The Sydney Symphony is internationally noted and frequently performs at the Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Dance Company under the leadership of Graeme Murphy during the late 20th century has also gained acclaim. Opera Australia has its headquarters in Sydney, whilst the Australian Ballet locates its main corporate offices in Melbourne. Jazz and new music (such as Sydney-based The Necks) found a home in places like "The Basement" and the now defunct Harbourside Brasserie.
Many well-known Australian rock bands have had their genesis in Sydney, including Midnight Oil, The Easybeats, AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Vines & INXS, punk rock groups such as Radio Birdman and The Celibate Rifles, indie rockers The Clouds and The Crystal Set, to electronic music pioneers Severed Heads, Single Gun Theory, The Lab, Itch-E and Scratch-E and local favourites Sneaky Sound System. Another notable band to appear from the Sydney music scene is Wolfmother.
Many popular songs are inspired by Sydney, including "Sydney Town" by The Mexican Spitfires, "From St. Kilda to Kings Cross" and many others by Paul Kelly, "Summer Hill Road" by The Executives, "Reckless" by Australian Crawl and John Kennedy's "Love Gone Wrong", "My Fair Lady" by [[David Mire}}
Sydney is famous for its alternative rock scene, and is credited as the original home of the now national alternative rock festival the Big Day Out, which began in Sydney in 1992 featuring local bands such as You Am I and The Clouds and international super groups like Nirvana.
Sydney hosts many different festivals and some of Australia's largest social and cultural events. These include the Sydney Festival, Australia's largest arts festival which is a celebration involving both indoor and free outdoor performances throughout January; the Biennale of Sydney, established in 1973; the Big Day Out, a travelling rock music festival which originated in Sydney; the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras along Oxford Street; the Sydney Film Festival and many other smaller film festivals such as the short film Tropfest and Flickerfest. Australia's premier prize for portraiture, the Archibald Prize is organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Sydney Royal Easter Show is held every year at Sydney Olympic Park, the final of Australian Idol takes place on the steps of the Opera House, and Australian Fashion Week takes place in April/May. Also, Sydney's New Years Eve and Australia Day celebrations are the largest in Australia.
Sydney's suburban train service consisting of eleven railway lines is operated by CityRail. Sydney does not have a separate metro system, but the suburban lines run underground where they converge in the city centre, and on the Eastern Suburbs and Airport lines. On most lines, there are two to four trains an hour at off-peak times. Fares are calculated on the basis of distance travelled.
Trains run as suburban commuter rail services in the outer suburbs, then converge in an underground city loop service in the CBD. In the years following the 2000 Olympics, CityRail's performance declined significantly. Public anger resulted in the introduction of a new timetable, the employment of more drivers and a large infrastructure project, called the Clearways project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2010 In 2007 a report found Cityrail performed poorly compared to many metro services from other world cities. There are no train services in most of Western Sydney, the Northern Beaches, or Eastern Suburbs. Many new lines have been suggested, and the Epping to Chatswood line opened 23 February 2009. Work is also underway on the Clearways Project, aiming to "untangle" the network and reduce the interdependence of the separate lines.
CityRail interurban trains to the Illawarra, Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Newcastle leave from the network's hub, Central railway station. This station is also the terminus for CountryLink trains to country New South Wales, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as the Indian Pacific to Perth.
About 50 kilometers west of Sydney is one of the most popular symbols of Australia. The name Blue Mountains (Blue Mountains Eng) comes from parującego oil eukaliptusowego, which often creates a blue haze over the mountains. The most famous is the Three Sisters Mountain formation near the town of Katoomba.
After a short journey by bus or train, you can enjoy the untouched nature and acquire Australian perceptions of the continent areas. Local companies organize tourist trips for one visit to a number of viewpoints the most seats in Blue Mountains.
Already after a short journey by bus or train you can admire the untouched nature and draw the Australian image of the continent areas. Local companies organize tourist trips to one per visit some of the most scenic places in the Blue Mountains.
Sydney is a city, so you better with a little reticent open and unmeasured backpacks or bags. But Sydney is not more dangerous than Zurich. On the contrary, Australians are very nice and helpful. So no false shyness. An invitation to dinner, or on the Segeltrip is no mere courtesy phrase, it is quite serious. Australia has a relatively low crime.
Sydney has a temperate, oceanic climate with warm summers and mild winters, and rainfall spread throughout the year.[19] The weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs. The warmest month is January, with an average air temperature range at Observatory Hill of 18.6-25.8 °C (65.5-78.4 °F) and an average of 14.6 days a year over 30 °C (86.0 °F). The maximum recorded temperature was 45.3 °C (113.5 °F) on 14 January 1939 at the end of a 4-day heat wave across Australia. The winter is mildly cool, with temperatures rarely dropping below 5 °C (41 °F) in coastal areas. The coldest month is July, with an average range of 8-16.2 °C (46.4-61.2 °F).
Sydney is in a coastal basin bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Blue Mountains to the west, the Hawkesbury River to the north and the Royal National Park to the south. Sydney lies on a submergent coastline, where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys (ria) carved in the hawkesbury sandstone. One of these drowned valleys, Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is the largest natural harbour in the world. There are more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach, in the urban area. Sydney's urban area covers 1,687 km² (651 sq mi) as at 2001. The Sydney Statistical Division, used for census data, is the unofficial metropolitan area and covers 12,145 km² (4,689 sq mi). This area includes the Central Coast and Blue Mountains as well as broad swathes of national park and other unurbanised land.
Geographically, Sydney sprawls over two major regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a sandstone plateau lying mainly to the north of the harbour, dissected by steep valleys. The oldest parts of the city are located in the flat areas south of the harbour; the North Shore was slower to develop because of its hilly topography, and was mostly a quiet backwater until the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932, linking it to the rest of the city.
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.28 million (2006 estimate). It is the state capital of New South Wales, and the site of the first British colony in Australia, established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, leader of the First Fleet from Britain. A resident of the city is referred to as a Sydneysider.
