Canberra: In the year 1908, the government of Australia selected a spot at random, named it Canberra and went on to make it the capital of the nation. Today, the city (pop. 307,000) has several gardens, lakes and government buildings. The main attractions are the dramatic Parliament House, National Gallery, War Memorial and National Botanical Gardens.
Adelaide: This capital city of the state of South Australia is located on the shores of the gulf of St.Vincent. The city (pop. 1,100,000) has a large number of beautiful Victorian and Edwardian buildings. The major tourist attractions include the botanical gardens, maritime museum, the national wine museum, zoological gardens and the Adelaide central markets. There are vivid displays of aboriginal culture and artifacts, at the South Australian museum and at Tandanya aboriginal cultural institute. The later is a museum as well as a performing art center. Day trips can be made to Barossa valley with its wineries and vineyards, Kangaroo Island that provides camel trekking and bird watching and to the Mt. Lofty ranges.
Sydney: Sydney is a vibrant cosmopolitan city, which has hosted some of the global events like the 2000 summer Olympics and the rugby world cup of 2003. One-quarter of the Australian population resides in this city, which is justly regarded as the .cultural and financial heart. of the entire continent. Sydney has great reputation for its. international cuisine, magnificent scenery and stellar architecture.
Perth: The progressive and neat city of Perth is the capital of the vast state of Western Australia. Strolling by riverside of swan, marketing at Ye old London court, visiting the beaches and the museums and exploration in the underwater world (an aquarium that boasts a 98m underwater tunnel, displaying various marine species) are some of the main tourist attractions.
Brisbane: This is the third largest city of Australia where, around four million visitors flock every year, creating a festival atmosphere. The attractions range from casual cafes, exclusive shops and late night bars to the subtropical forest, wildlife parks and beaches.
Darwin: located on the Timor Sea and the capital of Northern Australia, this port town is surprisingly cosmopolitan. Though a little bit isolated, Darwin is endowed with a large number of good beaches and sights. These include the Museum of Arts and Sciences, Government House (built in 1869), Chinese Temple and Aquascene (to watch the fish feeding at night). Other attractions include the Botanical Gardens, the Mindil Beach Markets (April-October Thursday nights), the Black room at the museum and art gallery (it recreates the horror of the cyclone named Tracy, which slashed through Darwin on the Christmas eve of 1974) and the wildlife parks.
Cairns: Cairns, a thriving city of Australia, was once a sleepy fishing village. The city with a population of 93000 has a soothing downtown, where there are rows of palm lining the grassy boulevard along the waterfront. There are a large number of shops offering touring service to the visitors. There are also many good accommodations, restaurants, fine art galleries and duty free boutique. The nightlife is quite thriving, continuing till dawn. The Great Barrier Reef, the Queens land snow forest and snorkeling and swimming to see the underwater life are some of the choices for the adventure loving tourists.
Melbourne: Melbourne situated on the banks of the Yarra River has a distinctly European feel with Victorian architecture and parks and boulevards spread across the city. However, like old wine, Melbourne slowly spreads its charm through its theatre, shopping malls, unrivalled festival calendar and its world-class restaurants.
Tasmania: This island-state off the country's southern coast has many scenic beauties like unspoiled and uninhabited beaches, sluggish creeks and furious gorges towered by the jagged and often snowcapped mountains. Besides it also has some historical sites for the history loving minds.
Hobart: Hobart is the largest city of Tasmania and also Australia's southernmost capital city. This early 19th century city houses many Victorian buildings. Visitors can go to Van Diemens land folk museum, which is situated in an 1836 mansion, or the maritime museum, located in the Georgian style Secheron house. There are arts-and-crafts galleries, coffeehouses and restaurants in the old sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place. For nightlife, one can attend performance at the Theatre Royal (Australia's oldest 'legitimate' theater) or visit the West Point Casino.
The 'nature'al beauty
Alice Springs: The Alice spring, locally known as .the Alice. is centrally located in the continent, but in the midst of isolation, which is simply the introduction to the glorious Outback of Australia. It has all the trappings of modern life, including indoor malls, fast-food restaurants and scores of tourist shops. One of the most popular events is the annual Henley-on-Todd Regatta, held in the month of September, in which the local residents, on a dry riverbed, race the homemade bottomless boats. Some of the 'must sees' are the royal flying doctor service (this is the head quarter of the fly-in medical service of the outback), the school of the air (the first school of the continent, which taught over the radio) and the old telegraph station. The central Australia museum is the home of this area's geology, natural history and aboriginal art. There are galleries in the museum displaying the quality aboriginal art, which are mostly the creations of local artistes.
Uluru / Ayer's Rock: A glorious creation of nature, this largest monolith of the world is a spectacle in itself. At the time of sunset, when it reflects the burnt-orange glow of the sun, the desert truly seems to be on fire. This rock, called Uluru by the aboriginals, is considered sacred by them and is now a part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta national park. This huge sandstone rock (1,140 ft in height and 9 miles around) is reddish brown most of the time, taking its color from the mineral feldspar. The mostly barren plain that surrounds it and disappears into the horizon makes its presence more powerful.
Great Barrier Reef: Scuba divers. paradise, this Great Barrier Reef extending for about 2000 km., is one of the world's most glorious coral reefs. The crystal clear water, abundant sea life and the multihued outcroppings of coral add to its. scenic beauty. For sports loving visitors, the reef and the in-between islands, as well as the mainland provide a lot of promises of sailing, snorkeling, diving and riding semi submersible crafts and glass-bottomed boats. From the reef, a day's trip can be arranged to fifteen islands, of which the Dunk island, Great Keppel island, Hamilton island, Hayman island and Lizard island.
Kakadu National Park: This park in the northern territory has amazing ecosystems and aboriginal rock paintings. The wilderness extends for about 1.2 million acres and houses innumerable species of birds, ferocious crocodiles and other wildlife.
Kalgoorlie: The gold rush of the 19th century which attracted frees settlers to Australia was initiated with the discovery a gold vein in this small town of western Australia, which contains one of the richest deposits of the world, ever found. The visitors can tour the drifts of the old Hannan's North Tourist Mine. They can also see gold ingots being poured, view the nuggets at the Museum of the Goldfields and go pub hopping in the classic Outback pubs.
The great ocean road: The great ocean road is the route along the south western coast of Australia, which being comprised of the wild seas, fierce wind and spectacular natural beauty, claims to be one of the most magnificent coastal drives in the world. Starting from a few kilometers away from Melbourne, hugging the contours of Victoria's jagged southwest coast, the drive encompasses a stretch between Torquay and Nelson, which is one of the most picturesque. Water falls, rainforest, scenic lookouts and cliffs adorn this stretch. Apart from all the scenic beauties, this region houses some peaceful sea-side