Canberra is the capital of Australia, which it became in 1913 as a completely newly built and planned city.

The main reason for planning a new capital city in the middle of the outback was to end disputes between the two largest cities , Sydney and Melbourne, over which of them should be the capital of the whole of Australia.

The city was built in a beautiful rolling bushland landscape at the northern end of the Australian Alps and, with a population of over 470,000, is the largest city in Australia's outback and the 8th largest city in the country overall.

It is located 248 km from Sydney and 655 km from Melbourne.

Canberra is home to all government institutions and although it is not a primary tourist destination, if you have at least 2 days to spare when travelling around Australia, you should definitely visit. It's interesting to see an artfully planned and, it must be said, very quiet and pleasant city where you can find many galleries, museums and you can even visit the Australian Parliament building.

The 10 best hotels in Canberra

Canberra is not part of any union state, but is located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).