Sydney

The government of New South Wales is offering money to people to move away from Australia's most popular city. What's the reason for this, and why is the government hopeful that its plan will work?

From Las Vegas Boulevard — known as "the Strip" — to the harsh landscape of the Kalahari Desert, from beautiful Sydney Harbour to the slums of Dhaka, our photo blogger Jan Stuermann has been there. Let's join him now in another world tour.

People are moving to Melbourne. Young families want to live there and immigrants are arriving in record numbers. With its long-term population growth of 1.3 per cent a year, Melbourne will displace Sydney as Australia's largest city before 2040.

The weather in Sydney is warm. It will be mostly sunny today. Sydney enjoys more than 340 sunny days a year. The average minimum temperature in the winter months of June to August is nine degrees Celsius. The warmest winter month is January.

"Travel" sounds expensive, but it need not involve going to strange places or spending a lot of money. And that's why we're ending our travel year with Danny MacAskill cycling around Edinburgh to the soundtrack of a group called Band of Horses.

It is among the top 10 most livable cities in the world says The Economist. Spotlight's Janina Schneider-Eicke, who spent a year studying in Australia, shares her photos and impressions of the most spectacular city in the land down under.

The Sydney Opera House was opened by Elizabeth II, queen of Australia, on 20 October 1973. The architect, Jørn Utzon, was not invited to the ceremony, nor was his name mentioned. The opening included a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Cobbler's Beach is ideal for getting that all-over tan. Obelisk Beach is famously sunny, but because Australia gets so much sunshine, it is advisable to use lots of sunscreen. It's extremely uncool to get sunburn or to arrive at the pub with a red face.