Canberra's not boring, despite what folks say. Here's a list of places to eat, drink, visit in Australia's capital city.
Map
Canberra's sandwich game is pretty strong at the moment, but Sandoochie (or the dooch as we call it in my office) makes epic sandwiches on a rotating fixed menu. Great salads for the gluten free folks and delicious fruit sodas.
Sandoochie
Would you like the best cardamom buns I've ever tasted outside of Scandinavia? Yes, you do.
UNDER BAKERY Dairy Rd
Great coffee. Busy as all get out on the weekend. A great place for people watching or shooting the breeze with a pal.
Barrio Collective Coffee
Amazing Sri Lankan food in Gungahlin. Always have a meal from here with out of towners when they visit.
Little Lanka - Gungahlin
Smaller but perfectly formed and curated national gallery, features permanent collection of portraits and a good range of temporary exhibitions
National Portrait Gallery
Even if you don't need to use the library, it's worth a visit for its top notch cafe and bookshop
National Library of Australia
The best place to get Canberra merch made by Canberrans. also of note: their spicy Instagram confessions stories.
POP Canberra
I don't use the phrase ‘Canberra institution’ lightly, but Canberra is a book nerd town and its thrice yearly Lifeline book fair is where everyone optimistically adds too many books to their TBR.
Lifeline Canberra Bookfair
Busy neighbourhood cafe with amazing cakes and good coffee.
Le Bon Mélange Café Pâtisserie
Amazing social enterprise cafe featuring food from across refugee / asylum seeker communities. Great place to meet for book club.
Cafe Stepping Stone Dickson
Amazing art-deco building (a rarity in Canberra) with great cinema space, a beautiful courtyard, and a cafe. Great program of film screenings and exhibitions.
NFSA | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
One of my fave places to swim in Canberra. A 50m pool! Polite swimmers who know how to share a lane. Clean facilities, enough space for all swimmers of all types.
Dickson Pool
Great cafe with very good coffee, wide ranging menu, good pastries and bakes. Can get busy at brunch times.
Highroad
Bookshop with a wide range of books and gifts.
BOOK FACE
Amply stocked bookstore, rumours of a cat colleague :)
Paperchain Bookstore
Excellent coffee, good vinyl tunes on the turntable. Have had a good brekky wrap and very generous cakes servings.
