The Best Free Things to Do in Canberra

One of the quiet pleasures of living in Canberra is how much of the city costs nothing to enjoy. The national capital was built as a place for all Australians, and that idea still shapes daily life here: many of the country's great collections are free to walk into, the lake foreshore is open to everyone, and the bush is never more than a few minutes away. Whether you have just arrived or have lived here for years, here is a guide to the best free things to do in Canberra.

National institutions, free at the door

Canberra's cluster of national institutions is the obvious place to start, and most offer free general entry. You can wander the National Gallery of Australia, home to one of the world's largest collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, then cross to the National Portrait Gallery to meet the faces that shaped the country. The National Museum of Australia, the National Library of Australia and the National Film and Sound Archive are all free to enter as well, as is the locally run Canberra Museum and Gallery in Civic.

The Australian War Memorial is open daily, except Christmas Day, with free entry, and the closing Last Post Ceremony each afternoon is a moving way to end a visit. Australian Parliament House is also free to explore, from the marble foyer to the public galleries above the chambers. Many of these venues run free guided tours, so it is worth checking times when you arrive. Special travelling exhibitions are sometimes ticketed, but the permanent collections that make these places remarkable are free to all.

Walks and lookouts around the lake

Lake Burley Griffin sits at the centre of the city and the foreshore is one of Canberra's great free assets. The National Capital Authority publishes a self-guided walking tour that loops the central basin, passing landmarks such as the National Carillon, Commonwealth Place and the lakeside lawns. The popular Bridge to Bridge circuit between Commonwealth Avenue Bridge and Kings Avenue Bridge is a flat, paved loop of roughly five kilometres, ideal for a walk, run or ride past the cultural institutions on the shore.

For a view from above, Canberra's ring of hills costs nothing to climb. Mount Ainslie, rising behind the Australian War Memorial, gives a famous outlook straight down the land axis to Parliament House, and you can walk up from the memorial or drive to the summit lookout. Red Hill and Mount Pleasant offer similar rewards from other angles, each a short effort for a wide panorama of the planned city laid out below.

Gardens and green space

The Australian National Botanic Gardens on the lower slopes of Black Mountain is free to enter and home to thousands of native plants gathered from across the continent. The Bushland Nature Walk is a standout, a short trail that climbs through dry forest to a viewing platform with views across Lake Burley Griffin and Parliament House. It is an easy way to swap the city for the bush without leaving town.

Close by, the National Arboretum Canberra spreads across the hills west of the lake with free entry, walking paths and forests of trees from around the world. The Pod Playground is a hit with families, and the cork oak and Himalayan cedar forests are calm spots for a picnic with a view back over the city.

Markets and weekend wandering

Canberra's markets are free to browse, even if the produce is not. The Capital Region Farmers Market runs Saturday mornings at Exhibition Park in Mitchell, with scores of stalls of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and baked goods straight from regional growers. On Sundays the long-running Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston draw crowds for arts, crafts, vintage finds and a strong line-up of food. Even without spending a cent, both are good places to feel the rhythm of the city on a weekend.

Put a few of these together and you have a full day out for the price of a coffee: a morning at a gallery, a loop of the lake, a climb to a lookout and an afternoon in the gardens. In Canberra, some of the best things really are free.