National Carillon

Rising from Aspen Island in Lake Burley Griffin, this slender tower holds one of the world's largest musical instruments, a set of tuned bronze bells played from a keyboard. It was a gift from the British government to mark Canberra's fiftieth anniversary and was inaugurated in 1970. Three tapering columns of pale concrete house the bells, which ring out recitals across the lake on weekends and public holidays. A footbridge links the island to the shore, and the surrounding lawns are a popular spot to listen to performances while looking back.