Melbourne vs. Sydney. Who would you rather?

There’s an unspoken contest between Melbourne and Sydney as to which is the better city.

Ok, maybe it’s not THAT unspoken.

The two cities are more alike than they are different, but you get the sense that Sydney is an international melting pot while Melbourne is more home-grown.

Both cities are all about the water, with the Yarra River dissecting Melbourne.

The city’s layout encourages pedestrians with a big boardwalk running alongside the downtown convention center, bar district, and casino complex. There’s a good light rail system too that has easy “tap on/tap off” access. Just pick up a card at a local 7-Eleven.

In Melbourne, I fell in love with the markets, even though I don’t really like to shop. The Queen Victoria and South Melbourne Markets are among the biggest and are a visual feast. There are butchers, fish mongers, cheese shops, cafes, and specialty food shops. There are also leather goods, t-shirts, souvenirs, and everything in between.

Queen Victoria is a bit “rugged” while parts of South Melbourne were updated more recently to make it a better experience to wander, eat, and drink. QVM is actually the largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere and big upgrades are in the works for the 750,000 square-foot complex.

Check the dates before you go since QVM is closed Mondays and South Melbourne is only open a few days a week. And another tip (which I feel awful about) but if you go near closing time the bakeries will sell stuff at half price or more. I really stocked up that day!

Now that I’ve covered the beach, the river, the food, and the shopping, that leaves landmarks. My favorite visits were to the Shrine of Remembrance, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Old Melbourne Gaol (jail). You can’t miss the shrine as it sits atop a large hill overlooking the city. You can spend a day at the war memorial and the adjoining Royal Botanical Gardens.

And there are great views from the top of the memorial.

I wasn’t planning on going to the National Gallery but I found it while walking through the city. It’s modern and not too big. And how can you hate a museum that calls this art?

Finally, you’ll hear about Australia’s most notorious criminal, Ned Kelly, while touring the Old Melbourne Gaol.

One of 133 men executed at the jail, Kelly was Australia’s “Billy the Kid” who came from a crime family with, not surprisingly, Irish roots. Kelly and his gang used homemade suits of metal armor in a final gun battle with police in 1880. The suits didn’t work and all of them were killed, except Kelly who was seriously injured. He was tried, convicted, and hanged in the jail.

Today, Kelly is a bit of a folk hero now for his rants against police, the government and the British. According to legend, Kelly’s last words before his execution were “Such is life.”