Canberra

Australia · capital cities · planned cities · mountains

Built on purpose. Canberra was designed and built from the ground up to be Australia's capital city, rather than choosing an existing city like Sydney or Melbourne. This made it a fair choice for all the different states of Australia.

Mountain setting. The city is surrounded by the Brindabellas, beautiful mountains that form the start of the Australian Alps, the country's highest mountain range. These mountains give Canberra cool weather and stunning views.

Inland location. Canberra is Australia's largest city that isn't on the coast, sitting inland where the mountains meet flat plains. With almost 485,000 people living there, it's inland Australia's biggest city.

Right in the middle. The city is positioned between the rival states of New South Wales and Victoria so neither state felt left out when it became the capital. It's tucked into a special territory created just for the capital.

Planned neighborhoods. Unlike cities that grew messy over time, Canberra was carefully planned with wide streets, green spaces, and organized neighborhoods. The whole city was designed by architects Walter and Marion Griffin to be beautiful and organized.