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Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was the first European settlement in Australia and it's now the city that every visitor puts at the top of their Australian must-see wish list.

Sydney is the convention drawcard for Australia; its gateway status and iconic beauty attract major international conventions and congresses. These are the events that draw wide public recognition, yet Sydney's meetings machinery whirls effortlessly on each and every day with hundreds of smaller and less obvious (but no less important) interstate, intrastate and local meetings and conferences.

The ability to integrate activities or events that involve Sydney'sicons into conference programs has been a distinct advantage. Delegates can climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, attend special events at the Opera House, dine under the stars at the Royal Botanic Gardens, pit their wits on corporate scavenger hunts through the historic Rocks district or cruise the Harbour on historic square-riggers or ultra-modern passengers ships.

For smaller meetings, there's nothing like the beach. Suburbs such as Manly, Bondi and Cronulla provide a glimpse into the real Sydney. Board shorts rather than business shirts are the order of the day. And the difference can be liberating.

Link to conference and convention centres in Sydney, Australia.

Quintessential Australian activities like beach Olympics or breakfasting at a beach carnival staged by a local surf lifesaving club are only-in-Sydney-style events.

Sydney sprawls west almost to the base of the Blue Mountains. Near Parramatta, in the western suburbs, is Homebush, site of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Sydney Olympic Park, ground zero for many of the events, is a great place to hold a meeting or special function. There's a range of venues including Telstra Stadium, the Sydney SuperDome, Sydney Aquatic Centre, and the Sydney International Tennis Centre.

It was originally intended that Sydney be centred on Botany Bay, at least, that was the recommendation of Captain James Cook after his 1770 exploration of the east coast of Australia. However, when Governor Arthur Phillip arrived with the eleven ships of the First Fleet in 1788, he immediately rejected Botany Bay as unsuitable and continued north to explore Port Jackson.

It was at the present site of Circular Quay that the fledgling Sydney colony began. The first years were arduous and Sydney did not start taking shape until the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810. Macquarie laid out a formal street system for the colony and, although redevelopment through the years has reduced much of the city's historic register, there remains enough to appreciate the grandeur of what once stood.

The main arrival point for flights into the city is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport. Located just 30 minutes outside the CBD, the 254,000 annual aircraft movements include about 175,000 domestic and regional flights. Some 38 international carriers operate scheduled services through the international terminal.