Take-Aways

Melbourne or Sydney? It’s a tougher question than you might think and one I do not fail to ask everyone I meet. The variety of response is spectacular. To people’s loud and enthusiastic “Melbourne hands down” I get an equal “Sydney is so beautiful”. To describe Sydney, I have heard everything from boring (this from a woman from Hong-Kong infatuated with Tokyo”), uppity, stressful (this one from an Irish girl from Tipperary and no less biased), annoying, high-strung (as though that were possible in Australia) and “just another big city”. All these make me rather look forward to it and like it in advance. As for Melbourne, it gets no less a damning description to my ears. I get: relaxed, quite cool, chilled out and pleasant, all of which by Australian standards sounds pretty boring and makes me want to go there even more. In the end it’s really about what is more important to you. Beach and finance (Sydney) or food and art (Melbourne). I have to say Melbourne reminded me more of London. The set up, the weather even. There seems to be lots going on or maybe that was just because I happened to end up in the Latin quarter, in Fitzroy. It’s an elegant city with a remarkable natural harbour, a theatre district, a Chinatown and a Greek town. The South bank is similar to London’s with cafes all along the water’s edge, the opera house and, unlike London, a casino. In the heart of town, in Federation Square, a series of bunker, camouflage buildings house the performing arts and exhibitions. It’s an attractive jumble of styles and buildings that also include a skyscraper, a church and a train station. A short ferry ride away takes you to Georgetown which makes you feel like you have been teleported to Brighton except that you have a Manhattan in the background in the guise of the Melbourne CBD. Right opposite and another ferry ride away is St Kilda: beachy, trendy and chilled out. Sydney on the other hand looked like New York but without the people or the energy. It’s smart, laid back, quite elegant and much smaller than I thought. The harbour is outstanding and the bridge and the opera house closely cluttered together. It’s beautiful, organised, utterly devoted to the sun and the sea and ever so slightly too quiet. The eastern beaches are very residential and Bondi is breathtaking and very tame. To be fair though, seeing the city was not my only priority in getting to Sydney. I was visiting beloved friends you have moved there from London and are now making the other side of the world their home. So maybe it is too early to settle the Melbourne vs. Sydney question. It warrants further exploration and many more visits (hint, hint to friends) ;)