Hi all,
I would really appreciate some local tips and suggestions about must-dos and fun things in Canberra We are driving down for a 4 day weekend at the end of the week with our 6 year old DS and 10 month old baby. We’re thinking Questicon and the dinosaur museum for sure, what else would be your recommendations? We have zoo passes at home so not too fussed about animal stuff, DS loves physical stuff (is the rock climbing place any good?)

I think school is still in for you next week, so is there anything better to be done on the weekdays as opposed to the weekend? Any restaurant suggestions would be great too (we’re staying on Northbourne St)

Thanks in advance

helly

There is Cockington Green, which is pretty much in the same location as the dinosaur museum. I think the National Museum is meant to have a pretty good section for kids. There is a restaurant in Civic called Wagamama where kids eat for free. Also, a bakery in Civic called Dobinsons with really great food. My kids love the quiches there, and I love to coffee and the cakes.... they are reasonably priced, too. On the opposite side of the lake from Questacon there is a place called The Deck at Regatta Point. It's got lovely views (if the weather is good) and the food isn't too bad. There is also a little park nearby. Old Parliament House (now a museum) could be interesting, plus the (not so new) parliament house. Not sure how exciting a 6 yr old would find that though.

Sorry I don't know about the rock climbing. Hope you have a lovely visit.

The National Museum is pretty cool.

Questacon is great, especially MiniQ, which is specifically for young kids.

Weston Park is beautiful. The playground there has really good water play (you can build little damn in the waterways etc), a musical bridge and the sandpit has diggers the kids can use. It also has a little train to travel on (think it costs us $14 for a family of 4). Great picnic spot.

I'd give the dino museum a miss, but Cockington Green is great.

My kids love the merry-go-round in the heart of the city too.

You can hire family bikes and ride around the lake. We first went on one with DD when she was about one. They fit 2 adults and 2 kids and the kids don't actually cycle You can ride around Commonwealth Park which is great, and has some fun areas for exploring. It's very pretty too, especially at this time of year.

Unfortunately I think that train ride at Weston Park has been dismantled (unless they got it up and running again?)

There is a train ride at Cockington Green , but it's just a short little trip twice around the international display.

Another vote for Cockington Green. While you're in Gold Creek the aviary is worth a visit ... at least my 6yo loves it. If you're on a budget I'd send one adult into the aviary with your 6yo while the other has a browse around Gold Creek with the 1yo, then you can meet for lunch at Cafe Injoy or AdoreT (which are both next to little playgrounds) .

If you like picnics and outdoor areas, Tidbinbilla is lovely. All of the Canberra lakes have nice walking trails and playgrounds along them.

We have been on the train ride at Weston Park twice since January (last time in March), so I think it is still running. Its a little 'tired' but my train mad boys still loved it. Weston Park is great.

We've recently been to the Dinosaur Museum and didnt think it was that great for the $ it cost to get in. Questacon is definitely worth a visit, and we have also just been to the walk in aviary which was good too.

Parliament House (the new one) is good - my 3yo and 5yo loved going there and ask when we are going back! It is free too.

There are SO many things to do and see in Canberra, we are only new and still have about a hundred things on our list we still want to see!

Good luck and enjoy your visit.

I'm another one who'd say to pass on the dinosaur museum. Have you thought about going up Telstra Tower?

As for rock climbing, I've never been but DH went here once and had a great time.

Another vote for skipping the Dino museum. The big model you see on the advertising is pretty much the only good display they have.

Cockington green is fun, and there are plenty of parks around. Your 6 yo will love Questacon!

For food, try Dickson asian noodle house, the food is tasty and served super quick, great if you have hungry impatient kids.

I was also coming back to suggest the Telstra Tower (on Black Mountain) too.

If you are here during the week, you could try the Mint as it will be working (open to the public on the weekends, but it isn't working). When my Dad took DS and DD, they got to mint their own coins.

Hope you have fun.

Where you are staying (Northbourne Ave) is basically the main road through the centre of North Canberra. If you are at the Civic end you will be in easy walking distance to the shops and Canberra Centre. However, Northbourne Ave does go for a number of kilometres and you may be more up the Dickson end which as a PP suggested is close to the Dickson Asian Noodle House and many other great restaurants. Another great area behind Northbourne Ave is Braddon with resaturants and quirky shops.
http://www.hercanberra.com.au/index.php/2011/02/10/braddon/

Like all PPs a visit to Questacon with the kids is an absolute must and the Heritage Festival is on at the moment so check out the link to see if any of the events this weekend take your fancy.
http://www.events.act.gov.au/?/heritagefestival

Looks like you might need to go Friday for the rock climbing but I have heard it's good
http://www.canberrarockclimbing.com.au/200...s/mums-bubs.htm

The War Memorial is fantastic and free and has a wonderful cafe which is open all day with space for kids to run around there is an under 5s storytime on Fridays at 10:30am but the whole family would like it regardless. There are interactive exhibits that your kids would love.
http://www.awm.gov.au/events/?d=8&m=4&y=2011

As another suggested, the National Museum is great. It too has a good cafe with some of the best views in Canberra.
http://www.nma.gov.au/index.html

Took my kids up Telstra Tower (Black Mountain Tower) the other day for an ice cream from the cafe. I love it up here as the views are unsurpassed but it is expensive (Family pass =$17).
http://www.blackmountaintower.com.au/contact.html
I hear that Alto restaurant up there is letting people have a glass of wine and antipasto from 5:30 these days which is a nice quick early option to dinner when you have kids but I'd call and check this first.

Agree with the others about giving the Dinosaur Museum a miss in fact some people I know asked for their money back! I haven't been to Cockington Green in years so I can't comment.
Enjoy your stay - the weather at this time of year is beautiful but around 9-10 degrees at night so bring a jacket!

If she is coming from Sydney, then she can go to the original in Sydney We were shocked when we moved down here and Dobinsons was here!

Also depending on your 6yo, there is also the sculpture garden (my then 6yo nephew wanted to come to Canberra to go to the art gallery, as every 6yo does LOL!)

The national museum was good, but when we took DSD1 & 2 last year, we only got through about 1/2 before they had enough, but given it's free, you could split it over two days +1 for War Memorial and Questacon.

If your DP likes a huge meal, the Dickson tradies has a MASSIVE snitty that is pretty inexpensive!

Oh and you HAVE to try Kingsleys (like a Canberra local version of KFC) and Goodberries (frozen custard, yum!) if you get a chance. Goodberries isn't in the centre of town, but no where in Canberra is a LONG way anyway.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions - I'm getting excited about many of the different things that have been mentioned. Though it's clear that 4 days won't be enough time and we'll have to come back some other time to do more

helly

Another vote for Questacon and Cockington Green. With annual passes to both, we go all the time. For CG, I highly recommend doing a BBQ on their nice little playground there. Some interactive displays to operate trains and a mini train ride.

I would also highly recommend the War Memorial. Although for adults, you need at least a full day, I often take my 6yo DS while his sisters do theatre rehearsals down the road. Roughly 3-4 hours, we do the kids area (Discovery Zone) where they can dress up in different military uniforms and play in a partial helicopter, the inside of a submarine, the trenches and more. We then go the Great Hall with all the big planes and machinery and on to the final hall where there are 3 video shows that run at regular intervals. I usually get a quick coffee in the coffee shop above the Great Hall waiting for the next presentations to start. Then believe it or not, that quickly uses up the 3-4hrs. Not to mention that DS also loves the regular WWI and II halls, the latest conflict hall and I would recommend you visit the Hall of Memory. We just never have enough time to do those regularly. If you can. schedule your visit to run til the close and watch the moving closing ceremony.

Not sure if it was mentioned, but you could check out AIS although he might find the tour boring and I would think the interactive part would be best for 8-14year olds although we have not been there for many years (despite living in next suburb).

If you there on a Sunday, and visit Questacon, take a walk down to the foreshore of the lake. There was a small boat that at one stage did quick tours around the lake leaving from in front of Reconcilation Place. I would love to know if it is still there. Trips were quite cheap and the lovely guy gave each of my kids a turn at the helm. I heard it was only there on Sundays but another time we went back, it wasn't there.

There is a regular tourist ferry that goes around the "formal" part of Lake B-G.

I would recommend hiring the "pedal cars" from Mr. Spokes at the Acton Ferry Terminal, and ride to the carillion and back, you could time your ride to hear the carillion playing. Gorgeous this time of year!!

http://www.mrspokes.com.au/index.html

You can get the caillion playing program here http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/index.ph...&Itemid=198

Another vote here for skipping the dino museum but Cockington Green is a must - your 6yo will love it !! Its easy to see it all in an hour or so, there's a playground, a train to go for a ride on and there are facilities for a BBQ if you can be bothered, or as others have said there are loads of very family friendly cafes just up the road.

Questacon is great - my kids love it. My gf and I took all our kids (so there were 6 kids ranging in age for 10 to 8 months ) to "new" parliament house late last year and they loved it. Again we weren't there for much longer than a hour but that was enough for them to see what they wanted - went up to the roof and looked at the huge flagpole which they thought was great

Australian War Memorial is great - there is a room specificially set out for kids where they can dress up in various period uniforms etc, sit in a huey helicopter, walk through a WW1 trench etc. Old Parliament House used to have dress ups as well but I haven't been there since it has changed to the Museum of Democracy so don't know what its like now.

Telstra tower gives you a good view over canberra but you can get a similar view from the top of Mt Ainsle (behind the AWM) and it's free

My kids rave about K-Space at the National Museum - I'm not a huge fan of the museum overall as I think it's too fussy and hard to read things etc but the kids love K-Space.

Oh and another vote for Weston Park - DD2 went there for school excursion in March and the train was running that day

I would save some money and skip Telstra Tower - it's a bit tired and not worth the money really. As a PP suggested, try Mt Ainslie instead (free!). If you are in the parliamentary triangle (Questacon/Old Parliament House/NGA etc), consider the Pork Barrel for dinner (excellent gourmet-type pizzas which are half price on certain days) - you may have to book. We enjoy going there because afterwards the kids can run wild in the rose gardens! The Mint is good (and free) but go during the week when the factory is operating. My kids love watching the robots. It costs $3 to mint your own coin (coin has a unique design only available at the Mint).

There are lots of great suggestions here. Best of all, you are coming at the perfect time of the year - the sun shines, the trees are turning, the nights are crisp and clear.

Australians loathe 'Canberra' as the seat of politics, but always love it as a place to visit. It is a beautiful city, and people are smart enough to separate politicians (who come from all over the country) from their national capital. Good luck, and I am sure that you will have a great time.

PS - Agree with PPs - don't miss the War Memorial.

More votes for the National Museum and the War Memorial. Also went to a really great playground in Belconnen area one time when we were in Canberra. It had a man's name - John Something?

I am thinking of taking my 8yo son down for a few days next term. he loves Canberra. Can you still go bob sledding and see fake snow at Corin Forest?

is the museum completely reopened yet??? we went earlier in the year and they'd taken the story telling area down and half the museum wasn't open/under construction. K space is good though for older kids

John Knight Memorial Park
http://maps.google.com.au/maps/place?hl=en...121675368934240

Corin Forest
http://www.corin.com.au/bobsled.htm

Nor sure if they still do fake snow but you could call/email and ask.

Thanks, April girl. That's the one.