Common attractions (lighthouses, cost, vacation, snorkel)

[GoCardinals]

So I was watching this little video of Top things to do Melbourne Australia.

And few were these

Zoo
Acquarium
Skywalk on a tall building
Coffee shops
Wall Art
Beach
Amusement park

And I was like, WTH?
A 21 to 30 hours flight and a relatively high cost of travel for this?
I can watch a giraffe or a tiger in the Bronx zoo, there are millions of coffee shops in NYC, beaches are close by, and plenty of sky scrappers to provide sky walk. No shortage of wall art either.

So why such cities are big tourist attractions? Or perhaps I am the wrong kind of tourist they try to attract?

[Chava61]

If one lives outside the USA, perhaps they would prefer to visit Melbourne over NYC being that Melbourne is cleaner and more modern than NYC and even in the winter the weather is milder than NYC. (FYI - I have spent time in both cities and the quality of life in Melbourne is better than NYC.)

[Brave New World]

Melbourne is often called the sporting capital of the world due to the number of sports facilities the city has and sporting events it hosts.

8 Reasons why Melbourne is the sports capital of the world

Melbourne named world's sporting capital - Sydney Morning Herald

It also has a good deal of cultural events, good food and restaurants and some fantastic scenery.

Melbourne is known as a city with a lot going on.

Culture of Melbourne - Wikipedia

[BigCityDreamer]

Most tourists in Australia come from New Zealand and Asian countries, although a sizable number come from the U.S. and U.K. as well.

[GoCardinals]

Originally Posted by Chava61

If one lives outside the USA, perhaps they would prefer to visit Melbourne over NYC being that Melbourne is cleaner and more modern than NYC and even in the winter the weather is milder than NYC. (FYI - I have spent time in both cities and the quality of life in Melbourne is better than NYC.)

I think it's more of your opinion which you are entitled to voice; however, numbers don't lie

13 million vs 2.7 million. I mean this is not even a match

However, I am not sure but I guess you kinda thought I was trying to take a shot at Melbourne.
No, that's not the point. Melbourne was just an example. And I have nothing against that great city.

I guess I am the wrong kind of tourist that Melbourne or many other such cities try to attract with the common sort of attractions like zoo, aquarium, sky scrapers etc.

This is a personal choice as I am more attracted towards natural wonders that are unique, for example, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Niagara Falls, Table Mountain, Mt Cook etc. These sound more attractive than visiting Singapore or Los Angeles something.

Obviously, there are some great man made wonders, Like The Eiffel Tower, Opera House, The Great Wall and even The MCG in Melbourne that I greatly admire.

I guess I was not clear enough in the OP.

The reason I started the OP was to see if we can skip Melbourne and instead visit Queenstown NZ, if we are staying a week in Sydney, and have another week to spend in Oceania?

[athena53]

Really interesting point. EVERY major city (and some of the not-so-major ones) is determined to have an Aquarium, a Zoo, a giant Ferris wheel, etc. Hey, there's no money to be made if tourists do nothing but walk around and look at the sights!

I guess it gets down to what you want out of travel. I haven't been on a single giant Ferris wheel. Occasionally I'll visit a zoo in another country; any good zoo will have large colonies of a smaller number of animals rather than one or two of a large variety, so you'll see different animals in different zoos. People-watching is always different in every city. The wall art in Reykjavik was unlike anything I'd see in the US. I've also never seen a mother wearing only bikini bottoms playing ping pong with her adolescent son on a beach in the US (but have in Barcelona). Even coffee shops have different offerings in different countries. (And where else but in India can you get a Chicken McTikka sandwich at McDonald's?)

I tend to wander a lot now- just taking in the interesting details and watching people. I do research the destination beforehand so I don't miss something really significant to me. My first vacation in Europe, I had a lovely time wandering in London but I kicked myself after finding out the Rosetta Stone was in the British Museum and I'd missed it. (I've been back many times.)

Having said that- Australia and NZ are off my bucket list. Would love to go there but I won't fly in Coach for that long and Business Class airfares are crazy. My brother took my SIL with him on a business trip and he had to blow 400,000 FF mile sot get her a seat in Business Class. Plenty of other wonderful places to explore.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by GoCardinals

The reason I started the OP was to see if we can skip Melbourne and instead visit Queenstown NZ, if we are staying a week in Sydney, and have another week to spend in Oceania?

Do you only visit big cities?

The plan I'm working on for Australia has only 25% of our time in big cities. I prefer to drive around the country.

[engineman]

When we were in Melbourne we went to Phillip Island to see the penguins.

Then we went to Sydney by train. Never saw so many sheep in my life.

Then we flew to Cairns and to our surprise found that there was a rain forest.

We enjoyed snorkeling on the barrier reef.

It was a long trip from Florida, but well worth it.

[Katnan]

I'm not sure why zoos and aquariums are always featured. The other thing I don't get is ziplining.

I prefer to google the destination name and include words 'off the beaten path', for more interesting alternatives. Rick Steves is great for this, except he only travels and reviews Europe.

[Melpomene]

Originally Posted by GoCardinals

I think it's more of your opinion which you are entitled to voice; however, numbers don't lie

13 million vs 2.7 million. I mean this is not even a match

However, I am not sure but I guess you kinda thought I was trying to take a shot at Melbourne.
No, that's not the point. Melbourne was just an example. And I have nothing against that great city.

I guess I am the wrong kind of tourist that Melbourne or many other such cities try to attract with the common sort of attractions like zoo, aquarium, sky scrapers etc.

This is a personal choice as I am more attracted towards natural wonders that are unique, for example, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Niagara Falls, Table Mountain, Mt Cook etc. These sound more attractive than visiting Singapore or Los Angeles something.

Obviously, there are some great man made wonders, Like The Eiffel Tower, Opera House, The Great Wall and even The MCG in Melbourne that I greatly admire.

I guess I was not clear enough in the OP.

The reason I started the OP was to see if we can skip Melbourne and instead visit Queenstown NZ, if we are staying a week in Sydney, and have another week to spend in Oceania?

Well if you are going to be in Melbourne and you like nature then you should head down to the coast and drive along the Great Ocean Road. There are some hikes along the way that lead to waterfalls, shipwrecks, lighthouses, interesting rock fomations (eg 12 apostles, london arch) and so on. Melbourne itself has a unesco site (royal exhibition building), the old gaol, fitzroy garden (w/ captain cook's tiny cottage) and art museums staffed by quite unfriendly people unfortunately.

Queenstown would also be a nice alternative, especially if you can make it to the western coast of the south island. Among the things to see there are glaciers adjacent to rainforests, a glowworm cave and of course milford sound.