A city by city guide to Australia's most famous cities

A country as large and diverse as Australia is rich with different vibes, which make the best sense when you look at it as a patchwork of different lands. And the city in which you touch down plays a strong part in shaping your view of what Australia is.

All the gateway cities have distinct personalities. Of the big two, Sydney’s harbour and attractions make it the glamorous option, while Melbourne’s strengths lie in its buzzing laneways, foodie fanaticism and festival scene. Further north, laid-back Brisbane is a hive of activity but it also acts as gateway to the healthy-living Sunshine Coast, while Gold Coast airport is gateway to the aptly named coastline of endless golden beaches. Meanwhile, Cairns is all about fun in the sun, surrounded by Unesco World Heritage-listed rainforests and on the cusp of the Great Barrier Reef making it the only place in the world where two heritage sites meet.

Perth brings Indian Ocean beaches, sunny blue skies and a gleaming skyline, while historic Adelaide savours its world-class wine regions. The increasingly cool capital Canberra is home to several of Australia’s best museums and is surrounded by nature. Then Darwin, at the top of the Northern Territory, has an endearing tropics-meets-Outback character and is the hub for trips into rugged national parks. Australia has many flavours – and by picking the right gateway you can tailor the menu to your own taste.

Sydney

Sydney’s new harbourside hotspot is Barangaroo, just to the west of the historic Rocks district. The cherry on the top is the newly opened Barangaroo House, a striking circular building that does something slightly different on each level. The ground-floor House Bar is designed to be casual and affordable, with rotisserie lamb and chicken. The flair cooking comes in at Bea on the second floor, with a focus on indigenous Australian ingredients, while the rooftop Smoke is the spot for cocktails and schmoozing.

The harbour city has also given itself a sizeable splash of colour. The Vivid Sydney festival, held usually in mid-May and June, features city buildings – including instantly recognisable icons such as the Sydney Opera House – turned into art installations. Artists are let loose with light shows and projections to turn Sydney into a blaze of colour. And if the lights draw people in, then the series of linked concerts, talks and interactive technology demonstrations keep them there.

Melbourne

Melbourne’s big-city boisterousness is increasingly being complemented by regional Victoria’s new additions. The Mornington Peninsula, for example, has become a world-class food, wine and indulgence retreat, with the likes of the Point Leo Estate heading the charge. Here, the 50 acres under vine and tastings at the cellar door are part of something much bigger. There’s also fine dining, helmed by an executive chef who has worked in some of the country’s top restaurants, a sculpture park and fine sea views.

To the west of Melbourne are the wildlife and hiking trail-packed Grampians, also home to the Royal Mail Hotel. Regularly cited as one of Australia’s top restaurants, it’s proof that country can do classy. It has recently opened an offshoot, Wickens, that has been designed to show off the mountain views. Five- and eight-course menus are served while you look out from the decking and menus are dictated by what’s growing in the kitchen garden.

Brisbane

South-east Queensland has some tremendous beaches but Gold Coast Boutique Tours is determined to show that there is considerably more to the region. Its small-group tour offerings include heading to the waterfalls and cute country towns of the Gold Coast Hinterland, wine tours around the region’s increasingly respected wineries and trips out to peacefully pretty Stradbroke Island. The emphasis is on picking out beauty spots that might easily be missed while driving around in a hire car.

Meanwhile, to the north of Brisbane, near one of the world’s great turtle hatcheries at Mon Repos, the ZEN Beach Retreat makes the most of its extraordinary position. Right on one of Queensland’s glorious wild, pristine beaches, the villas vary in look from Asian and elegant to French and romantic. But the real magic is in the experiences offered. These range from day trips to southern Barrier Reef islands Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot, to rum-blending and craft beer-making sessions.

Cairns

The gateway to the Great Barrier Reef will has seen a luxury injection over the last few years. A new resort in a 12-storey, photogenically curvy tower at the end of the Esplanade boardwalk, Riley will be the first of three new properties from the Crystalbrook Collection. The target is those who like their five stars to be a bit playful. That’ll mean four restaurants and bars, a 1,037-metre lagoon pool with private beach and cocktails on the rooftop. Head inland, though, and you will be able to sample the outback without roughing it.

The Mount Mulligan Station, 100 miles west of Cairns, features a series of cabins kitted out to five-star standard. As with similar working cattle stations turned into experiential resorts, such as El Questro in Western Australia, the emphasis will be on activities. These are likely to include birdwatching, bushwalking, quad-bike tours, horse riding and cattle mustering.

Darwin

Go expecting a rough-and-ready outpost and Darwin will surprise you. It has strong Asian and bohemian influences, along with an endearing arty streak. It’s the last of these on which the Art, Walk, Eat tour focuses, heading into Aboriginal art galleries where the different styles of indigenous painting are explained, and the shop of a photographer who makes extraordinary landscape pictures. There’s also a considerable trove of public art, including specially commissioned works inside the supreme court, that is explored between bites in local restaurants.

If eating is the prime motivation, then the Taste of Kakadu Festival between 24 and 26 May 2024 is a celebration of indigenous foods, whether barramundi fish or the vitamin C-rich Kakadu plum. Events held in the Kakadu National Park include fishing cruises, foraging missions, pictured left, ancestral stories beside the campfire and pop-up dining near key park landmarks. A bog-standard food festival it is not – this is very much done the Top End way.

Perth

Rapidly developing Perth is being complemented by developments in Western Australia’s south-western corner. These include the WA Surf Gallery at the Aravina Estate winery. The gallery is packed with evocative old photos and explores the surf culture that sprang up in the region during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Back then it was isolated and independent, but now the world has come to realise that the likes of Margaret River and Yallingup are home to some of the planet’s greatest surf breaks.

The south-west is also making better use of the Bibbulmun Track, one of the world’s great long-distance walking routes. Walk Into Luxury doesn’t take on the full 623-mile trek but its four-day package samples some of the most stellar sections. It takes in the Torndirrup, West Cape Howe and William Bay between Albany and Denmark, with stays at two of the region’s top boutique properties and time to indulge thoroughly in the local food and wine after a not entirely hard day’s hiking.

Adelaide

Surrounded by the likes of the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, Adelaide is one of the world’s great wine tourism bases. Innovative winemaker d’Arenberg in the McLaren Vale has gone several extra miles with the unveiling of its Cube cellar door. Like a giant glass Rubik’s Cube, it offers activities such as a varietal identification masterclass and a blend-your-own-bottle experience.

Elsewhere, there’s a wine inhalation room, a 360-degree video room and an Alternate Realities Museum full of mind-tricking art installations. If the Cube is transforming wine-tasting, then CABN is changing accommodation. These slickly designed, off-grid, timber and glass tiny houses are placed in areas of natural beauty and have been designed to help visitors relax, rediscover and reconnect. One in the Adelaide Hills comes with solar power, an indoor gas cooker and a king-size bed. Food packages can also be arranged.

Canberra

Canberra’s museum collections are absorbing and exhibitions change regularly. Immerse yourself in many masterpieces from the National Gallery of Australia.   

The National Zoo and Aquarium, meanwhile, has introduced something different with the Jamala Wildlife Lodge. Accommodation is spread over three five-star hubs, decorated with African safari panache. The Giraffe treehouses are positioned for feeding giraffes from the balcony, while the jungle bungalows have just a glass wall between guests and bears, cheetahs or tigers. The uShaka Lodge offers close encounters with lemurs and monkeys.

Come and Say G’day

Every great adventure starts with that one little word.  So join us down under to a place where the water’s warm and the welcome even warmer. Come on, what are you waiting for? Come and say G’day.

Plan your trip at australia.com

Audley Travel is a tour operator with more than 25 years’ experience in creating meaningful travel experiences. They understand that what motivates you to explore is deeply personal. A trip to Australia with Audley is created completely around you, from the experiences you have to the places you stay. 

Audley’s award-winning Australia specialists have a deep connection to Australia that can only have come from living or travelling there extensively, so you can rely on them as the dedicated experts who’ll craft your plans into the Australia trip you’re imagining. They won’t just ask you how you want to explore, they’ll ask you how you want to feel and create experiences that will stay with you long after you return home. 

Start planning at audleytravel.com

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