Turner

With its signature older homes shaded by mature trees, Turner is home of Canberra's foundation suburbs and is just a short distance from Civic, the CBD, and the capital's major tourist attractions. The O'Connor shopping centre and its al fresco restaurants is a popular browsing spot in the warmer months. Floriade, one of Australia's best-known floral spectaculars, heralds spring in Commonwealth Park which borders Lake Burley Griffin. At the nearby exhibition centre visitors can tune into audio-visual presentations tracing the development of the city. Visitors can also enjoy the lake under their own pedal power or aboard charter cruisers. Canberra's latest showplace, the National Museum, opened its doors in January 2001. But if you fancy something more lively, you'll find Turner is just a gentle jog from the Australian Institute of Sport. The Canberra campus of the AIS is set on 65ha and is virtually a city within a city where , supported by scholarships, elite athletes live and train on site as they prepare their bodies to take on the world's best in their chosen discipline. Regular, guided tours are normally hosted by one of those elite athletes who will explain the ropes while his or her colleagues go through their paces.