Sydney wins top city award

Readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine have voted Sydney, Australia their favourite city.

The metropolis, which is served from the UK by Heathrow Airport and Birmingham Airport among others, was praised for its ambience, friendliness, culture, restaurants and shopping.

Other city destinations that were commended by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller include Florence, San Francisco, Bangkok and Vancouver.

New South Wales tourism minister Sandra Nori said that Sydney is "everyone's favourite city" and referred to recent government figures showing that the destination is exceeding both Melbourne and Brisbane in terms of visitor numbers.

"Sydney's enviable mix of events, beauty, sophistication and relaxed vibe is what Sydneysiders love about it and it's also what makes it so attractive to visitors," she added.

"The readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine are sophisticated travellers who actively seek out new and exciting destinations. It's a great credit to Sydneysiders and our tourism industry that we have remained one of their favourite world cities for so long."

This is the 11th time that Sydney has been voted the world's top city by readers of the travel magazine.