"I despair of being able to convey to any reader my own idea of the beauty of Sydney Harbour," said Anthony Trollope more than 120 years ago. "It is so inexpressibly lovely that it makes a man ask himself whether it would not be worth his while to move his household goods to the eastern coast of Australia, in order that he might look at it as long as he can look at anything."

Critics who find Sydney brash, over-exposed and culturally undernourished fail to scratch its stunning surface. Australia's largest and most multicultural city is not some international supermodel of a place, poor thing, it just suffers the misfortune to have grown up too beautiful. Beyond the harbour, the beaches, the sunshine and the fantastic seafood and south-east Asian cuisine, is a vibrant cafe culture, innovative arts scene, historic pubs and even a dark criminal underbelly. As well as functioning better than any modern city has a right to (Sydney's response to traffic congestion is to dig lots of tunnels), it smiles more too. The city's finest restaurants can be as snooty as anywhere but the gay-friendly city is still far chattier than most, with an old-fashioned straight-talking hospitality. The classics - the Opera House, the harbour bridge climb, Bondi beach and a ferry to Manly - are not to be missed. And spend time hanging out in the bars of its fashionable suburbs, from Newtown to Darlinghurst to Paddington, and you soon dig beneath its glorious surface.