A snap decision saw us taking a day trip from Sydney to Canberra, along with my sister and her family.

If you’re looking for things to do in Canberra with kids, here are a couple of ideas if you have one day there.

There are so many tourist attraction in Canberra. So if you really want to experience all Canberra has to offer, you really do need a good couple of days there!

[lwptoc]

The Australian War Memorial

First off we stopped at the Australian War Memorial. It is an amazing place. You feel humbled just by being there. We spend quite some time here as it is really large and there is so much to see and take in.

This is the obligatory photo that I’m pretty sure everyone takes. It is taken from the front steps of the War Memorial, looking down Anzac Parade towards both Parliament Houses.

The War Memorial boasts some incredibly detailed dioramas.

It truly is a humbling experience walking through the memorial.

Cockington Green

After the War Memorial, we headed over to Cockington Green, which is a mini little world unto itself. I don’t think I have been here in a good 20 years. It’s amazing the difference between kids’ eyes and adult eyes and I love the fact that some of the creators have a sense of humour! From zombies to streakers to ripped pants on the man getting on the horse. All good for a laugh.

Amy was quite smitten with the big green buttons. She was racing around the International Display just pressing all the green buttons. Well, not just the International Display, but the whole of Cockington Green’s Gardens. Wherever there was a green button, there was Amy worming her way past people to push it.

The displays really are quite amazing. So much work must go into each and every one. I didn’t have a favourite, they are all pretty awesome, but I did like the photo I took of Stonehenge.

There’s also a miniature train you can go on. All in all, we had a really good time here.

Telstra Tower

Afterwards, we visited Telstra Tower which sits atop Black Mountain. It boasts the highest post box in Canberra.

You can go outside for an unobstructed view over Canberra. It’s spectacular from up here!

And here we are at the end of our Canberra trip, up the top of the tower. By this stage, we were pretty tired and cold, but we’d had a really great day checking out just a handful of attractions around Canberra.

These are but a few places to see in Canberra. Maybe next time we will plan ahead and stay overnight as it really was a lot to jam into one day.