Sydney named world's best city

Sydney named world's best city

Sydney has been named the world's best city by readers of a US travel magazine.

The Australian harbour city beat off competition from Rome, New York and Cape Town to take the Travel + Leisure magazine crown for the eighth time.

New York was named as the best city in the US and Canada region, while Rome was top in Europe.

Cape Town, Bangkok and the Mexican city of Oaxaca were named as the best cities in their respective continents.

Sydney's tourism minister Sandra Nori said the award was a "tremendous compliment" to the people of Sydney.

She added: "There is so much for visitors to do in Sydney - I guarantee that anyone who climbs Sydney's Harbour Bridge for example will take with them lifelong memories of our city's vast, open sky, stunning beaches and natural harbour."

The survey also brought good news for the Indonesian island of Bali, where tourism took a massive hit after a nightclub bomb killed over 200 people in October 2002.

Bali was named the world's best island by the magazine's readers, while the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan was named the world's best hotel.