Sydney - pride of the south

Sydney has been voted as the best city Down Under by readers of the travel magazine Travel Leisure in a survey was carried out before the Olympic Games began.

The September issue of the magazine lists its readers' favourite cities, hotels, islands, tour operators, airlines, car rental companies, cruise lines and even spas.

Sydney was named the best city for the region covering New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific; Hong Kong is the best city in Asia; London was the favourite for Europe.

The vote for best city overall went to San Francisco.