Federation Square, bordering the Yarra River, serves as the focal point of downtown Melbourne. The Square holds numerous attractions, ranging from nightspots and restaurants to cinemas and art galleries.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground has become a local icon. This place hosts a variety of concerts, but crowds gather from all over the world to watch engaging cricket matches that keep fans anxiously for their favorite teams. The Telstra Dome at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is the place to be watching Australian football. Continue reading »

Melbourne is the second most largest city in Australia, after Sydney. Its metropolitan area has a population of almost 4 million people, from a large number of cultures and with a rare diversity. Until Federal Parliament moved to the capital of Australia at Canberra, Melbourne served for a while as the federal seat of government.

Melbourne is a melting pot with endless options. The city sweeps you up into laneways and libraries, art galleries, parks, shops, theatres and a vibrant waterfront atmosphere. Continue reading »

Australia is a country and continent in the southern hemisphere, also including the major island of Tasmania and other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia is a country with endless sunbaked horizons, dense tropical rainforests and chilly southern beaches.

For thousands of years, the mainland has been inhabited by indigenous Australians. The eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British, after being discovered by Dutch explorers. Six colonies became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Continue reading »

According to the independent UK organization Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Canadian city of Vancouver has been found in 2005 as the most livable city in the world, followed by Melbourne (Australia) and Vienna (Austria).

The EIU looked at more than one hundred cities in terms of infrastructure, personal risk, availability of goods and services, and other factors, such as the low risk for terror attacks. The survey takes over 40 factors into consideration which are weighted across five different categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Cities from Canada, Australia and Western Europe top the list. The survey has produced a mixed picture of the world’s cities. Continue reading »

According to the independent UK organization Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Canadian city of Vancouver has been found again, in 2008, as the most livable city in the world, followed by the same Melbourne (Australia) and Vienna (Austria). Top three spots did not change since the similar 2005 survey.

The EIU looked at world cities in terms of infrastructure, personal risk, availability of goods and services, low risk for terror attacks. The survey takes several factors into consideration, weighted across different categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Continue reading »