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Suburb of Canberra, Australia
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Acton is a small affluent suburb west of Civic and is Canberra's university district, mostly taken up by the Australian National University (ANU). Right next to the ANU is the Australian National Botanic Gardens, containing some of the most diverse ranges of Australian flora in the country with places that can make you feel you're in the middle of either the Wet Tropics of Queensland or the Tasmanian Wilderness, although it's just two kilometres from the city!
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Australian National University Classics Museum
One of the few classics museums in Australia, this museum within the Australian National University houses a small, but interesting, collection of ancient Greek and Roman artefacts. The A.D. Hope building also has a range of anthropological displays on Indigenous Australian and Pacific island cultures.
This gallery operated by the Australian National University hosts interesting and well-selected temporary exhibitions of Australian and international contemporary art. One of Sir Sydney Nolan's best works, Riverbend, is on permanent display at the front of the building.
Housed in a 1930s art deco building, the NFSA is the custodian of more than 3 million items related to Australia's audiovisual history. Special events and exhibitions available; film screening programs run at Arc cinema (check the website for details). Self-guided tours of the building also available.
An interactive sound and light sculpture designed and built by illuminart in collaboration with Gotye (Wouter 'Wally’ de Backer). It was first presented as the backdrop to his live performance of Somebody That I Used to Know with Kimbra at the 2011 ARIA Awards. The sculpture used mapped animated projections based on the music video that changed in time with Gotye's performance.
Exhibits a variety of post-grad artworks, in particular contemporary art.
This unusual dome-shaped building owned by the Australian Academy of Science has been a Canberra landmark since the late 1950s, and is nicknamed the "martian embassy" by locals.
AIATSIS
A government institute where you can learn more about the culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. There's a strong emphasis on the Stolen Generation (a time where European settlers displaced Indigenous children from their families) along with National Sorry Day, but they only make up a part of the institute's 1 million items dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
This museum presents a thematic rather than a chronological account of Australian history, and spent its early years embroiled in a controversy over whether its displays were politically biased. The NMA has been revamped and expanded and includes some excellent galleries on Indigenous Australia and many interesting items, but the museum as a whole is somewhat underwhelming and not likely to be of much interest to non-Australians.
Located at the base of Black Mountain in Acton, the ANBG has the largest collection of Australian native flora in the country. It also has some interesting water dragons that live in the water features around the gardens. A delightful place for a picnic, try to grab some food from the city centre first to take with you for lunch. If you are there during summer, call and ask about the jazz evenings. These are held on the weekend and many families attend with evening picnic and champagne in tow, to chill out to the sounds of jazz in the balmy evening temperatures.
The starting base of the park where many of the garden's trails branch out in all directions. Staff are known to be friendly, and the visitor centre also includes a bookshop selling botanical books.
Reflects the flora more seen in the coastal parts of mid-Western Australia, part of the Outback, and most of what is seen here requires quite a long drive from Perth. For the most part however, what you see here is much more colourful than the flora seen in the Red Centre garden. The nearby Banksia Centre is occasionally open, but not all the time.
It's the only place where you can walk from the wet tropical north of Queensland down to the wilderness of Tasmania in just three minutes, the Rainforest Gully features a vast array of flora from many different Australian rainforests.
Perhaps the most driest of all gardens you could end up finding in the botanic gardens. With flora from all over the Outback (except coastal Western Australia), it may really surprise you on the diversity of Outback flora.
Many rocks and the flora seen is what is usually seen in a typical rock garden in urban city parks. Not much unique flora here if you're coming from other parts of Australia, but it's worth visiting if you'd like to see water dragons roaming around the pathways.
A garden entirely dedicated to flora found within the Greater Sydney region. It's not overly large, but it gives a quick insight to what you can find in the harbour city's many national parks, gardens and reserves.
The flora found in this garden mostly reflects the landscapes and environments you would find in the Tasmanian Wilderness, and what would otherwise require long hikes to get to in Tasmania. Look out for water dragons here – they may be lurking around and occasionally cross the path.
The museum of the Australian Government's scientific research organisation includes exhibits on the history of Australian science and the CSIRO's current research.
Black Mountain Tower
This functional communications tower rises 195 m above the summit of Black Mountain, providing 360-degree views of Canberra and the countryside around it from a viewing platform 60 m up the tower. It has been closed for repairs since mid-2021 and is not open to the public. It is set to reopen in December 2027.
Spicy Ginger Café
A Sichuan restaurant best known for its cuimin lamb and chilli chicken. There's a good range of seafood too, and their quality often matches some of Canberra's high-end Asian restaurants in Dickson but for a reasonable price.
This small café aimed at ANU staff and students has interesting food choices and good coffee.
Some delicious French pastries and a good variety of Central European and French style breads, including baguettes.
A small cafe near the Robertson Building. The coffee here is mostly catered towards uni students, so don't be surprised if it does not taste like the normal coffee you'd have at other cafes.
Although there may not be anything special in its menu nor the building of the cafe, the surrounds of the cafe make you feel nestled in the middle of a rainforest.
Casual pub serving food and drinks.
Café and bar located on University Avenue inside the Di Riddell Student Centre.
Upmarket restaurant and wine bar operated by the University House hospitality team.
Just outside the National Museum of Australia, this museum store is a great place for finding Aboriginal art and other quintessentially Australian things.
By bus
Unlike many other districts of urban Canberra, there is only a single bus line to Acton – bus route 53.
By car
Although public transportation to Acton is limited, Acton well-connected to other districts by road owing to the fact that it's right next to Civic.
By cycle
Two of Canberra's principal cycle routes pass through or terminate at Acton. Acton is small and quiet enough that you can get around on a bike without major hurdles.
By e-scooter
The eastern portion of Acton is on Canberra's e-scooter network, operated by Neuron Mobility.
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Canberra · Regional · CBR
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