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Canberra, like all good Australian cities, calls its youth hostels "Backpackers." There just aren't too many backpackers in the city.

Canberra, the midway point between the Melbourne and Sydney, is the capital city of Australia and the center for politics in the country. The city was designed and planned after a dispute about whether to put the political buildings in Sydney or Melbourne could not be resolved and the compromise reached was Canberra.

Canberra is a city mostly devoted to politics rather than tourism and there aren't as many hostels in the city as in the more popular, coastal destinations around Australia.

Canberra is a planned city, less than a century old, and the most populous inland city in Australia. The federal government is the largest employer in the city and the rest of the city's economy is built around the large number of politicians and policymakers living there.

Canberra is also something of the keeper of Australia's culture; it contains the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia, both good day trips from one of Canberra's hostels. The National Gallery of Australia is the biggest art museum in the country and features collections of art from both Australian and foreign artists and a collection of aboriginal artwork. The building houses over 120,000 works of art and is located next to the Parliament building at the center of the city.

The National Museum of Australia is farther out from the city center, in the suburb of Acton. The National Museum has only been on that site since 2001, and in the demolition leading up to the construction of the museum, several spectators were killed by the unexpected trajectory of some of the debris.

The Museum is now finished, with exhibits on all aspects of Australia's culture and history from the geologic formation of Australia, prehistoric times, aboriginal cultures, the import of British culture, and contemporary Australian culture.

Rooms in Canberra are more expensive than the average "backpacker." A Canberra hostel or budget motel usually sells rooms for 25-30 Euros, with more deluxe accommodations costing even more.

What Canberra lacks in traditional tourist attractions, however, the city makes up for in bars, clubs and local nightlife. Filled with Irish pubs, German bars, and places where you can get everything from Spanish tapas to the best Russian vodka, Canberra's bars compete for local customers and try to inspire repeat business.

Nothing in the city is too far apart, but most of the Canberra hostels are not located in the central business district that houses most of the political buildings. Canberra nightlife is spread out throughout the city, without a central hub where you can be sure that there will be a solid crowd.

Many bars have live music venues where local musicians present their talent each night. Although the bars compete for loyal customers, the dance clubs and underground bars come and go with every trend and it is best to talk with someone on the scene every weekend to find the coolest places in the city.

Hostels in Canberra