Four seasons in one day
Crowded House. Four season in one day
Lying in the depths of your imagination
Worlds above and worlds below
The sun shines on the black clouds hanging over the domain
Even when you’re feeling warm
The temperature could drop away
Like four seasons in one day
Melbourne vs Sydney. Cologne vs Düsseldorf (fighting for predominance in carnival parades this very weekend – Alaaf!). Toronto vs Montreal. Toronto vs Ottawa. Toronto vs all of Canada really.
City rivalry. Almost as good as its sibling counterpart. Comparing two cities can be as silly as comparing children. And petty, even mean. You should never do it, but still we all do, because it’s just so much fun!
So while I’m sitting in the creatively inspiring surroundings of the National Gallery of Victoria Cafe, let me go ahead and have some fun, attempting a totally uneducated, purely subjective comparison of the only two major cities I have visited in Australia thus far: Melbourne vs Sydney.
Marvellous Melbourne. The Capital of Victoria state. City by the Bay. The Europe of Australia. Cosmopolitan with a great mix of people, heaps of cafes and bars, good sports events and plenty of museums . Like the NGV! The beating heart of Australia when it comes to culture, food and art. If Sydney is TO SEE ( the beaches, the ocean, iconic sights), then Melbourne is TO DO. To eat, to shop, to enjoy.
- Things to do
To be honest, Sydney to me so far mostly meant outdoor fun! With its beaches and ocean, bushland and sunshine, I spend most of my time outside: running, hiking, swimming, falling over.. Sure, there is plenty of things to see and do – the zoo, the aquarium, the bridge, Sydney tower. But with all the natural beauty around me, I haven’t really felt the need to take advantage of any of these cultural offerings so far.
Melbourne seems to have everything that Sydney has to offer: a Botanical Garden (minus the view overlooking the harbour), an aquarium and a zoo (just a little smaller), the skyline (sans iconic buildings such as the Opera building or the Harbour Bridge).
But it’s the food, the drinks, shopping and events we came for. Coffee ( the best in the world they say), brunch at St Kilda Pier, Kombucha at the Grand Prix Circuit, churros from the food truck, coffee again, dinner with a view at Naked for Satan … did I mention coffee?
The Art exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria, the State Library, Rick Astley at the Park (ok, we did not get tickets for that, but it was very tempting). Margaret Atwood in conversation (though THAT we saw in Sydney already the week before) … Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup, Tennis Open. Do I need to say more?
2. Climate
It is hard to beat Sydney’s weather: beautiful sunshine, blue skies, warm temperatures pretty much all year round. Melbourne, on the other hand, supposedly, has more unpredictable weather: wind, rain blowing in and out, sudden swings in temperature.
Yet, when we left Sydney, it was raining, only to arrive in Melbourne to perfect blue skies and a genuinely lovely day. It turned out, Sydney receives more rainfall during the year than Melbourne and when it rains, it rains! After weeks of torrential downpours and cyclones and power outages, it was nice to spend the weekend in warm and sunny Melbourne. And how lovely the city looked against a backdrop of the blue sky!
3. Public Transport
Busses, taxis, Uber. Trains, planes, automobiles.. Getting around in either city seems to be easy enough. What distinguishes Melbourne from Sydney and gives it part of its European flair, is the city’s tram, taking us from Queen Victoria Market to Docklands, Flinders Street Station to Federation Square. And the best part, it’s for free! At least in the city’s Free Tram Zone. We took the City Circle tram and went around and around again to get a good view of the sights and rest our tired feet, all for the price of nothing. No wonder, Melbourne’s public transport is called the best in all of Australia! Brilliant!
4. Outdoor spaces
Sydney might have an abundance of nature in the city with its green spaces like the Botanical Garden, Hyde Park), a lovely harbour, breathtaking walks along the shore, beaches close to the city… but Melbourne definitely has the largest number of outdoor weddings I have ever seen! Brides in Albert Park Lake, the Royal Botanical Garden, Parliament Gardens…That, and Pokemon Go! Players all over town. Who knew that was still a thing?
Fazit
In the end, it does seem a little silly comparing two cities that both have a lot to offer. So I asked our Uber driver Damian what he thought. Having lived in both cities, he seemed to the perfect person to ask.
“So, Damian. Do you think there is somewhat of a competition between the two cities?”
“Oh, ja, absolutely! They hate each other!”
“Which one do you prefer?”
“Listen”, he says, “I like Sydney. It’s hard to beat the beaches and the ocean. People are outside, you know.. they do stuff. Surfing and stuff.
Melbourne is great for bars. And sports. Great sport events. Lots to do in Melbourne. Like art stuff. Very cosmopolitan. And great bars!”
Cheers!
Thoughts From the Upside Down 