Australia Highlights

Perth rises on the banks of the Swan River, the sunny and laid-back capital of Western Australia and Australia's most isolated city, yet surprisingly cosmopolitan. The green heart of the city is Kings Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world, which from the heights of Mount Eliza offers sweeping views over the skyline and the river. Along the waterfront, Elizabeth Quay enlivens the riverside with restaurants, bars and art installations, while the centre blends modern skyscrapers with colonial buildings and historic arcades. A short distance away, the historic port of Fremantle preserves a bohemian atmosphere of markets, microbreweries and Victorian architecture facing the Indian Ocean. The urban beaches of Cottesloe and Scarborough, with their golden sand and surfer-loved waves, set the pace of the relaxed local lifestyle. Offshore, Rottnest Island invites visitors to explore turquoise coves by bicycle, in the company of quokkas, the small marsupials that are the island's symbol. Inland, the vineyards and cellars of the Swan Valley round off the food and wine scene, with tastings, artisanal produce and seafood cuisine. Perth reveals itself slowly, beneath clear skies, amid open spaces and the Indian Ocean ever on the horizon.

Adelaide spreads in orderly fashion between the Mount Lofty Ranges and the waters of Gulf St Vincent, capital of South Australia laid out on a grid and ringed by a belt of parklands. Its elegant heart is North Terrace, a boulevard of museums lined by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the Botanic Garden; just beyond, the Central Market brims with cheeses, spices and produce from the surrounding countryside. Nicknamed the “city of churches”, Adelaide pairs an easygoing rhythm with a lively dining scene, from cafés along Rundle Street to acclaimed restaurants. All around lie some of the nation’s most famous wine regions — the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills — while a short ferry leads to Kangaroo Island, a wildlife sanctuary. Sophisticated yet human in scale, Adelaide is best savoured slowly, over a glass of Shiraz and a sunset by the sea.

Capital of the State of Victoria and Australia's cultural heart, Melbourne is an elegant, creative city repeatedly ranked among the world's most liveable. Spread along the banks of the Yarra River and overlooking Port Phillip Bay, it mixes skyscrapers and Victorian architecture, tree-lined boulevards and a network of historic trams that set its daily rhythm. Melbourne's charm is best discovered on foot, getting lost in its laneways: hidden alleys such as Hosier Lane, covered in street art, or AC/DC Lane, home to independent cafés, secret bars and design boutiques. The city boasts one of the world's most sophisticated coffee cultures, and every corner of the Central Business District reveals a new roastery or a stylish brunch spot. Along the Yarra, the Federation Square complex gathers museums and galleries, while the National Gallery of Victoria holds the country's most important art collection and the Royal Botanic Gardens offer a green breath in the centre. Melbourne is also Australia's capital of sport and major events: it hosts the Australian Open tennis, the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the legendary Melbourne Cup, while the Melbourne Cricket Ground is a temple revered by fans. Its multicultural soul comes alive in the markets — above all the Queen Victoria Market — and in its ethnic neighbourhoods, from the Italian cuisine of Lygon Street to the Vietnamese fare of Victoria Street, and the fashionable venues of Fitzroy and St Kilda, with its beach and historic amusement park. Nearby, Melbourne is the gateway to some of Australia's most scenic landscapes: the spectacular Great Ocean Road with the sea stacks of the Twelve Apostles, the hills and vineyards of the Yarra Valley, and an encounter with the penguins of Phillip Island. Sophisticated and rebellious, refined and sporty, Melbourne reveals itself one coffee and one laneway at a time.

Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns sits in tropical Far North Queensland, where rainforest meets a turquoise sea. A lively, informal city, it revolves around the Esplanade, a busy waterfront with its famous swimmable lagoon, palms, seafood restaurants and night markets. From here boats set out daily to the reef — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — for diving and snorkelling among corals and colourful fish. Close by stretches the Daintree, the world’s oldest rainforest, and the mountain village of Kuranda, reached by scenic railway or the Skyrail cableway gliding above the jungle. Waterfalls, gorges and sugar-cane plantations dot the inland Atherton Tablelands. A crossroads between reef and rainforest, Cairns is the ideal base for exploring two of the planet’s most extraordinary natural wonders.

Uluru rises in solitude at the red heart of Australia, a sandstone monolith more than three hundred metres high emerging from the desert plains of the Northern Territory. Sacred to the Anangu people and a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with nearby Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas), it shifts colour with the changing light, blazing red and orange at dawn and dusk. Trails wind around its base, revealing rock art, waterholes and shaded gorges, while the stories of the Tjukurpa, the Aboriginal creation time, give voice to every fold of the stone. The nights offer star-filled skies of rare clarity and dinners under the desert sky. Uluru is not merely visited: it is listened to, in silence, in the ancient breath of the outback.

Sydney spreads around one of the world's most spectacular natural harbours, where the white sails of the Sydney Opera House and the steel arch of the Harbour Bridge form one of the planet's most recognisable skylines. Capital of New South Wales and Australia's largest city, Sydney blends the energy of a cosmopolitan metropolis with the relaxed rhythm of coastal living, in a mild climate that invites outdoor life all year round. The historic heart beats around The Rocks, the city's oldest colonial quarter, with its cobbled lanes, vintage pubs and weekend markets, just steps from Circular Quay, where ferries set off across Sydney Harbour. The Sydney Opera House, Jørn Utzon's UNESCO-listed masterpiece, crowns Bennelong Point and hosts concerts, opera and performances; for thrill-seekers, the guided BridgeClimb up the Harbour Bridge offers 360-degree views over the bay. Nearby, the Royal Botanic Garden provides a green oasis overlooking the water, while Darling Harbour gathers an aquarium, museums and waterfront restaurants. Yet Sydney is above all a city of beaches: famous Bondi Beach, a surfers' paradise, is linked to Coogee by a coastal walk past cliffs and coves, while Manly, reachable by ferry, mixes golden sand with a seaside-village feel. The dining scene reflects the city's multicultural soul, from the fish stalls of the Sydney Fish Market to the Asian kitchens of Chinatown and the café brunches of Surry Hills and Newtown. Nearby, the Blue Mountains — a UNESCO reserve an hour from the centre — offer eucalyptus forests, waterfalls and the iconic Three Sisters, while to the north the Hunter Valley wine region invites tastings among the vines. Between sea, culture and nature, Sydney is a city to savour slowly, with your feet in the sand and your eyes on the ocean.