SYDNEY
Sunny, seductive Sydney is a high contender for the
title of the world's most ideal city. It is slick and
smart, the streets are clean, the neighbourhoods and
busy pedestrian precincts pristine, the parks sublime,
the water in the huge harbour blue, and the landmark
buildings breath-taking. Sydney's population is
approaching five million, but it is easy to leave the
frenetic urban pace behind with just a simple ferry ride
to the North Shore for a bush walk, enjoy a stroll along
the harbour beaches or take any one of a number of
daytrips to explore the 'real' Australia on the city's
doorstep.
Just like its characteristic white-sailed Opera House,
Sydney seems to cruise effortlessly through nights and
days filled with myriad entertainment opportunities,
sophisticated shopping, memorable museums, and strings
of beautiful beaches. Visitors find it exhausting to
take it all in, even though the tourist precinct where
most of the interesting attractions are to be found is
concentrated in quite a small area around the down-town
waterfront and harbour area.
The fact that Sydney is a thriving seaport and
industrial city has been cleverly concealed behind
attractive pleasure and leisure grounds and residential
suburbs, making full use of the scenic, watery
geographical location. The harbour area is dominated by
the span of one of the world's largest arched bridges,
backed by towering skyscrapers. It is all a far cry from
the remote penal colony established by the British back
in 1788.
Another plus for visitors is that compared to most big
cities Sydney offers excellent, reasonably priced food,
accommodation and public transport. The city has an
excellent suburban rail network, with its hub at
Circular Quay in the city centre, and full use is made
of the waterways with ferries and passenger jet boats
plying to and from various points. |