SYDNEY

Beyond the famous Opera House, the bridge and hulking lifeguards, Australia’s largest metropolis really does live up to its name ‘the harbour city’. Take off now for Christmas on the beach

Over the last 20 years, I’ve had friends move abroad to all the obvious spots, but in time they’ve all returned to the UK fold, be that through sheer exhaustion (NYC), collapsed nostrils (Hong Kong) or because, you know, it’s just not as good as London (Paris). But there seems to be one place from which they never come back, and that’s Sydney. It may be an epic cliché, but the ability to down tools at work and be surfing within the hour has a certain magical lure. And the can-do, forward-looking spirit, the extremely attractive female population and the sensational food might also have something to do with it. Excuse me while I pack my bags… Tom Barber is a founder of the award-winning travel company originaltravel.co.uk