If you walked down King's Cross, Paddington and Oxford Street, where would you be? London? And then, if you looked around and saw a towering white building, billowy and beautiful, curving up like the pristine sails of an old-time sailing vessel ? With an unbelievably blue sea beyond, and a bright sun shining up above? No; this isn't London, and London could probably never match the sheer exuberance, the completely uninhibited liveliness of this city: Sydney.

`The Queen of the Pacific Rim', Sydney is Australia's largest- and oldest- city. Ever since Captain Cook dropped anchor at Botany Bay, way back in 1778, Sydney's been an important city. Whether it's hosting the 2000 Olympics, or welcoming visitors from across the world, this is one city which manages to combine a little bit of everything. It's a city of Aborigine art galleries, of golden beaches and of pulsating nightlife; a cosmopolitan city where Asian, Greek, Italian and Oriental cultures fit neatly into one irresistible package.

Sydney. So easy to fall in love with, even its waterfront is called Darling Harbour.