There is a question that many Australians seem to want answered. Which city do you prefer, Sydney or Melbourne?
I found Sydney to be bright, bustling, brash and cocky…. and it appears to sprawl over the landscape for miles around. The city does have open spaces, but the design appears less ordered than Melbourne, leading to an impression of slight chaos…
Sydney is iconic in its setting, the harbour forms the focal point of the larger city, even those parts that seem to be nowhere near the centre! And quite rightly too. In a Scandinavian sort of way, the bay, inlets and islands greatly increasing the water frontage available. Also, the ferries make perfect sense as a means of transportation. Fortunately, although the ferry network reduced in size after the uptake of the car, the ferries remain today to allow the passengers to travel relatively stress free, and relatively "green"…..
Sydney is iconic… and it has plenty of them. Not least the Bridge and Sydney Opera House, which are both even more impressive than their reputations makes them to be. The many beaches fronting onto the Pacific Ocean (or is it the Tasman Sea…) are also impressive. Not that I ventured into the sea. That would be mean I would have to have bared my pale English skin, and needed to find a pair of budgie smugglers….
Two questions remain: Why on earth do all souvenir shops in Sydney assume that a visitor would want to buy a pair of Uggs?
and
Sydney or Melbourne?
I can answer the second question this way. Both cities definitely have many positives, and I enjoyed both of them very much. After a few days in both, my observation is that Sydney thinks it is the best city, but Melbourne knows it is.
Some icons...
