Sydney (Australia)

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians since the Upper Paleolithic period. Under the Köppen–Geiger classification, Sydney has a humid subtropical climate with warm summers, cool winters and uniform rainfall throughout the year. The earliest structures in the colony were built to the bare minimum of standards. Upon his appointment, Governor Lachlan Macquarie set ambitious targets for the architectural design of new construction projects. The city now has a world heritage listed building, several national heritage listed buildings, and dozens of Commonwealth heritage listed buildings as evidence of the survival of Macquarie's ideals. Modern and International architecture came to Sydney from the 1940s. Since its completion in 1973 the city's Opera House has become a World Heritage Site and one of the world's most renowned pieces of Modern design. The Royal Botanic Gardens are the most important green space in the Sydney region, hosting both academic and leisure activities. There are 15 separate parks under the administration of the City of Sydney. Parks within the city centre include Hyde Park, The Domain and Prince Alfred Park. Sydney hosted over 2.8 million international visitors in 2013 or nearly half of all international visits to Australia. Sydney has been ranked amongst the top fifteen cities in the world for tourism every year since 2000. Popular destinations include the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Watsons Bay, The Rocks, Sydney Tower, Darling Harbour, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Royal National Park, the Australian Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Queen Victoria Building, Taronga Zoo, Bondi Beach, the Blue Mountains, and Sydney Olympic Park. The Australian Museum opened in Sydney in 1857 with the purpose of collecting and displaying the natural wealth of the colony. It remains Australia's oldest natural history museum.