Australia

Attractions

Canberra

Canberra is often described by Australians who haven't been there as a boring town, full of politicians, bureaucrats - and not much else. But those who go there find a picturesque spot with beautiful galleries and museums, as well as excellent restaurants, bars and cafes.

As Australia's capital, Canberra pulls out the big guns when it comes to sightseeing. Souped-up national versions of art galleries, war memorials and libraries come extra-large and with lashings of grandiose gravitas. The city's impressive sights are ringed around its focal lake.

Adelaide

When the early colonists arrived and began building Adelaide they used stone. They wanted to build a solid, dignified city, a civilised and calm place, with a manner no other state capital in the country could match. Nowadays, much to the wowsers chagrin, pubs and nightclubs outnumber the churches.

The 'city of churches' has a superb setting, with a centre ringed by green parklands and a backdrop of hills. Bouncing between its musuems, fine galleries, metropolitan beaches and historic houses will keep you busy, and then there's daytrips into the Mt Lofty Ranges.

Brisbane

Brisbane has shucked its reputation as a backwater and emerged as one of the country's most progressive centres. It has several interesting districts, a good street cafe scene, a great riverside park, a busy cultural calendar and a thriving nightlife.

Brisbane is known for its showiness - think artificial beaches and tourist arcades - but it also has gracious architecture and tranquil parks. Its galleries and musuems are legendary, and if you need a break from the built environment it's refreshingly close to bushland and wildlife.

Cairns

Cairns shines with the carnival atmosphere of travellers all year round and the city is positively booming. In 2003 the foreshore was given a Hollywood makeover, with lagoons and the spanking Pier Marketplace, equipping Cairns to be a truly international tourist destination.

This juicy chunk of far north Queensland will bamboozle you with its awesome natural beauty both on land and sea. With its lush rainforests and stunning reefs, Cairns' attractions can suit the coddled tourist and the intrepid outdoor types alike.

Darwin

The 'capital' of northern Australia is closer to Jakarta than it is to Sydney, and closer to Singapore than it is to Melbourne, so it should come as no surprise that it looks outward to Asia as much as it looks inland to the rest of Australia.

When Cyclone Tracy levelled Darwin in 1974, she took with her a lot of its streetscapes, but there are still a few colonial buildings to give a feel for what went before. The city's musuems focus on everything from pearling to crocodiles to the night Tracy came to town.

Great Barrier Reef

One of Australia's greatest assets is the magnificent reef that runs along almost the entire coast of Queensland. Considered one of the world's natural wonders, it is the most extensive reef system and the biggest structure made by living organisms on earth.

Hobart

Hobart is Australia's southernmost capital city. The fact that it is also the smallest is the key to its particular charm. A riverside city with a busy harbour, its mountain backdrop offers fine views over the beautiful Georgian buildings, numerous parks and compact suburbs below.

Many say that Hobart's history as a demonically harsh penal colony and the site of some of Australia's worst massacres of indigenous people lingers in the form of melancholy ghosts, lending an eerie chill to the idyllically peaceful honey-stoned colonial buildings and Irish-looking landscapes.

Melbourne

Melbourne is dubbed marvellous for a reason. Healthy hedonism masquerades as high art: Melburnians are equally passionate about football and ballet, fashion and restaurants. They are ravenous for music and hot for theatre. It's a smorgasbord of a city that that you'll want to sink your teeth into.

Melbourne's easy-going pace is perfect for enjoying its gracious Victorian architecture, its green wealth of parks and gardens, and its many cultural highlights. Most of the city's main sights are just a short walk or tram-hop apart, with plenty of latte pick-me-up opportunities on the way.

Perth

Perth is a vibrant and modern city sitting between the cerulean Indian Ocean and the ancient Darling Ranges. It claims to be the sunniest state capital in Australia, though more striking is its isolation from the rest of the country - Perth is over 4400kms (2750mi) from Sydney by road.

Desert the cluttered rectangle of the city centre and go looking for the beauty that makes visitors fall for Perth: Indian Ocean beaches, hillside hideaways, romantic Fremantle, cosmopolitan Subiaco and the select, comfortable suburbs which fringe the Swan River.

Sydney

Sydney is Australia's oldest city, the economic powerhouse of the nation and the country's capital in everything but name. It's blessed with sun-drenched natural attractions, dizzy skyscrapers, delicious and daring restaurants, superb shopping and friendly folk.

Sydney Harbour's sandstone headlands, dramatic cliffs and stunning beaches define the city. But whichever way you look, from the white sails of the harbour to the arc of The Coathanger to the toned flesh on Bondi, Sydney is serious eye-candy.

Uluru

Uluru is the most famous icon of the Australian outback and a site of deep cultural significance to the Anangu Aboriginals. The 3.6km (2.2mi)-long rock rises a towering 348m (1141ft) from the pancake-flat surrounding scrub. It is especially impressive at dawn and sunset when the red rock spectacularly changes hue.