Sydney

Unless you're planning to take a scenic cruise to Australia - in which case allow plenty of time for your journey! - you'll most likely arrive in Sydney via Kingsford Smith Airport, the major airport serving the city. It's a modern and well laid-out airport with all the facilities you'd expect of a major international airport.

Sydney Airport is located on Botany Bay, south of the city of Sydney itself. It's easily accessible by car, and there are regular bus services into the city centre, so it's easy to get into town. It's also possible to take a taxi into the centre of Sydney, and there's a taxi rank at the airport with supervisors available to ensure smooth taxi flow. A cab into town will cost about AUS$25-30, so it's a cost-effective way of getting to many central locations and city hotels.

The airport is also served by the Airport Link train service. Trains leave from below all three main terminals every ten minutes, and the journey into the city takes only 13 minutes. The fare for the Airport Link varies depending on your destination, but is around AUS$15 into the centre of Sydney. You can also change at Central Station to get to many of the suburbs.

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Travelling round Sydney is easier than in a lot of cities of comparable size, despite being as big as it is. The road infrastructure is good, although as with anywhere else, things can be rather frustrating around rush hour. In addition, most of the major hotels, tourist attractions, and conference facilities are in or near the centre of town, so travel can generally be kept to a minimum and done relatively quickly and efficiently.

Within the city centre, such as the Central Business District, the quickest way of getting between many destinations is actually to walk. If the weather is not so good, or you have a slightly longer journey, you might consider getting a cab, which is much cheaper than in many other cities.

Public transport in Sydney is excellent and represents a great way to get around the city. The City Circle is Sydney's underground system and whisks you around central locations in double-quick time. Alternatively, you could get the monorail, which serves the central business district and offers quick transport around the city centre with minimal fuss.

For journeys a little further a field, there is an extensive network of buses and trains serving Sydney and its suburbs. All of that is without considering one of the most popular ways of getting around Sydney - catching a ferry across Sydney Harbour. These ferries connect a number of points around the beautiful harbour and are often quicker than land-based transport - as well as offering spectacular views of this most beautiful of cities.

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Sydney is one of the world's most spectacular cities, and whether you're staying for a couple of weeks or just a couple of days, you're unlikely to be stuck for something to see or do. There are a number of tourist attractions and sites that you simply must see. Chief among them is Sydney's majestic harbour, around which most of the town is built. There are a number of tourist boats and cruises which you can take to see the major sites, but to be honest, just getting a ferry to Manly is a cheap way of seeing the harbour side in all its glory.

Sydney's most iconic attraction is the Opera House. This sits on Bennelong Point, just off Darling Harbour. It affords superlative views of the harbour, as well as the Harbour Bridge and North Sydney. Indeed, the whole Darling Harbour area is full of museums, restaurants, and bars that are worth visiting. Past Darling Harbour, you come to The Rocks, which is the oldest part of Sydney, and preserves a lot of the history of the old colonial city alongside a vibrant area full of places to eat and drink, watch live music, or just walk about.

Other attractions include the city's excellent Taronga Zoo on the north side of the harbour, and the Royal Botanic Gardens on the south side. Further a field, Sydney's famous beaches are situated at Bondi Beach in the south and Manly in the north. Both are well worth visiting and offer water sports such as surfing in addition to all the other usual facilities. They can be reached easily by public transport - the ferry from Darling Harbour being the easiest and most scenic way of getting there.

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Sydney boasts some of the finest eating to be had anywhere in Australia (though residents of Melbourne would doubtless disagree). Australian food is known for its freshness, its fabulous ingredients, and its willingness to embrace different flavours, as in the famous "fusion" cuisine that emanated from some of Sydney's celebrated restaurants. You'll find that the city is dotted with any number of excellent eateries offering lovely seafood and traditional Australian cooking. Try and find somewhere to eat near the harbour for the best views - though you may have to pay prices to match. Generally speaking, though, you can eat in Sydney for much less than many comparable cities, so there's no need to pay top prices unless you particularly want to.

Like many other large cities, Sydney is extremely cosmopolitan - wave after wave of immigration, first from European countries such as Greece, Italy, and Yugoslavia, and later from the Middle East and Asian nations. The result is a vibrant mix of nationalities that caters to every foodie taste. Greek, Lebanese, Thai, and Chinese are particularly well represented. Sydney also boasts some of the best Japanese and Vietnamese cooking to be found outside those countries. In addition, as with all Sydney restaurants, there's something to suit every budget, so there's no need to pay the earth.

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Sydney has a vibrant cultural scene: ballet, classical music and jazz, theatre, or of course a night at the famous Opera House. If it's live music you're looking for, try one of the traditional pubs in a suburb like Glebe or the university district around Newtown. This is home to many of Sydney's hippest cafes and pubs and well worth a visit in its own right. Lots of venues have a range of music to suit all tastes, and there are listings in local papers to set you on the right track.

Alternatively, you can head for The Rocks and enjoy live street performances as well as a range of excellent restaurants and bars. The Rocks is close to the city centre, so is likely to be convenient for hotels and other venues. Sydneysiders are very friendly and approachable people, so even if you're on your own, a night out in Sydney is unlikely to be dull!

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Sydney has a large range of hotels to suit all budgets and tastes, from large international chains to small hostels, and bed and breakfast accommodation. Many of the larger hotels are situated in or near the city centre, near Darling Harbour, and the Central Business District (CBD). This makes them convenient both for business purposes and seeing the sights. As ever when visiting a large city, it's wise to reserve your rooms as far ahead as possible - that way you'll get the best possible deals and rates.

If you prefer a more modest room, Sydney has a large selection. Many of these smaller hotels are situated in suburbs close to the centre of the city - so it's easy to get in and out of town. These hotels are often situated in lively and interesting areas of town with more to see and do in the evening, but you may need to make a trade-off in terms of accessibility to city centre facilities and sights.

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As we've previously mentioned, Sydney is one of the easier cities in the world to get around. Distances, particularly in the city centre, are not large, and the weather is usually good, so walking is a good way to get around town and see some of the sights and sounds of Sydney at the same time.

Of course, walking is only an option over relatively small distances, particularly for the busy business visitor to the city. More sensible is simply to hail a cab. Sydney taxis are cheap, and you can use them to get anywhere in a relatively short space of time. However, the city centre is not especially well set up for car rides over shorter distances, and as with any city, traffic can get seriously busy during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

A better option at these times is public transport - either via the City Circle or monorail systems, which will get you around the centre of Sydney very quickly. The choice of stops on these services is limited, but a journey by monorail or City Circle will cut journey times considerably.

Over longer distances or to visit locations out of town, the rail network is probably the best option - it is inexpensive and generally quite quick, offering connections to the airport as well as outlying suburbs. If you're planning to use public transport widely during your stay in Sydney, it's recommended that you ask at a rail station about multi-journey tickets or value passes.

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Sydney hotels generally have excellent facilities for businessmen, even at the lower end of the market, so you shouldn't have any difficulties in getting in touch with offices overseas, sending emails, or talking to the family. Most Sydney hotels that cater for the business traveller will have a range of options for you to utilize, including wireless, laptop points, and high-speed Internet connections, as well as the usual fax and telephone facilities. Sending and receiving faxes on your behalf may attract a fee, but most hotels will be happy to do this for you.

Wireless connectivity in Sydney is excellent and constantly improving, and more and more public spaces are beginning to get connected. You should have no problem in connecting your computer to one of these networks. Hotels and conference centres, as well as banks and even the airport, are well set up to cater for your business-related needs. Sydney's a pleasure to do business in. The only thing to bear in mind is the time difference with the US and Europe, which obviously makes face-to-face communication and making phone calls more difficult. If you want to speak to your head office in New York directly, you'll need to phone up first thing in the morning to make sure you catch them before they head home for the evening of the previous day!

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Sydney is a welcoming city and you should hopefully not experience any significant difficulties during your stay. Of course, although Sydney is safer than many other Western cities, it's not possible to guarantee that no mishap will befall you. If you should encounter any problems, though, help is at hand. Sydney sees millions of foreign visitors every year, and as a result, is used to dealing with travellers all year round. The Sydney police are helpful and language should not be a barrier. They should be the first point of contact in case of accident or theft.

Although Sydney is not the capital of Australia, there are nonetheless a wide range of consular facilities in the city due to its large size and visitor population. If you lose your passport or encounter any other difficulties, your national consulate should be able to help with temporary travel documents and the like. If your country of origin is not represented in Sydney, you may need to get in touch with the embassy in Canberra, and this will obviously make the process a little harder.

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