Canberra is technically the capital of Australia. It is a new city designed by a US Architect and since 1927 Australia's Federal Government has been based there (more than half the people living in Canberra are public servants), but Melbourne and Sydney still register as the capitals of Australia culturally and financially, in the Australian psyche. Most people outside of Australia think that Sydney is the capital, if they have even thought about it at all.The design of Canberra allows for lots of public space and integration with the surrounding hilly countryside, with artificial lakes and large plantings of exotic trees, and lots of winding roads connecting disparate suburbs. However it is not visited much by tourists, except to visit national institutions or to buy fireworks, porn and marijuana all of which are available in Canberra due to a more liberal legal code than exists in other Australian states. Otherwise Australians' dislike of politics and authority generally makes Canberra a no-go area. Canberrans seem to like this.