On my recent trip Down Under, we hit Sydney, Uluru/Ayer's Rock, Brisbane and Melbourne. We didn't spend enough time anywhere to really do the place justice, but overall Brisbane gets marks for the place I could spend some serious time in.

I was very impressed with the outdoors nature of the city, the extent of pedestrian & cycling facilities, a beautiful skyline along the river, and a lively CBD in the evening. Plus lots to see in the surrounding areas.

Sydney ended up being one of those places visited and checked off the list. I wasn't nearly as impressed with Sydney as I was with Brisbane. Yeah, I know, I'm crazy. The Opera House tour was a must-see and well worth it, the the combo of walking across the bridge and taking one of the ferries at sunset was wonderful. But overall the place seemed a bit too touristy, at least compared to Brisbane. To me.

We didn't spend enough time in Melbourne to get much of a feel for the place, but it didn't seem to have the open friendly feel of Brisbane.

Uluru? I've written about The Rock here- http://www.chainreaction.com/ayers_rock.htm. Glad I went, but no compelling desire to go back anytime soon. Definitely worth seeing, but that feeling has increased with time (strange thing, that).

So for me, Brisbane gets a return visit sometime. What say others?