Spent the last 2 days in Canberra, including visits to the National Museum and the new and old Parliament buildings.
It is impossible to describe Canberra in any terms other than a larger bolder Milton Keynes...same grid system interconnected by roundabouts but on a grander scale. Perfect for navigating in a large campervan, even the underground car park on capital hill had enough headroom for us.
Not a place to explore on foot however, and probably the most soulless capital city I have ever visited, no hustle and bustle of the populace, more 'where is everyone?'.
One of the quotes I particularly enjoyed was made in the 1920's when the city was under construction- Canberra was 'a good sheep paddock spoiled'
The National Museum was fantastic, packed with lots of excellent information about the history of Australia and a very user-friendly set up, and the free guided tour of the new parliament building ( below ) was superb.
Looks great from a distance and from the mountain viewpoint ( below ) and I can see why Griffin won the 'design a capital city' competition, but maybe some of the rejected designs should have been considered more carefully....really think the idea of a new world Venice would have rocked!
1 comment:
I went to Canberra many years ago and came up with pretty much the same conclusions. It makes Milton Keynes look like a village! Enjoying reading your tales!
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