Canberra’s Southside is divided into three areas: the Inner South, Woden and Tuggeranong. On the edge of town, you’ll find Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
Highlights
Although most tertiary campuses are located north of Lake Burley Griffin, the Southside does have a small Charles Sturt University campus (Barton) and two CIT campuses (Woden and Tuggeranong), as well as some of Canberra’s most prestigious schools.
The Inner South, including the leafy suburbs of Kingston, Manuka and Yarralumla, is one of Canberra’s oldest parts. The city’s most famous institutions can be found here, from Parliament House to the National Library and National Gallery of Australia, as well as cute places to eat and plenty of green spaces to explore. At Manuka Oval you can catch cricket or AFL games depending on the season.
Go for a stroll along the Kingston Foreshore, a lakeside strip of restaurants, cafes and pubs, and grab a healthy breakfast at Local Press Café or a burger from Brodburger, then explore the cute shops in Manuka and Kingston.
Penny University is another cool breakfast spot, and Muse, a bookshop and restaurant at East Hotel, is perfect for a special occasion. You can drop by Public in Manuka for a beer or a cocktail.
Woden is popular with young professionals thanks to its wide range of amenities and affordable rental prices. Westfield Woden shopping centre has everything you need to get started when you arrive in Australia, including food, homewares, clothing and banking.
Specialty grocery stores like Asian Provisions, New Spice World, Spice Market Indian groceries and Mawson Asian Groceries can also be found near Woden. You can check out Stand By Me or Fox & Bow for excellent coffee and brunch. Griffith Vietnamese and Daana Indian restaurant in Chifley serves up authentic Asian cuisine. The Mustang Nepalese restaurant in Farrer is another reliable option, as is Abell’s Kopi Tiam Malaysian in Manuka.
A 20-minute drive south will bring you to Tuggeranong, Canberra’s southernmost area.
In Tuggeranong, the South.Point shopping centre includes grocery stores, a cinema, health services and fashion. Ace High Eatery and Bar is Canberra’s top American-style diner, and Goodberry’s Creamery is a beloved frozen custard dessert bar. Asian Noodle House and Streets of Asia serve classic Pan-Asian dishes at affordable prices.
Community facilities
Woden and Tuggeranong libraries are open seven days a week, with free access to study areas, computers, wi-fi, and printing. In Woden, the English conversation group takes place on Mondays from 10 to 11.30am and Thursdays from 12.30 to 2pm. In Tuggeranong, you can drop in on Mondays from 6 to 7pm.
Tuggeranong Community Health Centre offers a walk-in service on weekdays. Phillip Medical & Dental Centre is open seven days a week and until 10pm Monday to Thursday.
Manuka Swimming Pool is an art deco-style facility with a 30-metre outdoor pool and cafe. Entry is $5 for students. Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre is fun all year round, with an outdoor pool and indoor skating rink. Entry to the pool is $7 and entry to the ice skating rink starts at $15 plus $5 skate hire.
On the Southside there are a range of places of worship, including Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, Uniting, Pentecostal and Greek Orthodox churches, the Canberra Austral-Asian Christian Church, the Canberra Mosque, the Canberra Sikh Association and the Tibetan Buddhist Society.
Unique experiences
At Tidbinbilla, discover Australia’s contribution to space exploration. The Canberra Space Centre is part of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, which participates in NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) to support interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations.
Here, see the largest antenna complex in the Southern Hemisphere, a piece of Moon rock that’s over 3.8 billion years old, spacecraft models, and other memorabilia. The Canberra Space Centre is open every day. Entry is free.
If you’ve ever been curious about what happens to your recyclables after you put them in the recycling bin, you can check out the Recycling Discovery Hub in Hume. Visiting the Recycling Discovery Hub is entirely free, and you’ll learn a lot about what and how to recycle in Canberra. Trust us – it’s an interesting and educational experience!
