srgogurl

I'm headed to Sydney in March for 7 days. I'm a first-time visitor and will be going alone. I'd like to visit one other city besides Sydney and cannot decide. I'm not a diver/snokeler, so Cairns is probably not an good choice for me. I like cultural activities, hiking/walking tours, meeting people, and shopping. Any suggestions?

alise

how much time do you want to travel to get to this other city?

can you afford to fly?

We spent a solid 5 days in Sydney and still missed out on a lot

another 2 days of our stay there included day tours to Blue Mtns and Canberra but you don't get to walk much with the tours and have limited time. they were a nice overview and gave me enough info to know I wanted to go back and spend more time in both of those locations at a future date.

scurry

After answering Alise's great questions, I would consider Melbourne if you can.

It's a great city that is unbelievably different from Sydney. Doing both would give you a great perspective on Australia's culture.

srgogurl

Hi there! I can afford to fly to the other destination, but would not want to travel longer than 3-4 hours to get there. What's special about Melbourne? Not being wise, I'm just uncertain. It seems a lot like Sydney, but without all the neat landmarks.

John71cove

srgogurl:

I'm with scurry. Melbourne is about an hour's flight from Sydney and a world of difference. What's special about Melbourne? Go and find out.
John

Tammi

I also vote for Melbourne. It's my favorite city, and very different from Sydney.

scurry

In my opinion, where Sydney is most like an American city, I have been sitting in a Melbourne restaurant and sworn I was in Europe.

If you like "cultural activities, hiking/walking tours, meeting people, and shopping" both cities have gobs of it -- both great, but both different.

Alan

Hi, srqoqurl!
Well, it seems that Melbourne is the almost unanimous choice, so let me be the first dissenting voter. I would choose another city, because I find that Melbourne weather is just too unreliable unless you stay there long enough to be sure of some good days. They have a LOT of drizzly days, even though I don't think March is a particularly bad month for this.
But my vote is Canberra. Reasons:1. It is VERY close to Sydney (a half day overland travel), so it will allow you to spend more time in Sydney and environs, so you can indulge your passion for bushwalking in the Blue Mountains, and also do the Spit Bridge to Manly walk. You'd probably have to leave at least one of these out if you decided to visit one of the "farther" cities. 2. You can go easily by train or bus, so you won't have to muck about spending half a day getting to and from airports, which is becoming a more tedious task every year... with only seven days, do you want to spend much of it doing that? 3. Canberra is much smaller than Melbourne, so you can see virtually everything in two days. 4. It is full of cultural activities: museums, the National Art Gallery, the Film Archives, Parliament House. There's something to see on every corner. 5. Not many overseas tourists go there. 6. It's inland, and will thus make a better contrast to Sydney than will Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide, all of which are fairly close to the coast. 7. You can stop off at one or two country towns on the way down or back, if you decide to hire a car... so you will see the "real" Australia.
Hope this has given you something to think about.

Tammi

I disagree, lots of overseas visitors go to Canberra, as I did. Canberra was ok, but I doubt I'd go there again.

Srgogurl, I would do some online research or travel guide book research to decide what's best for you...

stevew

Greetings srgogurl

We have been lucky enough to go to Oz twice in the past 2 years and spent a week in Sydney each time. Lots to see in Sydney and the surrounding area. You just can't see it in a week. There are many walks, such as the Manly Walk, Bondi Beach, there is a point North of Sydney with a fabulus view near a light house.

From Sydney you can take the train to the Blue Mountains, another great place to walk. If you like caves and things, consider Jenolin but that is quite the drive from Sydney, but you can hire tours.

We have been to other cities as well, and everywhere we went we made lots of friends. Everyone is very friendly and out going.

We are going back next August again, and plan to visit Melbourne this time.

Where ever you go, I am sure you will have a fantastic time!

Cheers and enjoy a VB Schooner for us!

Steve

Daneille

You say that you like cultural activities, hiking/walking, meeting people and shopping - then Melbourne will be your best bet. Melbourne has great shopping precincts - Collins St, Chapel St, Bridge Road, The Victoria Markets to name but a few. Melbourne has some of the best restaurants in Australia with whole streets devoted to particular cuisines (if not whole suburbs) - Richmond for Vietnamese, Carlton for Italian, Lonsdale St in the city for Greek and so on.

The small and major art galleries in Melbourne are terrific and there are some great hiking etc located not far from the city centre.

It is our sporting capital - Melbournians just love sport - any type of sport so in March you may just catch the beginning of the AFL footy season (which shouldn't be missed and is entirely cultural) or the very end of the cricket season.

Melbourne has been set up for its funny weather so there are a lot of indoor things to do and you do have to look below the surface to really get the best of Melbourne. It is not like Sydney where it is all just laid out on a platter for you so to compare it is a travesty.

marg

Hey! What's this about Melbourne's weather. Beginning of spring and blue skies and temperatures of 20 degrees - not bad.
Seriously, March is usually fairly reliable with the weather - should be very warm and dry. The Moomba festival is held in early March - usually the second weekend so there is a lot to see and do around the city that weekend.
Some great art galleries and museums, Queen Victoria market is the best if the country, some beautiful gardens all within easy walking distance of the city.
Take the ferry down the river to Williamstown - old port area. Take the tram to the Esplanade at St Kilda on Sunday for arts and crafts market and people watching. Try the restaurants - Chinese in Little Bourke Street, Vietnamese in Victoria Street, Italian in Lygon Street - best choice of restaurants anywhere.
The National Trust run some excellent walking tours of Melbourne - try their website for info.

srgogurl

Great advice!! I'm going to do some research on the cities mentioned and then make a decision. Thanks so much. You guys are a great resource.

Clifton

Melbourne really is a nice walking city. The way the city embraces river running through it and with the bridges over it really do make it feel quite European. Especially with all the Victorian architecture (Flinders Station, etc). Just about any walk is a good one, especially the walk up the the Shrine of Remembrance. There are lots of close in shops and Euro-style arcades around Bourke St. The Princess Theater is very nice too. Excellent safe tram and rail system.

Outside of the city center, the Melbourne zoo is one of the best I've ever seen. All narrow gravel paths and tree ferns making a canopy over you as you walk. Animal enclosures tucked up in between the trees. Very cool. If you have a car, there's a bunch of places to go on day trips. Great Ocean Road, Philip Island, Healesville, Dandenong Mts, Ballarat, Bendigo.

Melbourne is very much into the arts thing. Very cosmopolitan. I thought this was a pretty good shot of the Yarra riverside and Flinders.

http://www.garylynch.net/gallery/melbourne/yarrabank2

KathyNZ

Marg has summed it up beautifully and Melbourne also gets my vote.
I hadn't been to Melbourne for many years until last year and i was so impressed and lots to do and the trams are marvellous, I wish we still had them here. The restaurants are great as is the casino, a lot of fun and shopping is the best in Australia.

Janese

Why do so many people think that Cairns and places around are only for snorklers and/or divers? The countryside alone is a reason to go there. The World Heritage listed areas of the Daintree and Cape Tribulation are most certainly a must-see. The reef is the most spectacular in the world and can be seen from semi submersible subs and or from viewing rooms below the water or from planes. Walking on the reef at Green Island at low time is interesting too. Spending a couple of days hiking around Hinchinbrook Island is a fantastic time spent. The Aboriginal culture of North Queensland is very different from anything else and the shopping in Port Douglas is too.
However if that is not what you want to do then my vote would go to Hobart and surrounds, you have a lot of colonial history down there, beautiful areas for hiking, natural beauty, fabulous markets at Salamanca Place on a Saturday and Tasmania is reknowned for its beautiful, fresh and different food. But to have its best is just to go down to the Pier at night and sit outside with something bought from the seafood place - Fish Frenzy - which will be cooked right and nice and fresh from the catch that day. Finally it will not break the budget either and goes down well with a bottle of Tasmanian boutique wine.
No there is nothing wrong with Melbourne but everywhere you go there you will find something similar about it compared with a lot of other cities in the world. Nothing makes it stand out alone and I can't think of anything outstandingly different from any other cities in the world. For what its worth, I prefer Brisbane to Melbourne. Sure Melbourne is a sporting place but unless you are into Australian Football or there for particular car races or the Melbourne Cup (horse racing) then the sport leaves me for dead. AND sorry folks but those Melbourne Markets are dreadful - they are commercial and each row offers the same as the last one. Nothing different or interesting there I am afraid.

Alan

I have to agree with Janese here... no, there is nothing wrong with Melbourne, but..... didn't you notice that when the above posters started telling you how great it was, the examples they gave were all pretty mudane: "good shopping" (you mean there are things on sale there that you can't buy in Sydney? They are mostly the same stores: Myer, David Jones, Coles);"beautiful gardens" (agreed, but surely not so much better than the Botanical Gardens in Sydney that you'd catch a plane to look at them!)"trams and trains" (the trams are quite fun, but mainly to Sydneysiders, because we don't have our tram system any more, and most of us wish we did); "nice walks along the river" (ever been to a city that DIDN'T have a river?), and so on. Sorry, but I don't think any of these things are great boasting points, even though I hasten to admit that they are all quite true. And, yes, the architecture of Flinders St Station is impressive, but only if you happen to be there anyway... you wouldn't go there to see it! Ask me why you should visit New York or London or Paris or even Sydney and I feel I could come up with a list of compelling reasons, but I don't see anything compelling in the above recommendations. Melbourne is pleasant... but a bit "ordinary". Agreeing once again with Janese, I think, all things considered, I prefer Brisbane; at least there you can look at all the pretty girls in their light summer gear!
Oh, and by the way, the people who said how great the art galleries were there.... don't forget that the National Gallery, the ONLY Art Gallery in Australia that can stand up with galleries anywhere in the world, is in Canberra. Ditto the Museums; the Australian Museum in Canberra is the best in the country, no question. They have rivers and a lake in Canberra, too, and there are LOTS of walks around the lake!
Don't make up your mind about Melbourne too quickly. You're coming a long way, and you deserve to see the very best this country can offer. Listen to Janese.

simpsonc510

I've been to all of the capital cities in OZ. I'm sorry to say that Melbourne is at the bottom of my list! Sydney is absolutely #1, then probably Adelaide as I found it extremely charming and much like a "little country town" with 1.3 (give or take) million people. Great for walking, and interesting winery areas nearby. There's the old tram to Glenelg (beach) and the zoo...
Perth, so remote, lovely park, nice town for walking, and of course Fremantle. I took the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth and enjoyed this trip very much... but it took 3 days+ to get there.
I really enjoyed Darwin too, but it's also remote and another longer flight from Sydney. Darwin is closest to Kakadu, which is awesome! If you like nature, this is the place to be! When I was there, we had no TV, no phones, just peace and quiet and lots of listening to nature! This was 1988 and before the Crocodile Hotel. It was under construction.
I was in Brissy twice, once for the worlds fair and once on a business trip. I did a lot of walking, and ended up with sore ankles from the up hill and down! But it's a nice city as well. I like to take public transport to Surfers Paradise for the beach.
I found Canberra to be interesting as the capital building is somewhat of an "underground" berm building with grass on the roof where you walk. The common people can be "above" the legislators... great concept!
Hobart was very interesting, with the big orange Antartic-bound ships in port during the winter months. The prison at Port Arthur is "ghostly"... took the ghost tour in the dark and heard stories of ghostly sightings! OOOOOOh!
And then there's Melbourne. Yes, it's great for walking, but I found the weather to be awful! In my 5 trips down under, I've never returned to Melbourne, but I ALWAYS spend a week in Sydney and then divide the rest of the time between Adelaide and Cairns, usually.
Carol
(one of these times I'll get my hubby to join me on one of these trips!)

Daneille

I suppose one might ask the question of srgogurl - is it European culture you are interested in - art, opera, architecture etc, or our aboriginal culture?

If it is the latter then none of the major cities will satisfy, you will be better off to get into the outback and our wilderness areas - Uluru (Ayers Rock), Alice Springs etc - known as the top end. You may see a didgeridoo player at Circular Quay in Sydney or some aboringinal art in the galleries or souvenier shops in the cities but this isn't really aboriginal culture.

srgogurl

Danielle,
My response would be a mix of both (if this is possible). I'm quickly discovering that I don't have nearly enough time in Australia! I will not even be scatching the surface of things to see in the areas suggested.