No, seriously. I’m Sydney born and bred. Hopefully I’m not biased. It’s a good city, I think, but not perfect, and as time goes by it’s becoming the same as all the other cities I’ve been to, which in turn, are becoming the same as each other.
It is frequently compared to San Francisco, but having never been to the latter, I have no idea how accurate that is. In a sense, it’s also like a smaller New York in that everywhere else in the country thinks it’s full of shit, and even the locals often don’t disagree with that assessment. Sydney isn’t really in Australia.
The city is in a geographically quite pretty/beautiful/stunning (use whatever superlative that corresponds to the beers you’ve had) location, but frankly, once you’re away into the suburbs, you could be Anywhere, USA.
If you have more specific questions, I’ll attempt to answer them for you.
I spent a month there once. It was nice, nothing really stood out as foreign though. Like TheLoadedDog says, some parts were much closer to parts of the US then either were to my part, Brisbane really reminded me up upper Florida. San Francisco’s a lot colder then Sydney though. Whereas the UK and Ireland both had a strong sense of foreignness when I visited.
I would recommend taking a train up to Brisbane for a few days. Lots of countryside to look at and it wasn’t too expensive when I did it and it provides more variety.
Went there once. I really enjoyed it. I’d recommend getting away from Sydney, though, to experience more of the ‘real Australia.’
If you go on the Sydney Harbour tour, bring binoculars. Nude beaches!
I went up to Cairns for some scuba diving. Excellent. The people, too, up there were really quite nice. Much fun.
And, drink? Hoo-boy. Them Ozzies do loves them some liquor.
I sat in a bar and watched a cricket match between Australia and New Zealand. There were both Ozzies and Kiwis in the bar, and the banter was loud, constant, and hilarious…and actually much friendlier than, say, a Vikings/Packers game being viewed by Minnesotans/Cheeseheads.
I’ve been twice, and enjoyed myself immensely. Sydney and Melbourne are bustling, cosmopolitan cites with great architecture, impressive museums,beautiful parks, and friendly people. Further afield, the towns reminded me of small-town America before the arrival of the superhighways and strip malls…Tasmania even more so. And, of course, there’s so much rugged, natural beatuy there. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Sydeney is actually a bit of a dump. It’s fine if you are looking at the harbour but if you turn around and look inards it is an ugly, decaying city. Brisbane, on the other hand, is a lovely town - in fact if you are looking for an SF comparision. then Brisbane with it’s hills, it’s much more rleaxed lifestyle and it’s mix of architecture is a much better comparison. And it’s amuch friendlier town than Sydney.
The best Aussie holiday, I think would be a liesurely drive up the Queensland coast from Brisbane to Cairns, ducking inland at Townsville. You’ll see it all.
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Sydney wasn’t bad. There are some “must sees” there for tourists, but not being fans of big cities, we were ready to leave after our four days there.
I’ve never been to Melbourne or Brisbane, except to change planes.
We only sampled a few other places in Oz, so my picture of the country is rather incomplete. We stayed on Heron Island for a while, which is a part of the Great Barrier Reef. We then spent several days in Tasmania. The latter felt the most “foreign” to me, but this was because of the flora and fauna. We were literally wading through docile marsupials near Cradle Mountain there. Highly recommended, if you’re into that sort of thing.
P.S… We visited there before I was a Doper… If we were to go there today, there’s likely to be a Doper or two who happily toss back a few VB’s with you…
I think you’d feel it’s a little foreign if you’re satisfied with “We talk funny and drive on the wrong side of the road.” You’d probably find it a bit British just as the Brits find it a bit American. Of course, it’s entirely possible to spend the entire time with other tourists and only eat at McDonald’s, so the level of foreign-ness is up to you. I’d say you should see Sydney, but a couple of days should do it. Then maybe pick another city. I’m not a big fan of Brisbane because it’s too small to be a ‘real’ city, and too big to be quaint and interesting, but that’s just my opinion after a short time there. A lot of people like it, but I’m just not a fan of that size of place. I like Melbourne a lot - it’s big, but is somehow more Australian than Sydney. Have a look at the Blue Mountains (this one’s an easy and cheap day trip from Sydney), and then go to the outback for a whole lot of big sky and far horizons. Try Broken Hill. Be sure to stay in a country pub.
Never been to either, but I think the answer is yes and yes. I know that for Perth, I’ve never once known a person to come back from that city and say they don’t like it.
Go to Queensland if you want to hear people speak anything remotely like Steve Irwin.
I’ve never been to Australia, but I hung out with plenty of Aussies in the UK, and as a group they’re some of the best, friendliest, hardiest people I’ve ever met. Any country that produced that many great people has got something going for it. (Though the eagerness with which those same great people leave Australia in droves does give one pause…)
I spent a week in Sydney, but it was awhile back, in 1968. I had a fantastic time. Everyone was very friendly, especially the women.
I had intende to get out of town for a day or two, but never made it.
Great town.
Perth is on my ‘must see’ lists as well, but interestingly in Australia, it is often cheaper for those of us who live on the east coast to spend a week in Thailand, Bali or Fiji than it is to fly to WA and spend any length of time exploring.
For me, after reading Dirt Music by Tim Winton, I have suffered an insatiable urge to travel the west coast from north to south. I will get there one day.
We spent three weeks in Far North Queensland - Cairns to Cooktown. If you are into natural history, birds, coral reefs, rainforests… it is a dream come true. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
We got out of Sydney as fast as we could, but I liked the botanical gardens there. In fact, the botanical gardens in just about every town are fantastic.
Never did see a cassowary, though - so I have to go back!
