2018 list of cities, according to the VisitCanberra website. That is a good reason to give the capital two full days.

Sources for this section: VisitCanberra home page and its Enlighten Festival listing.

Sources

1. National Gallery of Australia, Visit: nga.gov.au
2. National Museum of Australia, Planning your visit: nma.gov.au
3. National Museum of Australia, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters: nma.gov.au
4. Old Bus Depot Markets: obdm.com.au
5. VisitCanberra: visitcanberra.com.au
6. Wikipedia, Lake Burley Griffin: en.wikipedia.org
7. Wikipedia, Parliament House, Canberra: en.wikipedia.org