Amsterdam vs Melbourne

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Amsterdam (, UK also; Dutch: [ɑmstɛrˈdɑm] (listen)) is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands with a population of 872,680 within the city proper, 1,558,755 from the metropolitan region and 2,480,394 from the metropolitan area. Located within the province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the"Venice of the North", attributed by the large number of canals that form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amsterdam's name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the town's origin around a dam in the river Amstel. Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, and became the leading centre for trade and finance. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighbourhoods and suburbs were planned and built. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19--20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sloten, annexed in 1921 from the municipality of Amsterdam, is the oldest part of town, dating to the 9th century. Amsterdam's main attractions include its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, the Concertgebouw, the Anne Frank House, the Scheepvaartmuseum, the Amsterdam Museum, the Heineken Experience, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, Natura Artis Magistra, Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, NEMO, the red-light district and Several cannabis coffee shops. It drew over 5 million international visitors in 2014. The city is also well known for its nightlife and festival activity; with several of its clubs (Melkweg, Paradiso) among the world's most famous. Primarily known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled façades; well-preserved legacies of the town's 17th-century Golden Age.

These attributes are arguably responsible for bringing millions of Amsterdam's visitors yearly. Cycling is vital to the city's character, and there are a lot of bike paths. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the earliest"modern" securities market stock exchange in the world. As the industrial capital of the Netherlands and among the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) research group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters in the city, such as: the Philips conglomerate, AkzoNobel, Booking.com, TomTom, and ING. Moreover, many of the world's biggest companies are located in Amsterdam or have established their European headquarters in the city, such as leading technology companies Uber, Netflix and Tesla. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and 12th globally on quality of living for infrastructure and environment by Mercer. The city was ranked 4th place globally as top tech hub in the Savills Tech Cities 2019 report (2nd in Europe), and 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Port of Amsterdam is the fifth largest in Europe. The KLM hub and Amsterdam's key airport: Schiphol, is the Netherlands' busiest airport in addition to the third largest in Europe and 11th busiest airport in the world. The Dutch capital is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with at least 177 nationalities represented.A few of Amsterdam's notable residents throughout history include: painters Rembrandt and Van Gogh, the diarist Anne Frank, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.

Source: Wikipedia

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Melbourne ( (listen) MEL-bərn, locally [ˈmɛɫbən]; Woiwurrung: Naarm) is the capital and most-populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Its name refers to an urban agglomeration of 9,993 km2 (3,858 sq mi), comprising a metropolitan area with 31 municipalities, and is also a common name for its city centre. The city occupies much of the coastline of Port Phillip bay and spreads into the Hinterland towards the Dandenong and Macedon ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of 5 million (19% of the population of Australia), and its inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians".Home to Indigenous Australians for over 40,000 years, the Melbourne area served as a popular meeting place for local Kulin nation clans. A short-lived penal settlement was established at Port Phillip, then part of the British colony of New South Wales, in 1803, but it was not until 1835, with the arrival of free settlers from Van Diemen’s Land (modern-day Tasmania), that Melbourne was founded. It was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837, and named after the then British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. In 1851, four years after Queen Victoria declared it a city, Melbourne became the capital of the new colony of Victoria. During the 1850s Victorian gold rush, the city entered a lengthy boom period that, by the late 1880s, had transformed it into one of the world's largest and wealthiest metropolises.

After the federation of Australia in 1901, it served as the interim seat of government of the new nation until Canberra became the permanent capital in 1927. Today, it is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region and ranks 15th in the Global Financial Centres Index.Melbourne is home to many of Australia's best-known landmarks, such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the National Gallery of Victoria and the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building. Noted for its cultural heritage, the city gave rise to Australian rules football, Australian impressionism and Australian cinema, and has more recently been recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and a global centre for street art, live music and theatre. It hosts major annual international events, such as the Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Open, and also hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Melbourne consistently ranked as the world's most liveable city for much of the 2010s.Melbourne Airport, also known as Tullamarine Airport, is the second busiest airport in Australia, and the city's port is the nation's busiest seaport. Its main metropolitan rail terminus is Flinders Street station and its main regional rail and road coach terminus is Southern Cross station. It also has Australia's most extensive freeway network and the largest urban tram network in the world.

Source: Wikipedia