A visit to Sydney

The 2000 Olympics were a coming-of-age ceremony for Sydney, with fifty years' worth of development compressed into four years under the pressure of intense international scrutiny. The benefits are still being felt: Sydney has all the vigour of a world-class city, with the reputation of its restaurants in particular turning the lingering cultural sneers to swoons. It seems to have the best of both worlds: twenty minutes from Circular Quay the high-rise office buildings give way to colourful inner-city suburbs where you can get an eyeful of sky and watch the lemons ripening above the pavement, while to the centre's north and south are corridors of largely intact bushland where many have built their dream homes. During every heatwave, however, bushfires threaten the city, and sophisticated Sydney becomes closer to its roots than it might like.

It's also as beautiful a city as any in the world, with a setting that only Rio de Janeiro can rival: the water is what makes it so special, and no introduction to Sydney would be complete without paying tribute to one of the world's great harbours. Port Jackson is a sunken valley that twists inland to meet the fresh water of the Parramatta River, in the process washing into a hundred coves and bays, winding around rocky points, flowing past small harbour islands, slipping under bridges and lapping at the foot of the Opera House. Sydney is seen at its gleaming best from the deck of a harbour ferry, and a ride on one is an experience not to be missed.

It might seem surprising that Sydney is not Australia's capital and indeed, the creation of Canberra in 1927 – intended to stem the intense rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne – has not affected the view of many Sydneysiders that their city remains the true capital of Australia. In many ways it feels like it and the city has a tangible sense of history, with the old stone walls and well-worn steps in the backstreets around The Rocks an evocative reminder that Sydney has more than two hundred years of white history behind it.