Chances are that you will be flying direct to Sydney or Melbourne when you visit Australia, so what's the difference between the two cities? As a Sydneysider I love this advertising pitch to make Melbourne our Capital (sorry Melbourne).
There is a friendly rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, similar to New York and Los Angeles in America. Our Capital, Canberra, lies between Australia's two biggest cities, because we couldn't agree on which one should be our Capital. Melbourne is about 800-900 kilometres south of Sydney, or about a day's drive, and is therefore colder, and is infamous for its weather that we make fun of, constantly.
For much of Australia's history, Melbourne was Australia's biggest and richest city, which today is Sydney, so I'm sure it still rankles them down there. Melbourne would like to think they are more sophisticated, cultured, and cosmopolitan. Certainly, its easier to get around in Melbourne, and more thought has obviously been put into the planning and layout of the city.
I'll be doing some more blog posts on Sydney and Melbourne, however in the meantime you can view some of my old posts using the search engine, particularly our outback trip via Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road to the Northern Territory.
