Sydney, The most populous city in Australia, should be on your to-go list when you decide to get yourself an Australian tourist visa. Its most famous tourist attractions include the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It does not matter whether you are a lover of urban lifestyle or a laidback lifestyle for you to enjoy the city.
Some of the places that make Sydney a city you should not miss going include:

1. Sydney Olympic Park

Sport plays a significant role in the Australian culture and the Sydney Olympic Park houses modern sport venues. It is the home of the Best Games Ever and the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Moreover, there are so many things that you can do and enjoy in this Olympic park. You can bike your way to explore the more than 35 kilometers of off road cycle paths around the Olympic venues, Bicentennial Park and along the Parramatta River. You can also take a walking tour around the park that includes entry to the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre and the 17th Floor Observation Deck. The Olympic Park is open daily at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2. Harbour Bridge

Sydney would not be Sydney without this famous bridge. You cannot afford not to climb the summit of the bridge and take a look at Australia’s favorite waterway or you can go kayaking under the bridge.

3. Opera House

Indeed, the Sydney Opera House is one of the architectural wonders of the world. If you cannot get a ticket for a performance, you can take a tour where your guide will take you to the stories behind the world renowned architecture and engineering or just wander around if you want to take a closer look at this famous building. The house is open for daily tours from 9 am to 5 pm daily.

4. Taronga Zoo

The city is also the home of Taronga Zoo which houses more than 2,900 exotic and native species that include rare Western Lowland gorillas, Sumatran tigers, snow leopards, Kodiak bears, chimpanzees, and Asian elephants. Unleash the kid in you or get your kids to see the animal shows, one of which is the popular Free Flight Bird Show. It is held in the zoo’s amphitheatre that offers panoramic harbour views. You can cherish the experience forever and at the same time help to the efforts of the Zoo in caring for wildlife and natural world by getting souvenir items ranging from pocket money toys to exclusive home wares.

5. Sydney Wildlife World

Another chance for you to experience the Australian wildlife is by going to the Sydney Wildlife World. You can have breakfast with the ever lovable koalas or get a chance to hold a cockroach as big as your hand. A good time to visit is when the animals are most active, that is, during animal feeding times. You get to see a first-hand look at poisonous snakes feed on mice or colorful birds feed on live insects and fresh fruits.

by: Jo Alelsto

To say that Melbourne is cosmopolitan is an understatement. For one thing, Australia’s second-largest city is home to more people of Greek descent than any other city except Athens. In fact, nearly a third of Melbournians were either born overseas or have parents who were born overseas. What this means to you the holiday maker is the chance to savour a uniquely international Australian experience.

One of the greatest pleasures of a visit to Melbourne is the opportunity to sample its cosmopolitan offerings. Where else in the world can you sip an espresso in Little Italy, shop in Chinatown and wander through Little Vietnam all in one morning? And you still have the rest of the day to dine at Greek restaurants and savour Turkey, India and the Middle East in the Brunswick district.

The city’s Greek Precinct situated in and around Lonsdale Street has its origins in the 1930s. Today the area is home to Greek restaurants, cafes and cake shops along with travel agents, book and music stores, and specialised shops that provided wedding and christening garments..

Melbourne’s Chinatown is Australia’s oldest, dating back to the 1850s gold rush years. It began as a few shops and boarding houses in Celestial Avenue to cater for arrivals from southern China. Today’s Chinatown is a vibrant, colourful place jammed with shops and restaurants.

There’s a Chinese Museum in Cohen Place with five floors of exhibitions and the Tianjin Garden houses a Chinese pavilion, rockery and water garden.

Italian immigrants once favoured the inner-city suburb of Carlton. Though many have moved to the suburbs, this leafy stretch lined with Victorian terraces still house scores of Italian shops, cafes and restaurants. It’s a fine place to go for an espresso or a full Italian meal.

The Vietnamese have made Victoria Street into their community and the area’s famed for its good, cheap food including pho (noodle soup) and spring rolls.

If you arrive in Melbourne during one of these many festivals you’re in for a special treat. Chinese New Year is a time of gongs, fireworks and gambolling dragons, Divali the Hindu festival of lights a time of flickering candles and oil lamps, and the Lao have their own dignified Buddhist celebrations.

If you want to learn more about Melbourne’s cosmopolitan history, visit the Immigration Museum. Here you can find out all about the city’s multicultural past and present. The museum is located in the restored Old Customs House building which was formerly the gateway to a new life for those who aspired to make Melbourne their home.
Author: Richard Greaves