Sites show Sydney's superb scenery

"After years of swaggering self-promotion, the dream is finally coming true: Sydney really is on the verge of joining the ranks of the world’s great cities," New York Metro declared last month, endorsing what every Sydneysider knew long ago. Today, of course, Sydney IS one of the world's great cities.

An enthusiastic scribe known only as J.E. wrote:

Sydneysiders are starting to rise to the top of the fashion, art, architecture, and food worlds. (Not to mention the city’s Hollywood connection: Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, and Nicole Kidman call the city home.)

With success comes prosperity—apartment prices have doubled in the past five years and the stock market just broke the magical 5,000 mark—and there is no end in sight.

The country is primed to become America’s gateway to China: This year, the Opera House introduced guided tours in Mandarin, Qantas started flying direct from Sydney to Beijing, and Prime Minister John Howard started negotiating a free-trade agreement with the Chinese premier.

New York Metro was itself guilty of swaggering self-promotion, because it proclaimed the Sydney story under the smug title The Second Greatest Cities in the World.

We've found a superb photo of Sydney on a webpage showing 15 of the world's finest skylines. A picture of Shanghai (No. 3) in particular left us spellbound. The photos are posted on Canadian entrepreneur Luigi Di Serio's website. He rates Shanghai ahead of New York (No. 4).

He shows Hong Kong as No. 1, Chicago No.2, his home town, Toronto, No. 7, and Sydney a lowly No. 12 (hey Luigi, it should be much nearer the top!) and remarks:

Australia’s showcase city, Sydney has one of the most recognizable skylines due to its world-famous harbour, often referred to as the most beautiful natural harbour in the world. The Sydney Harbour has many bays, inlets and secondary harbours. It is spanned by the monumental Harbour Bridge, and the Opera House decorates the shoreline like a white flower. The Sydney skyline is world-class with hundreds of skyscrapers in the central business district and many more high-rise buildings in the outlying neighbourhoods. Sydney has 8 buildings over 200 metres tall. Metro/Urban Population: 4.2 million.

Luigi runs more than 100 websites, specialising in strategic business intelligence, security, espionage, sociology and human interactionism (including relationships). He modestly says:

I live the life of freelance and versatility. I do ad hoc writing, website development and theorizing. I am an entrepreneur. I hold a degree in Urban and Regional Planning, but am also prolific in sociology, psychology, self-improvement and website development.

Other AOKS (Areas of Knowledge) include geography, philosophy, poetry, writing, conspiracy, intelligence and espionage, stats, music, health, nutrition and fitness, plastics, research and development, QS 9000 (Certified Internal Auditor), IMDS and strategic industrial, business planning and TONS OF USELESS FACTS. My work is divided between my company InfoBureau.net Co., my father's corporation Axiom Group Inc. and my personal freelance work.

Canon has installed webcams showing fascinating views of Sydney Harbour: the Harbour bridge, Opera House, Circular Quay, Canon sign (of course), Pinchgut (a tiny rock island so named because prisoners were housed there, sometimes on short rations, in colonial times), North Head, First Fleet Park and distant views of suburban Chatswood, which now also boasts an impressive skyline of tall buildings.

If you can spare a few minutes, you'll enjoy visiting these websites: