Sydney vs. Melbourne: Which city is more walkable and more vibrant?

[corsa71]

Originally Posted by artemis agrotera

Melbourne is a lot easier to get around. Still think the food/coffee scene (in part due to the laneways) wins hands down, if comparing.

I found the food and coffee scene in Melbourne not living up to the hype in my opinion, while I had some great dining experiences there had some pretty ordinary ones too.

[466nick]

From my experience Sydney is a more vibrant City and more walkable for a few reasons

It has MUCH more density of population, especially around the inner parts. This makes it feel like the city keeps going, even when you leave the CBD. Melbourne seems to go from CBD to medium/low density very quickly. The density also makes things closer together and therefore more walkable.

Population density: is Sydney an outlier? | The Urbanist

The public transport is probably about the same, however quite a few more people use public transport in Sydney than Melbourne which means better services, for example trains on the weekend start earlier and finish later in Sydney. From my experience Sydney's train network is more advanced. More people use Sydney's buses than Melbourne trams. The gap is about to get wider with Sydney starting to introduce proper metro, driverless trains.

How do people get to work in Sydney and Melbourne? - SphereSphere

Anytime Sydney is mentioned in a forum you will get 100's of people from Melbourne pounce and say how Melbourne is so much better, mostly by sweeping statements that are not quantifiable. It really seems that the tide has turned, Sydney is now the underrated one that actually has a lot of offer. Forgetting the tourist trap areas (Bridge, O House) where locals really don't go near, Sydney is quite an amazing place.

Oh and by the way I LOVE Melbourne too (going there over easter) and really think you can't loose but when addressing your criteria I think Sydney would win.

[rzzzz]

Sydney is walkable, but I remember walking around quite a bit and not running into much of anything to do. Nothing ever seemed to be open. It was a nice walk, though.

[artemis agrotera]

Originally Posted by corsa71

I found the food and coffee scene in Melbourne not living up to the hype in my opinion, while I had some great dining experiences there had some pretty ordinary ones too.

Yeah there are a lot of ordinary places. In terms of the cbd though, I still feel there are way more options in Melbourne..... also, Victoria st Richmond is very accessible for good Asian, Carlton for italian (not lygon st!) and there is still a couple of good Greek spots on Lonsdale street... As well as places like block arcade, flinders lane etc

[shirleyeve]

Probably a subjective question, but my vote goes to Melbourne. The architecture and greenery abundance is a lot more pleasing. I think they have better parks and gardens there, too.

[OZpharmer]

Originally Posted by shirleyeve

Probably a subjective question, but my vote goes to Melbourne. The architecture and greenery abundance is a lot more pleasing. I think they have better parks and gardens there, too.

Isn't Sydney better known for better natural surroundings than Melbourne? (i.e. Greenery, beaches, etc.)

Melb. also has much more depressing weather, esp. in the winter.