Canberra, affectionately known as 'The Bush Capital', was established in 1911 for the newly federated Australian nation. The area, now known as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), was chosen as a compromise between the rival claims of Sydney and Melbourne and is located 300 km south of Sydney and 600 km north of Melbourne.

Designed by a Chicago landscape architect, Walter Burley Griffin, Canberra is widely regarded as one of the most successfully planned cities in the world. The city is a showplace of monumental national and government institutions and has the highest level of education and income in Australia. Located in the Capital is the New Parliament House, a futuristic building, set into the landscape and home to Australia's Federal Government. Australia's High Court of Justice is also located in Canberra.

The city has broad boulevards lined with native and exotic trees and a large artificial lake with a Geneva-like water column rising 140 m into the air. Canberra is known for its circular road system, with numerous roundabouts and is also known for the best cycleway system in Australia.

Canberra is called the Bush Capital for a good reason: most of the country is covered with low scrub, and the site of the capital was chosen among national parks of dense bush. It sits in a picturesque hilly valley ringed by blue-hazed mountains and looks like a giant amphitheatre.

The centrepiece is the unusual triangular design of the city centre, with its apex at the grand New Parliament House, crowned by an 81-metre flagpole and with grass lawns on the roof. From the three main hills of the city you can see the geometric design of the capital by Walter Burley Griffin spread out like a map. The highest viewpoint in the capital is Telstra Tower (195 m), which is currently closed to visitors, with reopening planned for 2027.

Canberra is the city of politicians and a showcase of monumental government buildings, none of which exceeds 40 metres in height. The compact capital has about 350,000 residents, and the whole city is regarded as one of the best planned, cleanest and most comfortable places to live in the world.

Lonely Planet's 'Best in Travel - Top Cities' list for 2018 ranked the Australian capital third, after Seville in Spain (No. 1) and Detroit in the US (No. 2).