World class - Sydney

Sydney has all the vigour of a world-class city, and a population approaching five million people; yet on the ground you'll find it still possesses a seductive, small-town, easy-going charm. The furious development in preparation for the year 2000 Olympics, heralded as being Sydney's coming-of-age ceremony, alarmed many locals, who love their city just the way it is.

It was not so much the greatly improved transport infrastructure, or the $200 million budget which improved and beautified the city streets and parks, but the rash of luxury hotels and apartments still adding themselves , often contentiously, to the beloved harbour foreshore. It's a setting that perhaps only Rio de Janeiro can rival: the water is what makes the city so special, and no introduction to Sydney would be complete without paying tribute to one of the world's great harbours. Port Jackson is a sunken valley which twists inland to meet the fresh water of the Parramatta River; in the process it washes into a hundred coves and bays, winds around rocky points, flows past the small harbour islands, slips under bridges and laps at the foot of the Opera House.

Flying into Sydney provides a thrilling close-up snapshot of the city as the aeroplane swoops alongside sandstone cliffs and golden beaches, revealing toy-sized images of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House tilting in a glittering expanse of blue water. Towards Mascot airport the red-tiled roofs of suburban bungalows stretch ever southwards, blue squares of swimming pools shimmering from grassy backyards. The night views are nearly as spectacular, skyscrapers topped with colourful neon lights while the illuminated white shells of the Opera House reflect on the dark water as ferries crisscross to Circular Quay.

All visitors to Australia, except New Zealanders, require a visa or Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). Visa application forms can be obtained from Australian High Commissions, embassies or consulates ; citizens of the US can also get them from the embassy Internet sites. Three-month tourist visas , valid for multiple entry over one year, are issued free and processed over the counter, or are returned in three weeks by mail. However, the new computerized system, Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) can speed things up: passengers give their details to airline or travel agents who transmit them to Australia, with confirmation taking only a few minutes. You must be flying on a major airline, and travel agents charge to process the visas.

The duty-free allowance on entry is one litre of alcohol and 250 cigarettes or 250g of tobacco. Australia has strict quarantine laws that apply to fruit, vegetables, fresh and packaged food, seed and some animal products, among other things; expect to be welcomed into the country with the ritual on-board pesticide spray

The absolute minimum daily budget for food, accommodation and transport alone is AU$60 if you stay in a hostel, eat in the cheapest cafés, restaurants and travel by public transport. Add on sightseeing admissions and a minimal social life and you're looking at at least AU$100. Staying in decent hotels, eating at moderate restaurants, and paying for tours and nightlife, extend your budget to at least AU$150-200 per day

Australians have a reputation for enjoying a drink, and hotels - more commonly known as pubs - are where this mostly takes place. Typically, a pub will have at least a public bar (traditionally rowdier) and a lounge bar (more sedate), a pool table, and in some cases a beer garden. Many offer meals, either in a restaurant or bistro setting, or served up informally at the bar. Ten percent of the world's poker machines are found in NSW, and the noisy, money-eating things have taken over many Sydney pubs. We have chosen places where these monsters are absent, or at the least, few and unobtrusive. More relaxed licensing laws - including allowing restaurants to serve drinks to non-diners in their bars - has finally seen the burgeoning growth of a sophisticated bar scene in Sydney as punters escape pubs and their poker machines.

The standard, ten-ounce (half-pint) glass of draught beer is known as a middy (around $2.70), and the larger one is the fifteen-ounce schooner (around $3.60). Imports such as Guinness and Stella cost a bit more. Three local beersreadily available on tap are: Toohey's New, a pretty standard lager; Toohey's Old, a darker, more bitter brew; and Reschs, a tastier, Pilsner-style beer. Upmarket places may only serve beer in bottles, costing from $5. Wine by the glass is available at many places, usually from $5. Cocktails bars are very popular, and happy hour (times given in reviews) at one of these can be a great chance to catch the sunset over cheap drinks; outside these times a cocktail will set you back $8-12.50.

Sydney has blossomed into one of the great restaurant capitals of the world, and offers a fantastic range of cosmopolitan eateries, covering every imaginable cuisine. Quality is uniformly high, with the freshest produce, meat and seafood always on hand, and a culinary culture of discerning, well-informed diners. The places we've listed barely scratch the surface of what's available, and as the restaurant scene is highly fashionable, businesses rise in favour, fall in popularity and close down or change names and style at an astonishing rate; for a comprehensive guide, consider investing in the latest edition of Cheap Eats in Sydney , or the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide , both of which try to keep track of the best places in town.