Autumn is considered high season in the nation’s capital and it’s little wonder.
As summer subsides and the month of March arrives, the city is transformed by majestic senescing red, orange and gold foliage.
In the following months, the exotic surroundings complement Canberra’s conditions, which are almost perfectly mild for suburban exploration.
If that seems a little over the top, consider that almost 10 per cent of the 5.5 million people who visit the ACT each year do so in April.
That’s post the yearly festival season, which takes in events such as Enlighten from late February and the national Balloon Spectacular in mid-March.
However in May, and as AAP snapper Lukas Coch’s stunning frames illustrate, Canberra is known as “the city in a park”.
Among its favourite destinations for nature lovers and photographers, Lake Burley Griffin offers picture-perfect views in every direction.
Featuring 40,000 trees across 250 hectares, the National Arboretum is also a must-see for those inclined, while a drive or walk through the Canberra suburbs of Ainslie, Braddon, O’Connor or Yarralumla reveals numerous tree-lined boulevards.
As the territory government’s visitor website urges: “Go for a stroll and feel the crisp crunch of leaves beneath your shoes while you enjoy the scenic views.”
While spring is the capital’s busiest season, autumn is highly favoured, with visitors often preferring the cooler, scenic atmosphere and “shoulder-season calm”.
Canberra is widely considered Australia’s leafiest city and was recently ranked among the top five greenest in the world by Britain’s Economist Intelligence Unit.
The ACT government is responsible for more than 834,000 public trees in streets and urban open spaces across the territory and aims to have 30 per cent of its urban environment covered by a tree canopy or equivalents – such as green roofs, shrub beds, wetlands or rain gardens – by 2045.
