Australia’s state and territory capitals all have something to offer. You can visit any of them and have a perfectly enjoyable time. But if you’re on holiday and have to pick just one or two, then some discernment is advisable.
Luckily, I’m here to put them in order of how worthwhile they are to visit. This is a wholly subjective – but correct – ranking by an Australia travel expert who has been visiting and writing about the country for 24 years. Your views may differ, but obviously, they’re wrong.
Stand by – here comes the definitive ranking of Australia’s capital cities.
8. Brisbane, Queensland
Brisbane is a fast-improving city, with a wealth of big money developments transforming the centre ahead of hosting the 2032 Olympics. It’s also an enjoyable city to hang out in, with plenty of bars, cafés and restaurants in the Fortitude Valley and West End, plus the undeniably great parks and giant fake beach on South Bank.
But Brisbane isn’t distinctive. It does some of what Melbourne and Sydney do reasonably well, but it desperately lacks a calling card. You may use Brisbane as a launchpad for going elsewhere, but I just can’t see why someone visiting Australia for the first time would choose to spend a few days of their holiday in the Queensland capital.
7. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
I like Canberra more than most people do, although roundabout fetishists will probably enjoy it more. In the last decade or so, it has become more fun, but it can still feel like a disjointed collection of grand monuments and country towns.
But that country feel is a bonus. You can see kangaroos within 15 minutes of the nominal centre, and the swathe of green around Canberra makes it pleasingly unintense.
Canberra’s strength, however, is the cultural collection. It has several good museums and one-off buildings. Go for two days, pack in the Australian War Memorial, National Museum of Australia and Parliament House and those of a nerdier disposition are going to have a good time.
6. Adelaide, South Australia
Adelaide used to brand itself as the City of Churches, which of course was code for it being extremely dull.
Things have improved on that front. There’s now a lively laneway scene clustering around Peel Street, while the riverside parklands around the revamped Adelaide Oval always seem to have something going on.
It’s a slowburn city rather than a high energy firework, but Adelaide’s real strengths are at its fringes. In the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills, you’ve got three world class wine regions within an hour of the centre. In the case of the Adelaide Hills, with its gallery-packed villages, wildlife and forested conservation areas, that’s less than half an hour.
Adelaide’s beach scene is also massively underrated. Glenelg has most going for it in terms of eating and drinking, but there are excellent beaches up and down the coast from there. Just don’t expect much surf.
5. Darwin, Northern Territory
You go to Darwin to visit the national parks of the Top End. The rock art, wildlife, vast floodplains and towering escarpments of Kakadu plus Litchfield’s waterfalls and termite mounds are the real reason to be here.
The city itself can be a little scruffy but, crucially, it doesn’t feel like anywhere else. Darwin is sun-roasted, isolated and tropical, with strong Aboriginal, Asian, outback and hippy flavours to its personality.
The Northern Territory capital has a handful of good attractions, too. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and the Royal Flying Doctor Service Darwin Tourist Facility can both be riveting for a couple of hours, but your best memories are likely to come from watching the sun go down at the Mindil Beach Sunset Market.
4. Hobart, Tasmania
The Tasmanian capital is the one I know least well, but it is arguably the most instinctively likeable of Australia’s state capitals. It’s certainly the most obviously historic and most maritime-feeling. Hobart feels like it could be an honorary member of the Hanseatic League at times.
The heritage buildings and boat trips come with pleasant walkability, daring iconoclastic art at MONA and the invigorating walking trails around kunanyi/ Mount Wellington.
Hobart isn’t the Australian city you’re most likely to fall in mad, passionate love with, but it may well be the one you most feel like cuddling up to.
3. Perth, Western Australia
If this list was just about city centres, Perth would be a lot lower in the ranking. There are some cool bars in street art-packed laneways, but Perth is an unashamedly suburban city at heart.
That said, it does have Australia’s greatest city park. Kings Park, overlooking the blue bulges of the Swan River, is a glorious sprawl of Botanic Gardens, lookouts and walking trails through semi-wild bushland.
Go beyond the centre, however, and Perth’s appeal increases dramatically. The Swan Valley wine region is 20 minutes away, and is an excellent place for tasting cheese and chocolates as well as wine. Perth’s beaches – long, dune-backed stretches of Indian Ocean splendour – are arguably better than Sydney’s too.
The two absolute treasures of Perth, however, are Fremantle and Rottnest Island. Port suburb Fremantle brims with heritage buildings, museums, cafés and brewpubs. It’s a thoroughly lovely place to mooch around, and the ferries for Rottnest Island also leave from here. You might spot whales and dolphins on the way, but it’s the adorable furry quokkas that this island – ringed by exceptional beaches and snorkelling spots – is justifiably known for.
2. Melbourne, Victoria
Melbourne can’t compete on natural beauty, but it has – easily – the best city centre in Australia. The capital of Victoria is for urban explorers who want to see street art, discover back lane cocktail bars and indulge in cuisine from every corner of the world.
Melbourne has some strong attractions – the MCG tours are great for cricket lovers, the Immigration Museum offers absorbing insights into Australian history, the Melbourne Museum is a brilliant all-rounder – but they’re not the point.
Melbourne’s greatness comes from its concentration of overlapping passions. Live music venues, comedy clubs, brilliant sandwich shops, long-standing authentic Chinese restaurants and indie clothes shops can cluster within a block of each other. It’s not Australia’s most immediate city – but it’s the one that grows on you most as you explore it.
1. Sydney
Ah come on, it was never really in doubt, was it? Most of what’s enjoyable about other Australian cities can also be found in Sydney.
There’s plenty of history here – make the Hyde Park Barracks your starting point – while there are dozens of pockets for superb drinking and dining.
Sydney’s beaches are famous for a reason. Bondi is all about people-watching, café culture and relaxed seafood restaurants, but the Northern Beaches have several more spectacular options for surfing and splashing in big oceanside pools.
But throw in that harbour as well and you’ve got a city that’s truly special. The Sydney Harbour Bridge enthrals me every time I see it, kayaking around the craggy, splintered arms of the harbour is one of my favourite things in the world, and the walk from the Spit Bridge to Manly is even more wonderful than the better-known coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee.
Other Australian cities make for enjoyable bases, but Sydney is unique. It’s one of the few cities in the world that can be both a city break and a genuine holiday destination in its own right. And Australia’s other cities are clearly envious of that.
