In the foyer of the National Library you'll find Bookplate, an award-winning cafe with a technicolour stained-glass backdrop. It's equally good as a lunch stop – with daily specials including pulled-pork tacos or poke bowls – or just for coffee and cake after a hard day hitting the books. The wine list is also excellent.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Canberra attractions

1. National Library of Australia

0.04 MILES

This institution has accumulated more than 10 million items since being established in 1901 and has digitised more than nine billion files. You can pop by…

2. Australian of the Year Walk

0.14 MILES

The signs along this stretch of pathway pay tribute to those selected annually as Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian…

3. Questacon

0.15 MILES

Most families visiting Canberra head straight for Questacon, Australia's premier science museum, where they can play around with fun interactive exhibits…

4. Reconciliation Place

0.21 MILES

A section of the grassy public space between Parliament and Lake Burley Griffin has been designated to represent the nation's commitment to the cause of…

6. National Portrait Gallery

0.32 MILES

Occupying a flash, purpose-built building, this wonderful gallery is a striking representation of Australia's shifting self-image and a must-see for art…

7. Aboriginal Tent Embassy

0.32 MILES

First erected in 1972 as a protest against the government's approach to Indigenous land rights, this camp on the lawn in front of Old Parliament House…

8. Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet

0.33 MILES

Built in 1970 to mark the bicentenary of British explorer James Cook's landfall, this memorial near Regatta Point consists of a 6-tonne column of water…