Melbourne
Have you experienced four seasons is just a single day? It may seem impossible but if you are in Melbourne, it is possible. Through the years, many local and international tourists come to the city to see and feel what it is like to have four seasons with a just a few hours of gap. That and more have made Melbourne the top tourist destination in the whole of Australia.
Melbourne is the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria. Geographically, the area is at the southeastern portion of the nation-continent. The city's southeast is touching the Port Phillip Bay, a shallow but huge marine bay. To the east of Melbourne can be found the Dandeong Ranges. The flat topography of Melbourne and the unique weather system created by wind influences make four seasons in a day possible, uniquely in the city. Other than that, during winter, the weather can be really freezing and in summer, typical oceanic climate prevails.
Melbourne is an important Australian city. It is a major center of cultural activity, industry and commerce. The city was the site of the 1956 Summer Olympics and was the host to the Commonwealth Games in 2006. Many of the country's significant sporting and cultural events are regularly held in Melbourne. Such happenings contribute greatly to the influx of tourists flocking around. Aside from that, the sceneries and the beauty of contemporary and Victorian architecture around make strolling around Melbourne a breeze.
Tourism is just one of the important and main industries in Melbourne. Though the city's economy is not fully reliant on the inflows of vacationers, tourism revenue is undoubtedly one of the top income drawers. Annually, Melbourne is visited by an average estimate of about 7.6 million local tourists and 1.88 million offshore visitors. In fact, as of 2008, Melbourne has already outpaced all other Australian cities in terms of tourist volumes and has grabbed the top spot as the most frequently visited city from Sydney.
As a technology and trading hub, Melbourne houses most of the local automotive assemblers and has the busiest seaport in the nation. Toyota Motor Corporation and Ford Motor Company are just some of the biggest automakers having active facilities within Melbourne. The Melbourne port is Australia's biggest and is handling 39% of the country's overall container trades. The information technology sector has emerged to become a $19.8bn industry, employing a third of the local IT labor force.
The city is a banking hub. National Australia Bank and Australia-New Zealand Banking Group are two major lenders having headquarters in Melbourne. The other two major banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are also having a wide and strong network force across the city. Urban and industrial holiday vacation is truly Melbourne's main attraction.
The Port of Melbourne is Australia's largest container and general cargo port. Melbourne has four airports: Melbourne Airport, Moorabbin Airport, Essendon Airport, Avalon Airport.
Sites of interest in Melbourne include: the Yarra River, Melbourne Southbank, Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Telstra Dome, Flagstaff Gardens, Treaury Gardens, Kings Domain, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Docklands, Federation Square, Collins Street, Flinders Quarter, Chinatown, NewQuay Greek Quarter, Hardware Precinct City arcades Laneways, Swanston Street, Bourke Street Mall, Bourke Hill, West End, St Kilda Road, Queen Street.
