Entertainment in Canberra
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A
Hippo Bar
This cosy lounge bar is popular with young cocktail slurpers who file in for Wednesday-night jazz – the turntable rules other evenings.
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Academy
The original movie screen of this former cinema dominates the crowded dance floor of this nightclub with frenetic, larger-than-life visuals. Head to the Candybar cocktail lounge if you want to take it easy.
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Parlour Wine Room
Modern banquettes share the polished wood floor with well-stuffed chesterfield lounges in this contemporary take on the Victorian smoking lounge, located in the same building as the Diamant Hotel. Views over the lake complement the list of local, Australian and international wines, not to mention the killer cocktails.
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Canberra Stadium
The Canberra Raiders are the home-town rugby league side and during the season (from March to September) they play regularly at Canberra Stadium. Also laying tackles at Canberra Stadium are the ACT Brumbies rugby union team, who play in the international Super 14 competition (February to May).
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ANU Union Bar
A mainstay of Canberra's music scene, the Uni Bar (on the ANU campus) has energetic live music bouncing off its walls and into the ears of sozzled students up to three times a week during the semester. Significant student discounts usually apply to gigs. It's also a good place for a game of pool and a drink.
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Phoenix
Regulars don't think twice about coming back to this pub after rising from the ashes of the night before, and we love it too. It's a staunch supporter of new local musos, and has a mellow atmosphere, rustic decorations and armchairs that incline you towards pondering life for the night.
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Trinity Bar
Sleek, DJ-equipped Trinity has fine vodkas, martinis and cocktails to sample, plus beer pulled from ceiling-hung taps. Look for the deep-red lighting and the tri-stripe symbol on the wall – they’re the only signs directing strangers to this out-of-the-way haunt.
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Tilley's Devine Cafe Gallery
People of all ages breeze in and out of Tilley's cool, clean-air interior, with its scuffed furniture, dark booths and eclectic menu of local and international musicians and comedians. It also does poetry nights, writers sessions and great cooked breakfasts.
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Kingston Hotel
The Kingston is a blue-collar pub with very basic pub rooms (each with a double bunk and shared bathrooms). It's a noisy and lively venue where you can throw a steak on the grill in the bistro, wrestle a poker machine or join the crowd at the bar.
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All Bar Nun
This popular bar, languishing comfortably in suburbia, has a diminutive interior tailor-made for crowded carousing, and tables appealingly sprawled all over the sidewalk. It also has a decent selection of snacks and light meals.
reviewed
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Cube
Revellers throw themselves onto the bed-sized lounges to take a break from the dance floor at this hetero-friendly gay club, which goes from relaxed games of pool in the early evening to riotous partying well into the wee hours.
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Knightsbridge Penthouse
It's about as chic as Canberra gets – which is surprisingly chic. This opulent den of a bar is cleverly illuminated by optic fibres and serves dishy cocktails to dishy folk. It's New Orleans Gothic meets Bret Easton Ellis.
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Wig & Pen
This little brewery and pub has its two-room interior packed out on Friday nights by thirsty office workers who also enjoy the hearty pub meals ($10 to $12). It produces several styles of beer, including real English ale.
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Icbm & Meche
Young drinking crowds attend this clubbing complex, with the music-blasted bar icbm downstairs and the dancehall Meche upstairs. Hosting the odd international DJ, the complex diversifies with Wednesday comedy nights.
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Muddle Bar
This bar in the Melbourne Building fills with lively after-office drinkers who get stuck into the happy-hour cocktails and the sophisticated bar snacks with alacrity.
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Transit Bar
Tucked under the youth hostel, this bar stocks an excellent range of international bottled beers and live music from hip-hop to punk by local bands and overseas acts.
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Southern Cross Stadium
From October to February, catch the super-successful women’s basketball team, the Canberra Capitals, at Southern Cross Stadium.
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Canberra Theatre Centre
This centre is the hub of live theatre in Canberra and the dramatic goings-on range from Shakespeare to Circus Oz and Indigenous dance troupes. Information and tickets are supplied by Canberra Ticketing in the adjacent North Building.
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AIS Training Hall
The AIS, compatriots of the super-successful women’s basketball team, the Canberra Capitals, play at the AIS Training Hall.
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PJ O’Reilly’s
For a Guinness and Irish-themed schmaltz head to PJ O’Reilly’s, endearingly referred to by the locals as Plastic McPaddy’s.
reviewed
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Dendy Canberra Centre
Canberra's newest cinema is also the last bastion for independent and art-house cinema in the city. Tuesday is discount day.
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Belgian Beer Cafe
With 33 bottled Belgian beers and five on tap, this is the place to quench a thirst and educate a palate.
For a Guinness and Irish-themed schmaltz head to PJ O'Reilly's, endearingly referred to by the locals as Plastic McPaddy's; the Durham Castle Arms, a cosy village-pub wannabe in the middle of cafe-filled Kingston; or King O'Malley's, where there are cheap, hearty meals and free live music nearly every night.
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King O’Malley’s
King O’Malley’s serves cheap, hearty meals and has free live music nearly every night.
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Durham Castle Arms
A cosy village-pub wannabe in the middle of cafe-filled Kingston.
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Greater Union
This venue screens mainstream releases. Other multiplex cinemas can be found within Canberra's various suburban shopping malls.
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