Melbourne, Australia

by Marylyn(SuperNan)
(Donvale, Victoria, Australia)

Melbourne in Australia, the capital city of our beautiful southern state of Victoria, is my Hometown and guess what?

I am proud of it!

To try to compare Melbourne to Sydney or do I need to say Sydney to Melbourne is like trying to compare chalk and cheese.

The two cities run this ongoing city rivalry, been around for years. The rivalry between the cities was the reason that neither Sydney (the oldest city) nor Melbourne (the largest city at the time) was chosen as the capital of Australia when the nation was federated in 1901.

There is an excellent article here at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_regional_rivalries that goes more into detail.

These days it is usually a more social rivalry between the two major Australian cities and most times this is restricted to sporting events such as Rugby and Aussie Rules Football.

Personally, I love Sydney, the Sydney Harbor cruises and the sights and sounds of such an exciting City.

I liken Sydney to a very extroverted teenager with its younger sister, Melbourne, showing considerably more restraint!

What do you think?

Regards,
Marylyn(SuperNan)
www.family-getaways-melbourne.com

Reply

Marylyn, thanks for starting the big debate.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the most beautiful of all?

Of course I love Sydney and I think it is the best city to live in, but Melbourne is so charming, fashionable and sleek ...that I may have second thoughts...but then I remember about the weather...

Aussie mates, what do you think, which do you like more?

Travellers around the world who visited both, which appealed more to you, Sydney or Melbourne and why?

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Melbourne, Australia

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Feb 14, 2011
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The Great Melbourne/Sydney Debate
by: Cherry

As I emmigrated to Australia back in 1988 and lived in Sydney for around 20 years it's obvious I love the place... however Melbourne is without doubt a beautiful city and the shopping is the BEST!

But something funny that I noticed in all the years I lived there, Sydneysiders never have this conversation. The only people who seem to carry on about it are the Melbournians (is that a word?). I guess that people who live in Sydney already know which one is best :)

I moved to Byron Bay some years ago.... now that's another place altogether....

Feb 01, 2011
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Here's my comparison
by: Anonymous

How I see it is basically like this....

Melbourne is Australia's National City, in terms of culture, sport, etc - it represents Australia well and the people are best representative of Australian people.

Sydney is Australia's International City - Sydney is a world city by every measure of the word. It is ranked as an Alpha city by major world survey houses and the 9th most influential city on the planet.

Sydney is the most known city around the world when referring to Australia and it is seen as what is most probably the world's most beautiful city.

In Sydney there is no "Sydney vs Melbourne" rivalry, it rarely gets mentioned. Sydney is often compared to New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Chicago.

Melbourne on the other hand always compares itself to Sydney.

Melbourne goes on about its multiculturalism..., Sydney is the 2nd most multicultural city in the world behind Toronto, Canada.

Dec 19, 2010
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You Forgot Brisbane!
by: Liz Oakes

Now I know Southerners are a bit biased, but maybe you could both be wrong as you haven't considered Brisbane.

Our climate is so much better than either of those other two cities! It not as cold in winter and the summer temperatures are similar to both Sydney and Melbourne.

We have a lovely river winding through our quite beautiful city and we are smack bank in the middle- between the beautiful Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

Either beach areas are only about an hour out of the city. What more could you ask for!

The answer is Brisbane!

Dec 01, 2010
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Marvellous Melbourne
by: Michael Willem

Melbourne is the Sporting, Cultural, Arts, Education, Fashion, Shopping and Dining Capital of Australia, and for 26 years, was the Capital of our beautiful nation.

Melbourne was once the second largest city in the British Empire, second only to London. It was the richest city in the world. Melbourne once boasted the world's tallest building. All thanks to a four letter word... GOLD!

Melbourne is growing twice as fast as Sydney, and is set to become the Nations largest city once again in less than 17 Years. It's no surprise, as Melbourne is one of the top 3 most liveable cities in the World.

It is home to the World's largest tram network, and has more freeways than any other Australian City, with hundreds of kilometres of new freeways planned for construction in the next 30 years.

What we lack in Harbour Views, we make up for with our culture and less-stressed lifestyle.

We have a Paris end, a New York end, and a little China and Greece in the middle! Up the road a bit is the little Italy too! Melbourne is one of the most successful Multicultural cities in the world.

There's no comparing Sydney to Melbourne; to do so would simply be unfair to Sydney.

Nov 28, 2010
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I preferred Sydney
by: Anonymous

I spent 3 months traveling around Australia in 1994, and while both cities had so much to offer I would have to pick Sydney.
I loved all the cozy little cafés and friendly neighborhoods, it just seemed to have a warm feeling. It reminded me a little of Montreal (my home town) which has over 5000 restaurants and coffee shops.

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