The Parliament House

Directions

Reviews of The Parliament House

  •  Local Star   192 reviews
    Ahh, politics, the Xbox you play when you don't have an Xbox. If you're fascinated by the halls, head for the house on the hill with the four-footed flagpole on top. If it's your first day in Canberra and you're still stuck carting your luggage around, you'll be as stoked as I was to discover Parliament House has an enormous free cloak room. Think of it as a prize for if your suitcase or backpack makes it through all the security checks! Further delights await upstairs where there are four large, comfortable couches, located in a delta of convenience - close to toilets and the drinking fountain, and with a view on one side of the garden and a massive awesome painting of some groovy trees on the other. Once you've had a sit down it's time to kick on to the atrium & ventricle of democracy - the chambers of parliament. Unfortunately the staff are heaps paranoid and will make you jettison all your stuff before they let you in to the public gallery, so I wouldn't recommend it if you don't like to be separated from your bag. Also if you're keen to peruse some top-quality Question Time in the lower house I'd advise getting there early to get a flying start on the queue or you'll be stuck watching the boring old senate. If all those pork pies they've been telling in the chambers have given you the hungries, you can cruise on over to the Queen's Terrace Cafe. I was surprised that the prices are quite reasonable given how posh the place looked. The wedges we had were scrumptious, with plentiful sour cream and chilli. If you have a nicotine habit to indulge, Parliament House has a spectacular rooftop smokerie with plenty of soft, gently-inclined grassy areas to lie on. If you're not too tired for the tour, give it a shot - although necessarily boring, it's a fairly quick tour, unlike the two-hour monster you get at the War Memorial, and they do take you by some pretty cool paintings of former Prime Ministers. Apart from the other staff who made me abandon my handbag, the staff at Parliament House are angels. They're helpful and upbeat as well as being knowledgeable about useful stuff like public transport. So, to conclude: Parliament House may not be an episode of Robot Chicken or a game on the Xbox, but it is a pretty good tourist attraction if you like all that political jazz.

    5 months ago

  • SCAMwatch
    SCAMwatch  Local Star   536 reviews
    Nice place to look around and see where our Kevins and our Malcoms lobby for us!

    3 years ago

Similar businesses nearby

© Copyright News Digital Media    •    Privacy Policy     •    Staff Guidelines     •    Terms & Conditions

Feedback Form
Feedback Form