Braddon Canberra: Food & Culture Guide

Outdoor cafe tables on Lonsdale Street in Braddon, Canberra, with a colourful mural and eucalyptus trees
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Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson is an Aussie travel writer who has spent years driving the coasts and country roads of Australia. He shares honest, simple guides to help you plan easy trips around cities, beaches and small towns.
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Braddon Canberra is the part of the capital where the city lets its hair down. It sits just north of Civic, about a ten minute walk from the city centre, and it feels nothing like the Canberra most visitors expect. There are no big monuments here and no wide empty lawns. Instead you get one lively main street, Lonsdale Street, packed with cafes, restaurants, bars and small shops, plus a park full of tall old trees and a history that goes back to the very start of the city.

This guide covers everything you need for a visit: the best places to eat and drink, the street art and galleries, the Sunday markets in Haig Park, a short walk through Braddon’s past, and a simple plan for a full day here. It also covers where to stay, how to get here, and what a day in Braddon costs, so you can plan without guessing.

Why Braddon Feels Different From the Rest of Canberra

Canberra is a planned city, and most of it feels planned. Braddon is the exception. It is one of the oldest suburbs in the capital, settled in 1922, and it grew up as the city’s first light industrial area. For decades Lonsdale Street was full of car yards, workshops and factories. Then the car yards moved out and the cafes, bars and small shops moved in, and the street changed without losing its old bones.

That mix is what gives Braddon its feel. You will see a 1920s bakery building next to a craft beer bar, and a heritage listed garden suburb a two minute walk from a laneway full of murals. The crowd is young, with a median age of 30 at the last census, and the suburb is now the most densely lived in part of Canberra. On a fine weekend morning the footpaths fill up fast, and by Friday night the bars are full. If the rest of Canberra feels calm and spacious, Braddon feels close, busy and full of life.

Braddon also works as a base, not just a stop. You can sleep here, eat every meal here, and walk to the city centre, the lake and the big national attractions. That is why so many visitors now plan a night or two in Braddon instead of just passing through it on the way to somewhere else. If you want to know what Canberra feels like when it is not being official, start here.

Lonsdale Street: The Main Street of Braddon

Lonsdale Street is where almost everything in Braddon happens. It runs through the centre of the suburb, parallel to Northbourne Avenue, and you can walk its main stretch in about ten minutes. In September 2013 the Sydney Morning Herald called it Canberra’s “hippest hood”, and the name stuck. The street is lined with cafes that put their tables on the footpath, restaurants with open fronts, and small shops selling clothes, gifts and homewares by local designers.

The best way to enjoy it is slowly. Start at one end, walk the full length, and stop when something catches your eye. Mornings belong to the coffee crowd. Lunchtime brings office workers and shoppers. Evenings belong to the bars and restaurants, and on Friday and Saturday nights the street stays busy late. During Summernats, the car festival held each January, Lonsdale Street hosts an unofficial street parade called the Lonsdale Street Cruise, when crowds line the footpaths to watch the cars roll past.

Breakfast and Coffee on Lonsdale Street

Braddon takes its coffee seriously, and Lonsdale Street is one of the best places in Canberra to start the day. B-side is a Japanese style specialty coffee house on the street, known for its clean, simple food and its breakfast roll. It is a good first stop if you want a quiet, well made coffee before the day gets going.

A few doors along, Eighty Twenty Food serves healthy brunch food from early in the morning, with acai bowls, eggs benedict and a strawberry matcha latte that locals keep coming back for. The cafe opens at 6 am and runs through to 3 pm, so it suits early risers and slow weekend mornings alike. Barrio Collective Coffee, tucked into a small space on Lonsdale Street, pours single origin batch brews and serves toasties that regulars rate as some of the best in the city. Its egg and mushroom toast with house made chilli oil is the one to ask for.

Gather Cafe, just around the corner on Mort Street, rounds out the brunch list. It won ACT Cafe of the Year in 2019, and its menu leans on produce from local farmers. The ricotta hot cakes with lemon curd and passionfruit cheesecake ice cream are the signature dish, and the wild mushroom crepes with poached eggs and smoked honey are a strong second choice. Expect to pay around $20 to $30 for a main dish at a Braddon cafe, and about $5 for a flat white. Most cafes open early and close in the mid afternoon, so plan brunch before 2 pm.

Lunch and Dinner on Lonsdale Street

By lunch, Lonsdale Street shifts from coffee to full meals. Lazy Su is the street’s best known restaurant, a fast paced and quirky spot that mixes Korean, Japanese and American food. The sushi tacos, jackfruit bulgogi bao, wagyu cheesesteak spring rolls and buttermilk fried chicken ramen are the dishes people talk about, and the room itself, with its lucky cats and bright lights, is half the fun. It is popular, so book ahead on weekends.

Grease Monkey sits a little further along the street and does the opposite job: simple burgers, beers and shakes in a big open air beer garden. It is loud, relaxed and good value, with happy hour from 4 pm to 6 pm and DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. If you want something fancier, eightysix is a few steps away on the corner of Lonsdale and Elouera Streets. It serves dinner and a dessert menu built around its banoffee pie and caramel popcorn sundae, and the small booths and dark walls make it a good pick for a date night. Book before you go, because it fills up.

For a quick bite, Verity Lane Market brings a food hall feel to Braddon, with ramen, wood fired pizza and other street style eats under one roof, plus a bar pouring craft drinks. It works well for groups, because everyone can order something different and still sit together. And if you want one special dinner within walking distance, Pilot sits behind the small parade of shops in Ainslie, about fifteen minutes on foot from Lonsdale Street. It has just 24 seats, holds two hats in the 2027 Good Food Guide, and serves a tasting menu only, at $120 for lunch and $160 or $205 for dinner. It opens Thursday to Sunday, and you will need to book well ahead.

Shopping on Lonsdale Street

Braddon is the best place in Canberra to shop for something you will not find in a mall. POP Canberra stocks clothes, jewellery and homewares by local Canberra designers, and it is a good first stop if you want a gift or a souvenir that actually comes from the city. Goodbyes, nearby, is a vintage and second hand clothing store with a loyal following, and Hive sells gifts and small handmade pieces that travel well in a suitcase.

The shops are small and independent, and most of them sit at street level with open fronts, so you can browse without any plan at all. That is the point. Give yourself an hour to wander, pop into the shops that catch your eye, and stop for a coffee when you need a break. If you are staying in Canberra for a few days, this is also a good place to pick up anything you forgot to pack, from a warm layer to a decent pair of walking shoes.

Where to Eat and Drink in Braddon

Food is the main reason most people come to Braddon, and the suburb earns it. Within a few blocks you can eat Spanish, Mediterranean, French, Italian, Thai, Korean, Japanese and modern Australian food, and most of it is good. The list below covers the places that keep coming up in local guides and in reviews, grouped by what they do best.

Braddon’s Best Restaurants

Black Fire, on Mort Street, cooks Spanish and Mediterranean food over fire, using local and mostly organic produce. The menu leans on grilled and roasted meats, with wagyu skirt steak, suckling lamb and angus beef among the dishes people order again and again. It is a good pick for a group, because the set menus for lunch and dinner take the choosing out of it. The head chef has cooked in two Michelin starred kitchens, and the food shows it without feeling fussy.

Marble and Grain, on the ground floor of the Avenue Hotel on Mort Street, is a European steakhouse with a paddock to plate approach. The slow cooked 1.2 kg lamb shoulder is built for sharing, and the butchers board, with venison sausages, lamb ribs, steak, bone marrow and onion rings, is the table centrepiece. There are six steak cuts on the menu, from a 220 gram wagyu sirloin to a 400 gram rib eye, all served with bone marrow, red wine jus and duck fat potatoes.

Les Bistronomes, on the corner of Elouera and Mort Streets, is Braddon’s French bistro. Expect escargot, beef bourguignon, bouillabaisse, duck a l’orange and creme brulee, plus a daily specials board and a French master sommelier who can match a wine to your meal. It opens for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. Zaab, also on the food map, serves South East Asian dishes in a room that stays busy most nights, and The Italian Place, a small enoteca on Lonsdale Street, pours Italian wine by the glass alongside simple Italian food.

Two more spots round out the list. Assembly The People’s Pub, on Lonsdale Street, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in a big open room with a sports bar and one of the best beer gardens in Canberra. It is the easy choice when your group cannot agree on a cuisine, because the menu covers pub food well and the atmosphere does the rest. Restaurant Two14, inside the Deco Hotel on Northbourne Avenue, serves Italian leaning Australian share plates for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with pappardelle with wild mushrooms and parmesan crusted chicken schnitzel among the dishes worth ordering.

Craft Beer, Cocktails and Late Nights

Braddon is Canberra’s craft beer suburb, and BentSpoke Brewing Co is the reason. The brew pub sits at 48/38 Mort Street and brews 18 beers and ciders on site. Try the Crankshaft, a medium bodied IPA that was ranked the top Australian craft beer in the GABS Hottest 100 poll two years running. The food menu is built to match the beer, so order something to eat with your pint. The pub is open daily from late morning, and it fills up fast on Friday and Saturday nights.

Beer taps and a tasting paddle at BentSpoke Brewing Co in Braddon, Canberra
BentSpoke Brewing Co pours 18 beers and ciders brewed on site. Order a tasting paddle and try a few before you pick a favourite.

For cocktails, Hopscotch is a grill and bar with a long drinks list and live music on many nights, and Volstead Repeal pairs cocktails with gourmet pizzas in a small, relaxed room. Assembly’s beer garden is the place to end up if the night is warm, and Grease Monkey’s Brooklyn style bar keeps going late on weekends. If you want a quieter drink, walk ten minutes into Civic, where the wine bars along Bunda Street and London Circuit pour cool climate wines from the Canberra district by the glass. Most Braddon bars run happy hours in the late afternoon, usually from around 4 pm, so an early drink is also the cheapest one.

A practical note: Braddon bars are busiest on Friday and Saturday nights, and some of the smaller rooms fill up by 8 pm. If you have your eye on a particular place, get there early or book a table. Weeknights are much calmer, and a Thursday evening in Braddon is often the sweet spot, busy enough to feel alive, quiet enough to get a seat.

Street Art and Creative Culture

Braddon’s creative side is easy to miss if you only look at the restaurant menus. Walk the side streets and laneways off Lonsdale and Mort Streets and you will find murals on walls, painted shopfronts and small galleries that change often. The art is part of what makes Braddon feel different from the rest of Canberra. It is not in a museum. It is on the street, and it changes as new artists paint over old work.

Look for the large murals first. Local artist Lawrence Tan has painted a big wall on the Branx building, next to Romane Wine Bar and Corella Restaurant, and the EggPicnic mural in Haig Park is another local favourite. The best way to see the art is on foot, with no fixed route. Start at the Lonsdale Street end near Elouera Street, wander down the laneways, and keep an eye on the walls above the shopfronts as well as the ones at street level. Mornings are the best time for photos, when the light is soft and the footpaths are quiet.

A large colourful mural on a wall in a Braddon laneway in Canberra
Braddon’s laneways are full of murals. Walk the side streets off Lonsdale and Mort Streets and look up as well as straight ahead.

Gorman House Arts Centre

Gorman House Arts Centre, on Ainslie Avenue at the edge of Braddon, is one of the suburb’s most important buildings. The heritage listed complex is home to some of the ACT’s key arts groups, plus smaller arts groups and individual artists. Inside you will find the Bogong Theatre, the Canberra Contemporary Art Space, the Canberra Youth Theatre, the Currong Theatre Studio and the Ralph Wilson Theatre, along with dance studios, workshops, galleries and artists’ studios.

Check what is on before you visit, because the program changes through the year. There are plays, dance shows, exhibitions and small performances, and many of them are cheap or free. On weekends the centre hosts an art, craft and second hand market, which is a good place to meet local makers and pick up something made in Canberra. Even if nothing is on, the building itself is worth a look from the outside. It is one of the few places in Braddon where the suburb’s early history is still easy to see.

Ainslie Arts Centre and the Weekend Markets

A short walk east from Lonsdale Street, on Donaldson Street, sits the Ainslie Arts Centre. The building opened in 1927 as Ainslie School, one of Canberra’s oldest schools, and it later housed Questacon and the School Without Walls before becoming an arts centre. Today it holds studios, galleries and rehearsal spaces, and it keeps the suburb’s heritage feel alive in a way the newer apartment blocks do not.

The area around the arts centre is also where Braddon’s weekend markets happen. The Gorman House weekend market sells art, craft and second hand goods, and the Haig Park Village Markets, a short walk north, run every Sunday. If you are in Braddon on a weekend, plan your morning around one of these markets. They are free to enter, they are full of local makers, and they are the easiest way to meet the people who live and work in the suburb.

Haig Park and the Sunday Village Markets

Haig Park is Braddon’s green escape, and it sits right on the suburb’s northern edge. The park covers 19 hectares across Braddon and Turner, and it is listed on the ACT Heritage Register. Its most striking feature is the fourteen rows of tall trees, planted as a windbreak and shelterbelt when the city was young. Walk under them on a hot day and the temperature drops at once. The park has a paved fitness track, barbecues, a playground and wide open lawns, and it is a favourite spot for walks, runs and picnics.

On Sundays the park comes alive for the Haig Park Village Markets. Stallholders set up under the trees selling fresh produce, baked goods, coffee, handmade crafts and second hand finds, and the market has a relaxed, local feel that suits a slow morning. Get there before 10 am if you want the best of the fresh food stalls, and bring cash as well as a card, because some of the smaller stalls still prefer it. After the market, stay for a walk through the tree rows or a picnic on the lawn. The park is also a good spot for kids, with a nature play area and plenty of space to run.

Market stalls under tall pine trees at Haig Park Village Markets in Braddon, Canberra
The Haig Park Village Markets run every Sunday under the park’s tall heritage trees. Come early for the best fresh food stalls.

Haig Park also carries a cultural story that many visitors miss. At the Lonsdale Street entrance, a sign displays the United Ngunnawal Elders Council charter, and four more signs designed by Ngunnawal elder Wally Bell explain the cultural significance of Mount Ainslie, Haig Park, Sullivans Creek and Black Mountain. Take a minute to read them. They are a reminder that the land Braddon sits on has a history far older than the suburb itself, and that the Ngunnawal people are the traditional owners of this country.

A Short History of Braddon

Braddon is one of the oldest suburbs in Canberra, and its history is short but full of change. The suburb was settled in 1922 and its name was gazetted in September 1928. It was named after Sir Edward Braddon, a Federalist and legislator who helped write the Australian Constitution. The streets were named for Aboriginal words, legislators and pioneers, which is why so many Braddon street names sound unlike the ones in the newer suburbs.

In the 1920s Braddon became Canberra’s first light industrial area. Car yards, workshops and factories filled Lonsdale and Mort Streets, and the suburb became the centre of the automotive trade. That trade stayed for decades, and the car yards only moved out to Fyshwick, Mitchell and Phillip when the city grew. In recent years the old industrial blocks have been rebuilt as apartments, restaurants and shops, and the suburb has become an entertainment and residential precinct. The change is easy to see in the buildings: a 1920s bakery now sits beside a craft beer bar, and a former government hostel is now a hotel.

The Garden City Heritage Precinct

The best place to see old Braddon is the Garden City heritage precinct, the blocks bounded by Donaldson, Elimatta, Batman and Currong Streets. The first houses here were built in 1921 and 1922 for lower grade public servants and the workmen building the new capital, and the precinct is the only completed example of a residential area designed by Walter Burley Griffin in Canberra. The streets are quiet, the houses are small and low, and the street furniture is heritage listed along with the houses.

Give yourself twenty minutes to walk the precinct. Start at the corner of Donaldson and Batman Streets, walk the loop, and look at the garden beds, the low fences and the way the houses sit back from the street. It is a calm contrast to the busy main street a few blocks away, and it shows what Canberra’s planners had in mind before the car yards arrived. Other heritage spots worth a look are the former Coggan’s Bakery at 36 Mort Street, a 1920s building that is the most distinctive reminder of the old industrial area, and the Hotel Ainslie, built in 1926 and 1927 as a government hostel and now trading as the Mercure Canberra. Northbourne Oval, established in 1925, is the oldest enclosed oval in North Canberra and is now the Canberra Raiders’ training ground.

How to Spend a Day in Braddon

You can see the best of Braddon in a day, and the plan below keeps it simple. Start with breakfast on Lonsdale Street. Pick one of the brunch cafes, order a flat white and a proper breakfast, and take your time. Then walk the full length of Lonsdale Street, pop into the shops, and look for the murals in the laneways off the main street. This slow morning is the best way to get a feel for the suburb.

For lunch, choose one of the restaurants on Lonsdale or Mort Street. Lazy Su is the fun pick, Black Fire is the pick for a long lunch, and Grease Monkey is the pick if you want something fast and casual. After lunch, walk to Haig Park and spend an hour under the trees. If it is a Sunday, the village markets will be running, and you can browse the stalls and pick up something for a picnic.

In the afternoon, visit the Gorman House Arts Centre to see what is on, then walk the Garden City heritage precinct for a quiet look at old Braddon. Finish the day with a drink at BentSpoke and dinner at one of the restaurants you spotted earlier. If you have energy left, the bars on Lonsdale Street stay busy into the night. If you want a second day, use Braddon as your base and walk to the big attractions nearby. The National Gallery of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, the National Museum of Australia and the Australian National Botanic Gardens are all a short bus or light rail ride away, and Lake Burley Griffin is a ten minute walk south. Our guide to things to do in Canberra covers all of them in one place.

Best Time to Visit Braddon

Braddon is at its best on weekends, and Saturday is the liveliest day. The cafes fill up from around 8 am, the shops are open all day, the markets run on Sunday, and the bars are busy on Friday and Saturday nights. If you want the full Braddon feel, come on a Saturday morning and stay into the evening. Autumn and spring are the nicest seasons, with mild days that suit walking and sitting outside. Canberra’s autumn colours show up in Haig Park and along the streets, and spring brings clear skies and cool mornings.

Summer days can be hot, so start early, drink plenty of water, and use the shade in Haig Park during the middle of the day. Winter mornings in Canberra are often below freezing, so rug up and plan a late breakfast inside a warm cafe. Weekdays are much quieter, which suits a calm visit. Cafes and shops still open, and you will get a table without waiting, but some of the smaller bars and restaurants open later in the day or only from Thursday to Sunday. If you are visiting in January, check the Summernats dates, because the Lonsdale Street Cruise brings big crowds to the street.

Where to Stay in Braddon

Staying in Braddon puts you within walking distance of the food, the bars and the city centre, and it is one of the best bases in Canberra for a short trip. The Mercure Canberra, on Ainslie Avenue, is the suburb’s most historic stay. The building opened as the Hotel Ainslie in 1926 and 1927, and it still sits in a garden setting with a courtyard, a bar and a fitness centre. It is a solid mid range pick, and the bus stop on the same street makes it easy to get around.

The Avenue Hotel Canberra, on Northbourne Avenue, is a modern option with stylish rooms and a restaurant, Marble and Grain, on the ground floor. The Deco Hotel, at 214 Northbourne Avenue, sits right on the edge of Braddon and has its own restaurant, Two14, plus 24 hour room service. Mantra on Northbourne is another central pick, with modern rooms and apartments, a gym and sauna, and breakfast downstairs. All four are within a short walk of Lonsdale Street, and all four put you about ten to fifteen minutes by car from Canberra Airport. For a full comparison of areas and prices, see our guide to where to stay in Canberra.

Getting to Braddon and Getting Around

Braddon is in the Australian Capital Territory, just north of Civic, and getting there is easy. From Canberra Airport it is about a ten to fifteen minute drive. From Civic it is a ten minute walk up Northbourne Avenue, or one stop on the light rail. The light rail runs along Northbourne Avenue with a stop at Elouera Street, right at the edge of Braddon, and ACTION buses run through the suburb on several routes. If you are coming by train, Canberra Railway Station is in Kingston, and you will need a bus or taxi from there. Our guide to getting around Canberra covers the light rail, buses and fares in detail.

Once you are in Braddon, walk. The suburb is small and flat, and almost everything worth seeing sits within a few blocks of Lonsdale Street. The footpaths are wide, the crossings are easy, and the walk from one end of the main street to the other takes about ten minutes. Cycling works well too, with bike paths linking Braddon to the lake and the city centre. Taxis and rideshare are easy to find on Lonsdale Street and Northbourne Avenue, especially on weekend nights.

Parking in Braddon

Parking is the one part of Braddon that needs a plan. Street parking fills up fast on weekends, especially near Lonsdale Street and Haig Park, and the time limits are short. If you are driving in, aim to arrive before 10 am on a Saturday, or use one of the car parks off Northbourne Avenue and walk in. Paid parking applies in much of the area, so check the signs before you leave your car. If you can, leave the car at your hotel and walk or take the light rail instead. It is cheaper, faster and much less stressful than circling the blocks looking for a spot.

Braddon on a Budget

Braddon is not the cheapest suburb in Canberra, but you can enjoy it without spending much. A day built around the free things costs very little. Walk the street art laneways, browse the shops, walk through Haig Park, and read the heritage signs at the park entrance. All of it is free. The Sunday markets are free to enter, and a coffee and a pastry from a market stall is one of the cheapest breakfasts in the suburb. For more free ideas across the city, see our guide to free things to do in Canberra.

For meals, the cheapest options are the cafes and the casual spots. A flat white costs about $5, a cafe breakfast or lunch main runs $20 to $30, and a burger and a beer at Grease Monkey is one of the best value dinners on the street. The food hall at Verity Lane Market is another good value pick, because you can eat well for the price of a single dish. The dear end of Braddon is the tasting menu at Pilot, at $120 for lunch and $160 or $205 for dinner, and the set menus at the French and steak restaurants. A realistic budget for a full day in Braddon, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and a few drinks, is around $100 to $150 per person, before accommodation.

Braddon with Kids

Braddon works well for families during the day, and less well late at night. The daytime picks are easy: brunch at a family friendly cafe, a walk through Haig Park with its playground and nature play area, and the Sunday markets, where kids can try food from the stalls and watch the makers at work. The Gorman House weekend market is another good stop, and the wide lawns in Haig Park give younger kids space to run. For more family ideas across the city, see our guide to Canberra with kids.

A few tips make it smoother. Bring a pram if you have a toddler, because the footpaths are wide and flat. Eat early, because the popular restaurants fill up and the wait gets long. And plan to leave the bar scene for the adults. The beer gardens are relaxed in the afternoon, but the evenings are loud and crowded, and most families head back to the hotel after dinner. If your kids love animals and science, pair a Braddon morning with an afternoon at Questacon or Cockington Green Gardens, both a short drive away.

Good to Know Before You Go

A few practical points will save you trouble. First, book ahead for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, and for brunch on weekends at the popular cafes. Walk ins are fine on weekdays, but the best tables go fast on weekends. Second, check opening days before you go. Some restaurants and bars only open from Thursday to Sunday, and some cafes close by mid afternoon, so a place you loved on Saturday may be shut on Monday.

Third, Braddon is a cashless friendly suburb, but bring a card and a little cash for the market stalls. Fourth, the weather changes fast in Canberra. Mornings can be cold even in summer, and the wind picks up in the afternoon, so bring a layer even on a warm day. Fifth, if you are visiting during a big event like Summernats or Floriade, expect crowds and book your stay early. And finally, be respectful in the residential streets. Braddon is a lived in suburb, not just a food precinct, and the quiet streets around the Garden City precinct are people’s homes.

FAQs About Visiting Braddon

Is Braddon worth visiting?

Yes, and it is the best place in Canberra to spend an evening. If you only have one night in the capital, spend it in Braddon. The food is the best in the city, the bars are lively, and you can walk everywhere. Come for a meal, stay for a drink, and walk the street art laneways in between.

How long do I need in Braddon?

Half a day is enough for the highlights: brunch, a walk down Lonsdale Street, the shops, and an hour in Haig Park. A full day lets you add the markets, the arts centres, the heritage precinct and dinner. If you stay overnight, you can use Braddon as your base for the big attractions and still eat every meal on Lonsdale Street.

Where is Braddon in Canberra?

Braddon sits just north of Civic, the city centre, about two kilometres away. It is bounded by Northbourne Avenue to the west, Ainslie Avenue to the south, and the suburb of Ainslie to the east. You can walk there from Civic in about ten minutes, or take the light rail one stop to Elouera Street.

Is Braddon expensive?

It can be, but it does not have to be. Cafes and casual spots cost about the same as anywhere in Canberra, with a flat white around $5 and a cafe meal around $20 to $30. The dear meals are the tasting menus and set menus at the fancier restaurants. The parks, the street art and the markets are free, so a low cost day is easy to plan.

Can I walk from Braddon to the lake?

Yes. Lake Burley Griffin is about a ten minute walk south through Civic, and the path is flat and well signed. From the lake you can walk to Parliament House, Old Parliament House and the national institutions on the southern shore.

Final Thoughts on Visiting Braddon

Braddon Canberra is the suburb that shows you what the capital is like when it relaxes. One street holds the city’s best brunch, its best craft beer, its best boutique shopping and its most creative walls, and a park full of tall old trees sits at the end of it. The history is there too, in the garden suburb streets and the old bakery and the hotel that has stood since 1927. You do not need a car, you do not need a plan, and you do not need more than a day to enjoy it.

Come on a Saturday if you can, start with coffee, stay for dinner, and let the suburb set the pace. If you are planning a wider trip, our guides at Australia City Guide cover the rest of the capital, from the national attractions to the best places to stay. Braddon is the easy first step, and for many visitors it ends up being the part of Canberra they remember best.

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