Amazing Australian Cities

Every year the Economist Intelligence Unit's livability survey looks at conditions in approximately 130 cities around the world and Australian cities are always in the top ten!!

In 2002 Melbourne was number 1, Perth 4 and Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane a shared 6th position.
In 2005 Melbourne slipped to number 2 (still not bad on a worldwide scale), followed by Perth (5), Adelaide (6), and Sydney (7)
With such high praise for Aussie cities you will simply have to visit them to see for yourself why they rank so high!

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and has a population of just over a million people. It is a clean and friendly city and well located with beautiful beaches in Glenelg, plenty of parkland, some beautiful green hill country inland and also the famous Barossa wine growing region nearby.

Glenelg, Adelaide's beachside suburb

Nearby offshore there is Kangaroo Island for some spectacular wildlife spotting. The Adelaide Festival Centre is South Australia's major performing arts venue and is the focal point for the biennial Adelaide Festival of the Art, three weeks of more than 2000 artists from 27 countries, drawing crowds of more than 700 000.

Brisbane

Brisbane, by locals known as Brizzie or Bris Vegas, is the capital of Queensland and has a population of 1.6 million people. It is Australia’s third largest city after Sydney and Melbourne and used to be regarded as an oversized country town by residents of the bigger cities but this image has improved after hosting a multitude of international events, one of them the 1988 World Expo.

One of Brisbane's many historical buildings

Nowadays it boasts a great social, cultural and cafe scene, a busy nightlife and a great climate. Though Brisbane does not have beaches like Sydney, it has the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and the rainforests of Lamington national park on its doorstep, and the islands of Moreton Bay just offshore.

Cairns

Cairns is the scuba diving capital of Australia and located at the end of the Bruce Highway and the last city on the long trek up the east coast, further north you'll find only a handful of small towns in the 1000 or so km. to the top of Cape York.
It is the main arrival and departure point for north Queensland and a base for exploring the region as Cairns is surrounded by attractions; the world famous Daintree/Cape Tribulation rainforest (oldest in the world) to the north, the Great Barrier Reef to the east, Misson Beach to the south and the Atherton Tablelands to the west.

Hides Hotel in Cairns Cityplace, the centre of the Lake St. shopping mall.

Cairns was started in 1876 and is now the scuba diving capital of Australia and located at the northern end of the Bruce Highway. It is the last city on the long trek up the east coast, further north you'll find only a handful of small towns in the 1000 or so km. to the top of Cape York.
It is the main arrival and departure point for north Queensland and a base for exploring the region as Cairns is surrounded by attractions; the world famous Daintree/Cape Tribulation rainforest (oldest in the world) to the north, the Great Barrier Reef to the east, Misson Beach to the south and the Atherton Tablelands and outback to the west.

Canberra

Canberra was started in 1911 when arguments between Victoria and New South Wales on who should house the Australian government and be the nation's capital could not be resolved so a third place was chosen, the first parliamentary meeting in the new capital city was held in 1927.
Due to its fairly recent establishment and efficient planning it lacks somewhat in character and is considered by some Australians to be the most boring city in Australia. Despite this they receive more than 1.25 million visitors a year stay more than one night and on our "What to do" page you can see this reputation is undeserved and there is lots to do.

Parliament House in Canberra, home of the Australian government

Canberra houses the government and is best known for public servants, the 2003 bushfires, relaxed drug laws and being the base of the nation's porn industry, due to legislation they find this the easiest place to operate from. There is no other industry to speak of here so anyone you meet from Canberra will either be a politician or a pornstar, not that there's much difference in that, one will do anything for money and the other will do anything for votes, which will then also bring in money.

Darwin

Darwin lies at the northern end of the Stuart Highway and is the capital of the Northern Territory, it is named after the English naturalist Charles Darwin. Nowadays it is a modern city but not so long ago it was still a large outback town with, due to the hot climate, the highest beerconsumption of any city in the world. It is very cosmopolitan though there are no ghettos of certain nationalities like in some of the bigger cities and the international mix of people becomes evident at the many markets in Darwin where you can find cheap eats from almost any country you can think of. The city is also surrounded by beautiful beaches and enjoys spectacular sunsets. Within a few hours drive of Darwin you find spectacular national parks like Kakadu, Litchfield and many other attractions.

Historic old sandstone pub in Darwin city centre

Darwin is known for beer drinking and crocodiles and hardly a day goes by without some news on crocs in the local paper, though most crocodile attacks seem to occur on locals that ignore the basic safety rules. Luckily at TIO Insurance you can get crocodile insurance.

Hobart

Hobart is the capital of the island state of Tasmania, located at the mouth of the Derwent River on the south-east coast. It was established in 1803 and early in its history it was a major whaling port and shipbuilding centre. More recently the city has come to function as the main administrative and commercial centre of the State. It has a population of about 130,000, which is about 40 per cent of Tasmanians. The small size of the city, the riverside location, the busy harbour and the beautiful historic buildings all add to its charm.

Hobart is the Australia’s second oldest capital city, the gateway to Antarctica and homeport for Australia’s only icebreaker, Aurora Australis, and the destination for one of the world’s toughest blue water classics, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, which arrives shortly after Xmas turning the city into a big party zone.

Melbourne

Melbourne is after Sydney Australia's largest city and home to over 3 million people. It is the capital of the state of Victoria that is home to 26 per cent of Australia's population. It is built on the the banks of the Yarra River and the shores of Port Phillip. While also built around a harbour like Sydney, unfortunately it has no famous land marks like Sydney's Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Melbourne skyline seen from the Yarra river

Melbourne started out as a plot of land bought from local Aborigines for flour, tools and clothing by John Batman ( no relation to the lifesaver in the movies) in 1835. By 1851, only 15 years later, the population had already increased to 80 000 people and six million sheep were grazing the surrounding country. In 1851 the place was officially declared as the British colony Victoria and became the largest and richest settlement in Australia as a result of its proximity to the vast goldfields of Ballarat....

Perth

Perth is the capital of Western Australia, Australia's largest state that takes up a third of the country. It has a population of around 1.4 million people and enjoys more hours of sunshine than any other capital city in Australia. It is the world's most remote city ( it is closer to Singapore and Jakarta than it is to Canberra!) and is well laid out and easy to get around,also it has a warm sunny climate and clear blue skies.

In the city you will find riverside and beachside restaurants and cafes, free inner city public transport, colourful port city of Fremantle and a ferry to Rottnest Island.
Around the city, within a couple of hours drive, you can visit the famous Margaret River wine region, see massive trees in forests, see surfies in action on the waves, swim with dolphins in their natural environment, or see some desert at The Pinnacles.

Sydney

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is Australia's largest and most famous city and well known for its landmarks; the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach and as the venue for the 2000 Olympics and the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras .

The Sydney Opera House, one of Australia's most famous landmarks

Sydney started out as a colony of prisoners in 1788 when Arthur Philip landed at Sydney Cove with a few hundred prisoners and has since grown into a sprawling metropolis of around 4 million people. It offers a huge range of attractions to the many visitors that land here each year and even has excellent beaches, most famous of them all Bondi and Manly. Also it has a few National Parks bordering the city so if you want to escape the city the bush is never more than an hour or so away. To the west of the city lie the Blue Mountains and a little further inland you will find the Hunter Valley, famous for its wine growing and tasting. Sydney offers something of interest to everyone, from history to a bustling nightlife to nature based activities and general sight-seeing.

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