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Three ways to sell Australia's most underrated city

14 Jan 2025by Debbie Ward

Don’t underestimate youthful capital Canberra, advises Debbie Ward – the relaxed, progressive city is ripe for repeaters with its original touring itineraries, cultural clout and network of cycle lanes

Scenic lookout from the top of Mount Ainslie © Richard Poulton for VisitCanberra

“Show me. Where is it? Good boy!” Drake, a two-year-old spaniel, has laid down at the foot of a tree and is scratching with his front paws while looking expectantly at his owner Alice for a treat.

The excitable dog has sniffed out a buried vile containing a sliver of truffle, used to help train his tracking abilities. In a couple of weeks, he’ll be helping unearth the real deal as the highly prized fungi ripens around the roots of 800 trees at Beltana Farm.

This is not what I expected 10 minutes from the centre of a capital city, but then Canberra is no ordinary capital.

“Year four we got our first truffle. It’s up at the house, sitting in vodka. It smells disgusting!” Alice admits. Now, 11 years in, her farm not only hosts truffle foraging workshops over the mid-June to mid-August season but also guests in self-catering cottages and yurts. An attractive barn-like restaurant serves sharing platters which, in season, feature the farm’s hero ingredient.

The Australian Capital Territory is a truffle hotspot and Beltana is the nearest of around 30 such farms on Canberra’s outskirts. It’s just one of the diminutive city’s surprises.

I first get the measure of the capital from hillside Mount Ainslee Lookout. Starting in 1913, the garden city was purpose-built to a wheel and spoke-shaped plan with a central lake. The striking Parliament House and Australian National War Memorial are raised to face each other on one of its main axes.

Youthful Canberra became capital as a compromise, lying between rivals for the honour, Sydney and Melbourne. With fewer than 500,000 residents and surrounded by bushland, it’s a relaxed place relatively light on traffic where sightseeing hot air balloons often brighten the skies. It’s also a progressive city with 100% renewable energy and plentiful cycle lanes.

Canberra has several of Australia’s premier cultural attractions and visitors can expect top notch dining and the kind of rooftop bars and cool brunch spots for which Melbourne is better known.

Suggest award-winning and arty Such and Such, Asian barbecue and cocktail favourite Akiba or burgers at B Corp Capital Brewing Company in hipster district Fyshwick.

Need more convincing? Here are three top reasons to sell this underrated city.

Drake the dog and Alice: Beltana Farm has more than 800 truffle trees © Debbie Ward

For original coastal touring

The drive north from Sydney along the Pacific Coast Touring Route to Brisbane is well-worn. Suggest clients ring the changes by journeying south to Canberra. The inland trip is about three-hours but can encompass pitstops in country towns and a detour to dramatic Fitzroy Falls in Morton National Park.

The roughly five-hour coastal route meanwhile offers opportunities to catch the ocean spraying through the Kiama blowholes, to hit the beach or whale watch (mid-May to mid-November) at scenic Jervis Bay and sample freshly shucked seafood on the Oyster Coast around Batemans Bay. There are also trains between the cities.

From Melbourne, a direct drive takes seven hours but could incorporate Hanging Rock Reserve, the gold rush towns of Bendigo and Beechworth and wineries around Murray River. Or, off the more ambitious coastal route, Snowy River National Park. Campervan rental companies have suggested itineraries.

All visitors to the Australian War Memorial require a timed free ticket © Tourism Australia

For its cultural clout

As you’d expect from a capital, Canberra has major museums and galleries.

The free National Gallery of Australia includes the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Highlights include a walk-through memorial of traditionally decorated log coffins, Sidney Nolan’s famous Ned Kelly series and an outdoor sculpture garden. The surrounding streets are also notable for variously styled international embassies.

Among the most affecting exhibits at the lakefront National Museum of Australia are testimonies from members of the Stolen Generation and the partially skinned remains of the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger.

The building itself is a modern architectural marvel and caused a political furore when the then prime minister realised it featured an apology to First Nations people disguised in braille.

Canberra’s Modernist Australian War Memorial and museum, which King Charles recently toured, is among the world’s finest, complemented by beautifully sculpted memorials for individual conflicts along its approach road.

Visitors can also see inside the bold marble lobby and chambers of Parliament House and learn about its many natural and cultural design influences.

Cultural Attractions of Australia features commissionable private tours of several Canberra attractions.

The Canberra Balloon Spectacular has been held every year since 1996 © VisitCanberra

For VFR variety

VFR clients are likely to be repeaters seeking new experiences and if they’re based in Sydney or Melbourne, Canberra is somewhere fresh to recommend. It’s a relaxed, family-friendly city with bike trails around central Lake Burley Griffin and through forests and an easy public hire cycle scheme.

If clients want to treat their Australian family, consider recommending a sleepover at Jamala Wildlife Lodge, a zoo with accommodation where bedroom windows are set directly onto certain enclosures.

They may fall asleep to the low rumble of roaring lions and wake to the sight of lemurs breakfasting or feed giraffes from their balcony. Separate animal encounters with residents from meerkats to cheetahs help fund conservation projects.

Look out too for festivals: flower-focused Floraide in spring, autumn’s Canberra Balloon Spectacular and winter’s Truffle Festival.

For more information see visitcanberra.com.au