Top 10 Things to See in (and around) Perth

Australia’s most far-flung major city, Perth is a modern metropolis of almost two million, the capital of Western Australia, and is deservedly becoming one of the country’s top spots to visit. Traditionally viewed as a backward outpost of sorts, today Perth boasts all the amenities of any major city, and then some. With an ideal tropical climate and proximity to beaches, forests, islands, wine country, and surfing, there is something here for every type of traveler. Here are some of our favorite spots in and around the greater metropolitan area that are well worth putting on your must-see list (in alphabetical order):

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Brisbane – Five Top Sights

Sydney, Melbourne, and Gold Coast are the cities that come to mind when people think of Australia. But it would be a shame to forget Brisbane! The seaside city of 2.2 million offers plenty to see and do, a relaxed lifestyle, and an abundance of energy. These have combined to make it one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The city launched its new slogan at the beginning of 2014 — Give me Brisbane any day. After spending any amount of time here, you’ll be sure to agree. If you do decide to visit, make sure to hit up these five spots before heading back home.

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Big City Transit: Sydney, Australia

Sydney is a world-class city with a variety of public transport options you’ll need in motion. The offerings are a little bit underwhelming (though entirely adequate), with no dedicated underground service and LRT routes that keep opening, closing and opening again along new arteries. While you may hear locals complaining about the rising specter of traffic or a confounding shortage of taxis, the truth is that visitors don’t really feel the pinch when it comes to Sydney’s public transit woes. By all rights, the city has you covered via road, rail and sea.

If you're planning a go-wherever-you-feel-like tour of Sydney vs. a more regimented itinerary, you’ll almost certainly save money with the MyMulti Day Pass. Pay a flat rate and enjoy 24 hours’ access to all of the following:

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Five Great National Parks: Australia

Australia’s diverse ecosystems are among its headlining attractions, and you could spend years just exploring the national parkland on this island continent. Of course, no one has time to see them all, so we’ve compiled a list of five great national parks in Australia. Just plan on doing a lot more than cooing over the adorable koalas (though, to be fair, there’ll be time for that, too).

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City insider: Sydney Summer Fun

For many westerners, Christmas and New Year's Eve are typically associated with snowfall, chestnuts roasting on open fires, mulled wine, and generally being cold. In Australia, it's the middle of summer – this year predicted to be one of the hottest – and the open fires are hopefully restricted to barbecues charring festive flavor into sausages and steaks (and chicken for the vegetarians).

While it might seem jarring to those from the northern hemisphere to spend this time of year trying to avoid sunburn rather than snowstorms, Yule time in the "sunburnt country" is the best time to visit. Sydney – a notoriously grumpy city in winter – comes to life in the warmer months, outdoorsy activities come to the fore and there's a summer schedule of activities that includes music festivals, the performing arts, markets, cricket, and more. Many events are staged around the jewel in the city's crown – Sydney Harbor – giving you more of an excuse to enjoy Australia's brilliant summer weather.

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The Blue Mountains: Australia’s most famous sisters

A short drive from Sydney’s outer metro area are the Blue Mountains: an undulous range of sandstone escarpments, gorges, rivers, rock formations and waterfalls, all covered by a thick carpet of eucalypt-scented Aussie scrub. From the best vantage points in the area, these mountains seem to stretch on forever.

Part of the Great Dividing Range – the world’s third-longest mountain range, and a thing of great national  pride and beauty – the Blue Mountains get their name from the purpleish hue of the eucalyptus trees, as noted by the area’s early colonial explorers: Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson.

How this trio managed to navigate such unforgiving terrain – they were the first colonists to cross the range – is inconceivable. This serene yet treacherous area, like much of the Australian bush and outback – still regularly takes the lives of visitors through falling, drowning, starvation, and overexposure.

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The Illawarra – suburban Australian coastline

Australia often gets ribbed for having indecipherable slang, an impenetrably twangy dialect and silly-sounding place names. Nothing could be more true of the Illawarra region – an hour's drive south of Sydney – where the main city of Wollongong is referred to almost exclusively by locals as 'The Gong' and townships are called things like Bulli, Windang and Fairy Meadow.

Easily accessible by road or rail from Sydney, the Illawarra is a string of suburbs flanked by long sandy beaches on one side and thick, mountainous bushland on the other. This is 'real' suburban Australia, where hamburgers have beetroot on them, every service station sells meat pies and hot chips are seasoned with chicken salt.

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Australia: Insider Guide to Lark Hill Quarry

Few attractions can accurately be classified ‘unique’, but one that deserves that word is the offbeat Aussie attraction Lark Hill Quarry. An hour from the rural town of Winton, deep in the Outback of Australia's Queensland state, the site is well off the tourist trail.  

Frozen fear

Far from just a bunch of stones, the inland Queensland attraction has an amazing claim to fame. It served as the stage for the world’s only recorded dinosaur stampede, which unfolded some 95 million years ago.

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Australia's Tasmanian Devils

The weird thing about Tasmanian Devils is that, close-up, they look like pussycats. Scratch that – they look like overgrown mice. It’s those big floppy ears.

But if you were allowed to adopt and keep a Tasmanian Devil as a pet, you would regret it because, sooner or later, the little darling would go for you. Tassie Devils aren’t called Devils for nothing.

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australia: sydney 5 great cruises

Since the 2000 Olympics, Sydney city has climbed in cost and faded from fashion. Still, the Australian city retains some formidable attractions – not least the world’ most attractive harbour network. 

Any ride on a chunky green ferry integrated into the public transport system beats the bus by a mile. 

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