best cities to visit
#2
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,922
Depends on your interests - what do you enjoy doing on vacation? For instance there are some cities that you'd visit not so much for themselves as for their surrounding natural attractions - Cairns, North Queensland, and Hobart, Tasmania spring to mind. Others, like Sydney and Melbourne, contain enough attractions in their own right to spend some days in.
#3
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,922
Another point I meant to make is that Australia's major cities are very widely spaced and travel times have to be taken into account. If you wanted to visit them all you'd be doing the equivalent of flying between the most outlying points of the USA, Alaska and Hawaii excluded.
#4
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,077
There really aren't too many cities to choose from!! Not real cities anyway - I exclude from my count the "City of the Blue Mountains" and "the city of Ryde". That sign going up to Katoomba makes me laugh every time.
The bulk of Australia's population does indeed live in cities - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Canberra.
So - eight to chose from! Honestly, though, a trip to Australia vising just the "cities" is missing the point.
Sydney is one of the great cities of the world - its location is what sets it apart from Melbourne. And its history too, if you are into history.
These two, and Canberra (the capital) are relatively close together (SYD to MLB is a little under 900km), and Canberra is sort of inbetween. Perth is miles from anywhere. Hobart is lovely - but you go there to visit the Tasmanian countryside not really for the town itself.
Some people would call Cairns a city - I don't think so, but it is, of course, the major gateway to one of Australia's great sights - the Great Barrier Reef.
Read up - it might help your planning.
The bulk of Australia's population does indeed live in cities - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Canberra.
So - eight to chose from! Honestly, though, a trip to Australia vising just the "cities" is missing the point.
Sydney is one of the great cities of the world - its location is what sets it apart from Melbourne. And its history too, if you are into history.
These two, and Canberra (the capital) are relatively close together (SYD to MLB is a little under 900km), and Canberra is sort of inbetween. Perth is miles from anywhere. Hobart is lovely - but you go there to visit the Tasmanian countryside not really for the town itself.
Some people would call Cairns a city - I don't think so, but it is, of course, the major gateway to one of Australia's great sights - the Great Barrier Reef.
Read up - it might help your planning.
#5
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,680
Cairns is hardly a city, with a population of only 125,000 spread over some 50kms of coast. But for ease of explanation here I find I have to describe it as "Cairns city" as opposed to such places as Palm Cove, Trinity Beach, etc which are in fact just suburbs of Cairns. Just like Manly or Bondi are suburbs of Sydney, but in a much more minor way.
#6
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 175
I would have to say Adelaide - it is a gracious and underated city.
There are beautiful parks, gorgeous sandstone mansions,pubs with some of the best restaurants in the country, lovely old pubs with wrought iron lace balconys & fun festivals.
It is the starting point for Kangaroo Island, the Barossa Valley and the lovely German towns. Glenelg is a great seaside town wich can be reached by taking the rattly old tram which you board in the middle of the city.
Visit the Migration Museum for the story of SA and the SA Museum to see the opalized fossils and wonderful Aboriginal artefacts.
Have a great holiday.
There are beautiful parks, gorgeous sandstone mansions,pubs with some of the best restaurants in the country, lovely old pubs with wrought iron lace balconys & fun festivals.
It is the starting point for Kangaroo Island, the Barossa Valley and the lovely German towns. Glenelg is a great seaside town wich can be reached by taking the rattly old tram which you board in the middle of the city.
Visit the Migration Museum for the story of SA and the SA Museum to see the opalized fossils and wonderful Aboriginal artefacts.
Have a great holiday.
#8
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 595
Pat + Neil: with 2 weeks in Oz, what do you think about starting in Cairns area 5 nights, Uluru 2 nights, Melbourne 3 nights, Sydney 4 nights.
We'd be flying from place to place. Day tours/on our own wqalking using public transport in each. is this a plan? I'll need to fill in the details later.
Thanks for your input, Susie
We'd be flying from place to place. Day tours/on our own wqalking using public transport in each. is this a plan? I'll need to fill in the details later.
Thanks for your input, Susie
#9
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,922
Susie, I think your plan is do-able and would expose you to a variety of Australian experiences. However, I suggest you take weather into account -what month do you have in mind? Those four destinations occupy very distinct climatic regions. Winter is the best time to visit Uluru, but Melbourne won't be at its best. Cairns is in the wet tropics and naturally some months are better than others. If you run a few searches of previous threads on this forum you'll find a lot of practical advice on this and other issues.
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