Canberra: Deathly dull at 100?

[Richard ridealgh]

Australia's capital city turns 100 this weekend, but Canberra, like so many other purpose-built capitals around the world, is still struggling to convince outsiders that it has more to offer than political hot air, says Madeleine Morris.

"Canberra: Why wait for death?" was Bill Bryson's blistering judgement in his 2000 travelogue Down Under. "Pyongyang without the dystopia," was the verdict of the Economist in 2009.

If Sydney is brash and bold, and Melbourne is cool and classy, then Canberra, at least in the Australian public imagination, is dull and devoid of soul.

"Canberra: it's not that bad" is the caption on a well-known car licence plate in the capital city. Talk about damning with faint praise.

"My friend put it well - Canberra is like going to grandma's house," says Jenna Clarke, life and entertainment editor of the Canberra Times. "Other Australian cities are doing brash, creative things but here everything is wrapped in plastic. It doesn't mean it's bad. Canberra is just very mature and knows what it's doing."

The rest of this article can be found on the BBC website at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21715754

Have you lived in a city you found boring? If so, tell us what made it dull.

[Richard ridealgh]

I have been fortunate in my life not to have ever lived in a boring place, but to avoid going to one in the future, please tell me where NOT to go!