Belconnen

Belconnen is a largely residential outer district of Canberra in the northern part of the Australian Capital Territory. For shopping enthusiasts, Belconnen has an abundance of shopping precincts, restaurants, and clubs, making it a quieter alternative for those who don't want to mingle with the crowd in the city.

Get in

By car

From Civic, the easiest way to get into the town centre is to use Barry Drive which heads northwest from the city until Belconnen Town Centre. Otherwise, from North Canberra, head west onto MacArthur Drive, which eventually merges with Barry Drive, becoming the Belconnen Way.

From Tuggeranong, Weston Creek, Molonglo Valley or Woden, use Tuggeranong Parkway (an unnumbered freeway) up north and exit onto Belconnen Way and turn left from there until the town centre.

By bus

The main bus lines to Belconnen are the R2, R3, R4, R8 and R9 lines. The R2, R3 and R4 lines all come passing by Civic, while R9 goes towards Watson, the northernmost suburb in North Canberra. The R8 is an express service to Gungahlin.

There are five major ACTION bus interchanges in Belconnen; 1 Cohen Street Interchange, 2 Kippax Interchange, 3 Belconnen Interchange, 4 Westfield Belconnen Interchange and 5 Spence Terminus. With the exceptions of Kippax Interchange and the Spence Terminus|, the R2, R3, R4, R8 and R9 lines all make a stop at these interchanges. At the Kippax Interchange, only the R2 line passes by while at the Spence Terminus, only the R3 line passes by.

See

Most of Belconnen's attractions are within its town centre.

• 1 Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Leverrier Crescent, Bruce, ☏ +61 2 6214 1111, fax: +61 2 6251 2680. The AIS runs tours a couple of times a day. The tours are usually run by in-residence athletes. See the training areas and find out about the development and strategy of the facility. At the end of the tour there are interactive exhibits to try various sports. The pool here is open for public access during certain hours. $15.  

The Big Owl in Belconnen

• 2 Belconnen Art Centre, 118 Emu Bank, ☏ +61 2 6173 3300. 10AM–4PM (closed Mondays). An art centre with a variety of exhibitions, workshops and includes a shop too. The art centre's exhibitions are highly seasonal though, so sometimes you may only see one exhibition while you may see two or three during others. (updated Feb 2022)
• 3 The Big Powerful Owl (Owl). A sculpture eight-metre tall, and one of Australia's many big things. According to some, the back of the sculpture resembles like male genitalia, and as such the sculpture has been prone to graffiti before, so don't be surprised if it's vandalised. (updated Feb 2022)
• 4 Cameron Offices, 60 Chandler St. There's not much to this building, and you certainly can't go inside it, but if you're into architecture, these offices that are now partially demolished are a perfect example of brutalist structuralism. The office used to be used by the ABS, but got partially demolished in 2007. However, it has now preserved for its heritage values. (updated Jun 2022)
• 5 Strathnairn Arts, 90 Stockdill Dr., Holt, ☏ +61 2 6254 2134, info@strathnairn.com.au. Th–Su 10AM–4PM. A small, not-for-profit art gallery in a tranquil 1920s homestead with many of Canberra's artworks that are often "best kept secrets". There's a full list of upcoming exhibitions on the art gallery's website, and the precinct also includes a cafe too. Free. (updated May 2022)

Do

• 1 Big Splash Waterpark, 1 Catchpole St, Macquarie, ☏ +61 2 6251 1144. Daily 11AM–5PM (summer only). Canberra's only waterpark that opened in 1969 as a simple public pool. At one point in time, it only contained a kids pool and a simple 50-metre pool, but the venue has since expanded and features five pools and nine waterslides (sure, it's not a lot when you compare it to the Gold Coast, but it's Canberra, a small, inland capital city, not a party beachside city). (updated Feb 2022)
• 2 Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium), Battye St, Bruce, ☏ +61 2 6256 6700, CMTEDDGIOStadiumCanberra@act.gov.au. Canberra's largest sporting venue with a capacity of over 25,000. It's the home ground of the Brumbies but otherwise home to many footy (both rugby football and Australian rules football) matches. (updated Jun 2022)

Buy

Malls and shopping centres

• 1 Belconnen Mall (Westfield Belconnen), Benjamin Way. An enclosed shopping mall owned by Westfield in the Belconnen Town Centre to the north. Although it does not have as many clothes stores, it features a Myer department store, a K-mart, two supermarkets and a food court. It has three levels. (updated Feb 2022)
• 2 Jamison Centre (use ACTION bus route 32 from Belconnen town centre and Civic). An older version of the Belconnen town centre, but with fewer shops, dominated by major supermarkets and chains like Coles and Aldi. It is also here where the Trash and Treasure Market is held every Sunday. (updated May 2022)
• 3 Kippax Fair Shopping Centre, 26 Hardwick Cres, Holt, ☏ +61 2 6254 8620. Daily 7AM–9PM. A rather small single-storey shopping centre with 59 stores, though it looks a bit dated. However, that should not come to a surprise given it was established in 1974, which was around when Belconnen even started to develop. (updated May 2022)

Markets

• 4 Belconnen Markets, Lathlain St (off Benjamin Way), ☏ +61 2 6251 1680, fax: +61 2 6251 7721. W-Su 8AM–6PM (some stores are open 7 days a week). Thursday's is senior's day with 10% discounts. 
• 5 Jamison Market, Bowman St., Macquarie. Every Sunday near Jamison Centre, in Belconnen. Fresh produce stalls and flea market. Come and get your bargain. Vinyl records, second hand clothing, furniture, bric-à-brac. (updated Feb 2022)
• 6 Trash and Treasure Market, Bowman St., Macquarie. In Belconnen is hosted by Rotary and held every Sunday morning. Expect a mixed bag of books, plants, and assorted household junk. (updated Feb 2022)

Other

• 7 Asia Bookroom, 1-3 Lawry Place, Macquarie, ☏ +61 2 6251 5191, books@AsiaBookroom.com. Tu-F 10AM-5PM, Sa 10AM-5PM. Specialises in new and second hand books on Asia, including rare books and academic works. (updated Jul 2017)

Eat

Mid-range

• 1 Bella Vista Restaurant, 84 Emu Bank, ☏ +61 2 6253 2266. A high-end mid-range Italian restaurant specialising in Southern Italian cuisine with some nice waterfront views. (updated Mar 2022)
• 2 Dumpling Inn Restaurant, 1/1 Lawry Place, Jamison Group Centre, Macquarie, ☏ +61 2 6253 2268. Excellent Chinese food with Yum Cha lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Very popular with locals but a booking might be required. 
• 3 Pho Hub, 39 Benjamin Way, ☏ +61 2 6251 0367. A Vietnamese restaurant specialising in Southern Vietnamese cuisine. Typically has what you can expect to find in most takeaway Vietnamese restaurants, but bookings may be required. (updated Mar 2022)
• 4 Pide House (Turkish Pide House - Belconnen), 2 Lawry Place, Jamison Group Centre, Macquarie, ☏ +61 2 6251 3325. Nice, inexpensive Turkish food in a proper restaurant (not a takeaway outlet). The outside might seem a bit unappealing, but the food is worth the price. (updated Feb 2015)
• 5 Ramen O, 1F/54 Benjamin Way. A good Japanese restaurant that is particularly known for its Kyushu style Japanese noodle soup. (updated Mar 2022)

Drink

• 1 Lighthouse Pub, 80 Emu Bank, ☏ +61 2 6253 0390. A pub with some good waterfront views of Lake Ginninderra along with some good food and drinks too. (updated Mar 2022)

Sleep

• 1 Abode Belconnen, 3 Grazier La, ☏ +61 2 6220 0355. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. A medium sized hotel that includes a pool, a restaurant and a gym. Rooms are fairly spacious, but the area isn't necessarily quiet, though. (updated Mar 2022)
• 2 Mercure Canberra Belconnen, 59 Cameron Ave, ☏ +61 2 5104 3000. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. Located near the Belconnen Town Centre, this Mercure has a restaurant and about 150 rooms. Unfortunately, the rooms are not the most spacious and reflects the size seen more at a motel. From $153. (updated Mar 2022)
• 3 Ramada Encore Belconnen (Premier Hotel & Apartments), 110 Benjamin Way, ☏ +61 2 6253 3633, toll-free: 1800 672 076, info@premierhotelcbr.com.au. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. Though it's is located a bit not-on-the-beaten track, the rooms here are quite large, spacious and the precinct includes free parking. The motel has standard rooms, deluxe rooms and two bedroom apartments, and is situated within walking distance of Belconnen Town Centre - useful if you need to visit one of the offices situated there (e.g. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Australian Bureau of Statistics, etc.) However, maintenance issues have been a problem here, but take it for what it's worth. From $160. (updated Mar 2022)

Connect

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all have good coverage here, mostly with 5G networks though a bit sketchy here and there.

There are several locations with CBR Free public Wi-Fi.

Routes via Belconnen

Yass ← Hall ←	NW A25 SE	→ North Canberra
Gungahlin ←	N GUNGAHLIN DRCASSWELL DR S	→ Woden-Weston Creek → Tuggeranong
END ←	NW  R2  SE	→ North Canberra → Civic → Fyshwick
END ←	NW  R3  E	→ North Canberra → Civic → Canberra Airport
END ←	NW  R4  SE	→ North Canberra → Civic → Tuggeranong
END ←	SW  R8  NE	→ Gungahlin
END ←	W  R9  E	→ Dickson Shops → Watson
END ←	NW  C3  SE	→ North Canberra → Civic
Tuggeranong ← Woden-Weston Creek ←	S  C5  C7  NE	→ Gungahlin