If you were to name an Australian city as currently leading all others for the cultural experiences it offers, Alice Springs would probably not be the first one to come to mind, especially given the city’s recent problems.
However, a new study by Preply (a US-based online language learning platform) has found that, per capita, Alice Springs has an impressive average of 14.2 cultural experiences per 10,000 residents.
It is followed by Albany (WA), Wagga Wagga (NSW), Darwin (NT) and Orange (NSW) respectively.
‘By comparing each city’s population size with the quantity and variety of experiences on offer, we gained valuable insights into their cultural vibrancy,’ says Preply of its methodology.
While the data source pool is not as comprehensive as one may like, relying heavily on listings and web-accessed data, it is reflective of how visitors and tourists search for cultural activities – which is revealing and worthy data.
As a data source, it also offers a valuable insight into the role that cultural activities play outside of our capital cities and, with its per capita ranking, in some ways is truer to the level of value placed on culture as a key to living cities.
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Data shows regions offer top cultural experiences
Preply’s researchers compared 50 of Australia’s most populated cities using eight different cultural metrics – number of cultural tours, hatted restaurants, cultural attractions, museums, theatre events, libraries, concerts and shows, and markets – to identify the cities with the most cultural experiences in Australia per capita.
Key findings:
- Alice Springs ranked highest in four cultural categories, the most of any city with a cultural experience score of 14.2 per 10,000 people.
- Alice Springs also ranked number one for cultural tours, cultural attractions, museums, and concerts and shows, per 10,000 residents.
- Launceston is the top foodie destination, boasting 0.75 hatted restaurants per 10,000 residents.
- Wagga Wagga takes the top spot as the number one city for theatre events, offering 2.79 events per 10,000 residents.
- Gladstone emerges as the top city for libraries, with 1.94 libraries per 10,000 residents.
- Wagga Wagga takes the lead as the city with the most markets, providing 4.88 markets per 10,000 residents.
- New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory are Australia’s best territories/states for culture, each with at least two cities making it into the top 10.
- The capital cities that are best for culture are Darwin, Hobart and Canberra (which ranked in first, second and third places respectively).
Preply’s Sylvia Johnson, says of the findings: ‘Our study revealed some surprising results, shining a light on the cities with some fantastic cultural attractions. Embracing a city’s culture and cultural experiences is not just about entertainment; it’s a way to enrich our worldview, promote unity, and support the preservation and continuation of diverse cultural identities worldwide.’
Adding, from an education perspective, ‘What’s more, engaging in local customs, traditions and practices provides a context for linguistic nuances, idiomatic expressions and vocabulary, thereby enhancing language acquisition.’
Australia’s 10 best cities for cultural experiences
Based on a 10,000 per capita:
- Alice Springs, NT – 14.2 ranking
- Albany, WA – 8.7
- Wagga Wagga, NSW – 8.5
- Darwin, NT – 7.7
- Orange, NSW – 6.8
- Bathurst, NSW – 6.1
- Port Macquarie, NSW – 5.7
- Launceston, Tas – 5.1
- Cairns, Qld – 5.1
- Gladstone, Qld – 4.7
To read the full report by Preply.
The trick in this data is that it is based on a per capita offering.
In the course of the data collection, Preply also looked at Australia’s capital cities, which undoubtedly offer the highest number of cultural experiences, regardless of population size (or per capita).
It reports: ‘Melbourne is often dubbed the cultural capital of Australia; however, our study found that Sydney claimed the top spot with an impressive 535 cultural experiences. Melbourne came in second with a total of 441 cultural experiences.’
And our capital cities?
But pulling that capital city data back to a per capital equation, Darwin, NT, emerged as the top-ranked capital city.
Hobart, Tas, secured the second spot, celebrated for its eclectic mix of contemporary art, historic architecture and renowned events like the Mona Foma festival.
Canberra, ACT, followed in third place, boasting national museums, galleries and cultural institutions that offer a deep dive into Australia’s heritage.
Adelaide, SA, known for its lively arts festivals and thriving music scene, ranked fourth.
Perth, WA, came in fifth with its dynamic arts sector and cultural diversity.
Sydney, NSW, despite being iconic for its landmarks and vibrant arts scene, ranked sixth.
Melbourne, Vic, often dubbed Australia’s cultural capital, placed seventh due to fierce competition.
Brisbane, Qld, rounded out the list in eighth place, with its emerging cultural hotspots and diverse festivals contributing to its cultural landscape.
How the rankings were established
Preply consulted numerous resources for its methodology to this data, including tourism websites, the Australian Good Food Guide (AGFG) and the National Library of Australia, for example.
This comprehensive study evaluates the top 50 most populated Australian cities (50 largest urban areas in Australia by the Significant Urban Area* measure using the seed list here) for cultural experiences integrating data from public datasets.
For each city, the factors used were:
- Number of cultural tours – Tripadvisor was used to find the total number of “cultural tours” activities per 10,000 people.
- Number of cultural attractions – Booking.com was used to find the total number of activities listed as “museums, arts and culture” per 10,000 people.
- Number of museums – WhichMuseum was used to find the total number of museums per 10,000 people.
- Number of theatre events – All Events was used to find the total number of unique “Drama and Theatre Events” per 10,000 people.
- Number of hatted restaurants – AGFG was used to count the number of hatted restaurants in the 2024 awards, per 10,000 people.
- Number of libraries – the National Library of Australia was used to count the number of public libraries per 10,000 people.
- Number of concerts and shows – Tripadvisor was used to find the total number of ‘concerts and shows’ activities per 10,000 people.
- Number of markets – Australia.com was used to count the number of markets per 10,000 people.
- Population – population data for each city was sourced from CityPopulation.de and Wikipedia.
Data was collected in April 2024.
To view the full report: The Top Australian Cities for Cultural Experiences.
