Australian Capital Territory · Australia
Where to stay in Canberra
Canberra is a city in Australian Capital Territory, Australia, home to about 381,000 people. This guide covers 5 aparthotels and 2 hotels in Canberra, with about 148 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 7
- Best months
- October to April
- Nearest airport
- CBR6 km · Canberra Airport
- Currency
- AUDAustralian dollar
- Time zone
- Australia/Sydney
- Language
- Auslan, Australian English, English
About
About Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia and the largest population centre in the Australian Capital Territory. With an estimated population of 484,630 as of 2025, Canberra is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest Australian city by population.
After a long tussle for supremacy between Melbourne and Sydney, the Australian constitution at federation in 1901 specified that a new Australian capital city would be built between the two, and seven years later the site for what would become Canberra was established. A design competition was held for the city in 1911 which was won by Chicago-based architect Walter Burley Griffin in 1912. The name "Canberra" was made official in 1913, beating out some endearingly wacky contenders including "Sydmelperadbrisho", "Wheatwoolgold" and "Kangaremu".
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Canberra
See
Canberra, as the national capital of Australia, contains a lot of government buildings, and many of them are often open for tours. By far the most significant one is Parliament House in Capital Hill, but other important buildings include the High Court of Australia, Old Parliament House, the Government House, the Royal Australian Mint and The Lodge, though not all of them are always open to the public. There are other buildings that are of national importance too, such as the National Library of Australia and the Australian War Memorial.
Do
- Geocaching
- Corin Forest
- Floriade
- Summernats
- The Multicultural Festival
- Thai Food & Cultural Festival
- The Canberra Show
- Canberra Balloon Spectacular
- Canberra Truffle Festival
- Share a Bike
- Segways
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Canberra
7 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| A by Adina Canberra aparthotel | |
| Adina Serviced Apartments Canberra James Court aparthotel | |
| Hotel Kurrajong Canberra hotel | |
| Meriton Suites Canberra aparthotel | |
| Quest Canberra aparthotel | 75 |
| Quest Canberra City Walk aparthotel | 73 |
| Vibe Hotel Canberra hotel |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Canberra to stay in
Most of Canberra's hotels are in or around Civic or the suburbs which are adjacent to the Parliamentary Triangle. A few hotels have opened in the Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong and Woden town centres. The availability of accommodation can be tight during periods in which Parliament is sitting—the schedule for parliamentary sittings is available at the official Parliament of Australia Sitting Calendar. During these sitting weeks, central rooms book out months in advance and prices can spike dramatically, so booking early or looking in the outer districts is highly recommended.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Canberra
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Canberra are October to April. January is the warmest month, with average highs of 28 °C; November is the wettest, with about 67 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Canberra: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Canberra Airport (CBR), about 6.4 km from the city centre in a straight line; Cooma Snowy Mountains Airport (OOM, 113 km) and Moruya Airport (MYA, 114 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
FlixBus, albeit considerably newer than Murrays and Greyhound, operate coaches between Sydney, Canberra, Yass and Melbourne. As of 2026, there is one day and one night service to Yass and Melbourne, but far more services from Sydney, directly competing with Murrays. The drive from Sydney to Canberra is 290 km and takes around three and a half hours from the Sydney CBD, less from outer suburbs in Sydney. The road is a divided-highway, freeway-like conditions from Sydney all the way to Canberra, mostly with a 110 km/h speed limit, via the M5 Southwest Motorway, Hume and Federal Highways.
Getting around
Canberra is designed for cars and very spread out, so renting a car is the most practical option, particularly if you intend to venture beyond the city center. Public transport is usable but does not cover all points of interest, while renting a bicycle is a great alternative if the weather cooperates. Walking is not a practical option for most visitors. Public transport in Canberra is affordable and generally punctual, with most parts of the city accessible by tram or bus.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
CBR · Canberra Airport
OOM · Cooma Snowy Mountains Airport
MYA · Moruya Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Canberra
Eat
Canberra has many fine eateries, but beware – many will be closed on Sundays. There are large clusters of restaurants in Civic, Braddon, Dickson, Kingston and Manuka. An unusual feature of the Canberra dining scene is that some of the city's best restaurants are hidden away in small suburban shopping centres – locals often nominate these as their favourites. All public buildings territory-wide are smoke-free. Just like the rest of Australia, coffee culture in Canberra is strong and Canberrans make good use of their cafes, and as such there are cafes nearly everywhere.
Drink
Canberra's many bars and clubs will be closed on Sunday nights and early into the week.
Stay safe
Canberra is a very safe city and enjoys one of the lowest crime rates in Australia. Take the usual precautions against opportunistic crime, however. Valuables should not be left in sight within unattended cars, especially overnight. Despite its apparent affluence, Canberra has people who live the rough life. Particularly around Civic, it is not unusual to be asked for money. If you simply say that you don't have any money, the beggar will usually move on. Once you leave Civic, Canberra is fairly spread out. For much of the year, evenings can become cold and windy fairly quickly. Don’t count on adequate lighting even in otherwise popular or marked footways/cycleways.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Canberra
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
of 7 places
Questions
Canberra: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Canberra?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Canberra are October to April. January is the warmest month, with average highs of 28 °C; November is the wettest, with about 67 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Canberra?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Canberra Airport (CBR), about 6.4 km from the city centre in a straight line; Cooma Snowy Mountains Airport (OOM, 113 km) and Moruya Airport (MYA, 114 km) are also within reach.
Are there accessible hotels in Canberra?
1 place in this guide list accessible rooms.
What currency is used in Canberra?
Australian dollar (AUD).
Nearby
Destinations near Canberra
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.