Free fun in Canberra. Visiting some of Canberra’s most popular tourist attractions doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.

Free fun in Canberra – Cotter Avenue Recreation Area. Image Credit: Visit Canberra
Many of the best sites in the city have free entry, including Parliament House, which opens at 9 am on sitting and non-sitting days.
The National Arboretum on the western end of Lake Burley Griffin features 94 forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees. Many are still young but two of the forests are nearly 100 years old. Check it out from 9 am daily.
At the foot of Black Mountains, and about a 30-minute walk from the city, is the Australian National Botanic Gardens. The gardens maintain a scientific collection of native plants from all parts of Australia.
Markets at the Old Bus Depot in Kingston on Sundays focus on talented local and regional designers and craftspeople who show and sell their unique handcrafted wares. While you’re there, pop into the nearby Canberra Glassworks, which provides access to glassmaking facilities for glass artists, holds glass exhibitions and also features a store where you can pick up a uniquely Canberran souvenir.
A stroll along Anzac Parade will take you past 10 memorials, including one for Vietnam, one for the Rats of Tobruk and the Australian Service Nurses Memorial.
Mount Stromlo Observatory, meanwhile, is the headquarters of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. About 18km southwest of the city, it’s open to the public daily from 8 am to 6 pm.
The Cotter Avenue Recreation Area, below the Cotter Dam wall, is a picturesque retreat with barbecues and swings and grassy areas for picnics 23km from the city centre. There are short walking tracks to the dam.

Free fun in Canberra – Playgrounds at The National Arboretum. Image Credit: Visit Canberra
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