Things to Do on a Rainy Day in Canberra: Best Indoor Activities and Venues

Canberra sits inland and at altitude, so it runs cooler than Australia's coastal capitals, with cold, frosty winters, occasional fog and the odd grey, drizzly stretch in any season. The upside is that the city is unusually rich in indoor things to do for its size. Many of Australia's flagship national institutions are clustered around Lake Burley Griffin and the Parliamentary Triangle, several of them free, and they are some of the best wet-weather refuges in the country. Here is how to spend a cold or rainy day in Canberra, sorted by the kind of place and the area it sits in.

Free national galleries and museums (Parliamentary Triangle)

This is the obvious move. A cluster of major national institutions offer free general admission, so you can duck between several in a single afternoon. They sit close together around the lake and the Parliamentary Triangle, which keeps walking between them short when the weather is poor.

• National Gallery of Australia holds the world's largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and is easy to lose a few hours in. See nga.gov.au/visit.
• National Museum of Australia, on the Acton peninsula, tells the country's social and natural history. See nma.gov.au/visit.
• National Portrait Gallery is compact and rewarding. See portrait.gov.au/visit.
• Australian War Memorial