Tailor made holidays: Sydney has top architecture and 'best food in the world'

Fay Ripley, the actress and cookery writer, has said Sydney is her favourite city in the world, for its food and architecture.

According to Ms Ripley - who released her first cookbook, Fay's Family Food, two years ago - Australia's largest city is home to a cuisine which is "the best in the world".

She wrote in the Independent that the city is perfect for shopping, which would be ideal for anyone planning luxury tailor made holidays.

"The architecture is beautiful, with lots of little Victorian terraces and amazing modern buildings," she said.

"It's incredibly multicultural and the shopping's amazing. Plus, it's surrounded by water, beaches and inlets. You could never feel claustrophobic there."

Ms Ripley's cooking book, which focused on big meals that can be made to feed the whole family, was published by Penguin in 2009.

People on tailor made holidays could visit Sydney in the English winter, as it is summer in the Australian city - when it can hit 45 degrees centigrade.