1. Take a walk or jog beside Lake Burley Griffin. Enjoy the Bush Capital!

In May 1912, the Australian Government announced that Walter Burley Griffin, an American architect, was the winner of the international competition to design  Australia’s new national capital. Part of Griffin’s  vision for the National Capital  was the artificial lake which would form a centrepiece for the city.  

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road, take the bike path, turn left for the bush, right to follow the Lake round to Commonwealth Bridge and beyond. 

2. Try some exercise equipment along the bike path beside Lake Burley Griffin.

Would you like to add some weights or strength training into your workout? Canberra has outdoor fitness stations dotted around the city to stop to do some push ups, push against some weights and build up some muscle in your workout.

Follow this link to learn how to use the equipment  

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road, turn left and follow the bike path. 

3. Canberra Beijing Garden

The Beijing Garden is designed in the imperial Chinese garden style  of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912); a style symbolic of luxury and  refinement. It features a traditional Chinese welcome gate, paths that meander past Chinese stone sculptures and a Chinese pavilion offering a place for quiet retreat to enjoy the garden's  serenity.

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road to Lennox Gardens. 

4. Canberra Nara Peace Park

Canberra Nara Peace Park is the home of the annual Canberra Nara Candle Festival held in October. It features a small Japanese themed garden, traditional wooden gate and gazebo, and a number of iconic cherry blossom trees. 

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road to Lennox Gardens. 

5. Monument to Australians in the Spanish Civil War 1936-39 

This monument honours 70 Australian men and women who went to Spain during the Spanish Civil War to defend the cause of the Spanish Republic. The memorial was instigated by a group wanting to commemorate Australians' participation in the Spanish Civil War. The Australian War Memorial could not accommodate them as the men and women who went to support the republican cause were not 'Australian forces'. 

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road to Lennox Gardens. 

6. Canberra Rotary Peace Bell 

Launched on 23 February 2018, the bell provides a  destination in Nara Park to remind us that we want  a peaceful World. The bell was provided by the  World Peace Bell Association and is rung on special occasions including World Peace Day, the third  Tuesday in September each year.

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road to Lennox Gardens. 

7. Toku (sculpture)

Toku was commissioned to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of Japan’s ancient capital, Nara. The sculpture has three main elements: A five-storied pagoda form which represents Canberra; a floating stone representing Nara; and the form of a small bird symbolising peace. The bird resembles a Latham’s Snipe, a species which migrates annually between Japan and Canberra. The artist has created Toku to express the amicable relationship and mutual understanding shared by the Canberra and Nara as sister cities.

Directions: Use rear, Lake end, Hyatt entrance. Cross road to Lennox Gardens. 

8. Albert Hall

The Albert Hall is an elegant example of the ‘Federal Capital’ style of  architecture of the 1920s, also called Renaissance Revival or Classical  Revival style. The hall was opened on 10 March 1928 by the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce.

Directions: Use front, Commonwealth Ave Hyatt entrance. Turn left through Hyatt car park.

9. Magna Carta Monument 

The Magna Carta monument is a symbol of the ties between the  peoples of Australia and Great Britain.  The design is based on an ancient English funeral mound or barrow,  which has been cut away to reveal the treasure inside (being the  Magna Carta). The etched marble walls depict (on the left) the life  and times of Magna Carta and (on the right) the development of the Rule of Law and parliamentary system in Australia. Magna Carta  gave us these concepts: Freedom, Rule of Law, Trial by Jury,  Justice for all. 

Directions: Use front, Commonwealth Ave Hyatt entrance. Turn left through Hyatt car park, there’s an underpass in front of Albert Hall, or turn right in front of Hyatt and cross at the lights

10. Pause on a park bench

After visiting the Magna Carta Monument you could sit on a seat donated by the Britain-Australia Society and reflect on the value of peace, our democracy and the vision of our national capital. (See Lao Te Tse peace poem below.) 

“If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbours. If there is to be peace between neighbours, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart.” Lao-Tse, Chinese philosopher and writer 

11. Embassies: Chinese Embassy; British, New Zealand, Canadian, Papua New Guinea High Commissions

Canberra is home to nearly 80 embassies and high commissions. See the spectacular traditional design of the Chinese Embassy and the long-house style of the High Commission of Papua New Guinea. Look for the British, New Zealand and Canadian High Commissions.

Directions: Use front, Commonwealth Ave Hyatt entrance. Turn right. The Chinese Embassy is on the corner of Coronation Drive and Forster Crescent. The High Commissions are located in Forster Cres.

12. Canberra Croquet Club

In 1925 Hostel No. 1 (later the Hotel Canberra, and still later the Hyatt) opened with a bowling green and a croquet lawn as amenities for its guests. The Canberra Croquet Club, established at a meeting held on 8 March 1928, was allowed to play on the lawn at the Hotel. The clubhouse was opened in 1933.

Directions: Use front, Commonwealth Ave Hyatt entrance. Turn right. It’s next door!