Guide to Adelaide South Australia Australia

Adelaide is a city of great visual harmony and classical elegant style, superbly set beside the River Torrens between the Adelaide Hills and waters of Gulf St Vincent. The wine and festival capital of Australia, Adelaide is one of the most vibrant, stylish and innovative cities you’ll ever visit.

Known For:

• Exceptional food and wine
• World-class events
• Immersive wildlife experiences

Adelaide is a place to experience the buzz, culture and convenience of a big city without the frustrations. The city centre, surrounded by parklands, is a charming blend of historic buildings, wide streets, groovy shops, street cafes and restaurants. And because Adelaide is known as the 20-minute city, you can experience it all on a series of easy short walks.

Compact and chic city style

Designed in 1836 on a square mile grid the city is compact and easy to walk around. High-rise buildings have been kept to a minimum and the wide streets, original stone colonial buildings, mansions and workers cottages remain a delight to see. The city precinct is surrounded by a vibrant green belt of parklands so close you can relax over a picnic on the lawns.

Unlike other Australian states, South Australia’s citizens were not drawn from convicts but were attracted by the potential to build wealth in wool, copper and wheat. Along the North Terrace are the cultural icons of the South Australian Museum, Art Gallery, University of Adelaide and the Adelaide Casino in the beautifully refurbished 1920s railway station.

Rundle Mall provides an eclectic variety of shops including department stores, boutiques, specialty shops and malls spreading like octopus tentacles. Famous home-grown retailers found here include Jurlique skincare, RM Williams Bush Outfitters and Haigh’s Chocolates. In Rundle Street many shops and restaurants display the work of local artists providing a rare opportunity to purchase a unique South Australian memento.

Things To Do

Festivals and events occur with remarkable frequency for a city of Adelaide’s size. The Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts is one of the most innovative arts festivals in the world, while the Adelaide Fringe is now the second biggest in the world after Edinburgh.

The Clipsal 500 Adelaide V8 race annually attracts more than 200,000 people and has been named Australia’s best major event. Adelaide’s international music festival WOMADelaide has the Adelaide Botanic Garden as its backdrop. And the Tour Down Under is the biggest road cycling event in the land.

Popular Experiences

Swing the Bat with Bradman

Pay homage to Australia’s cricketing icon, Sir Donald Bradman, at the State Library of South Australia. The Bradman Collection features more than 140 items, from trophies and bats to oral recordings and 52 scrapbooks on The Don’s brilliant career. Then take a tour of Adelaide Oval, widely regarded as the most picturesque cricket ground in the world.

Location: North Terrace, Adelaide city centre

Tram it to Glenelg

Ride Adelaide’s historic tram from Victoria Square in the city to the beachside suburb of Glenelg. Learn the mysteries of Great White Sharks at the Rodney Fox Shark Experience.

Discover South Australia’s settlement history at the Bay Discovery Centre and see where the colony’s first government was proclaimed under the Old Gum Tree. In Glenelg you’ll also find a great beach and wooden jetty and the lively shops, cafes and restaurants of Jetty Road.

Glenelg Experiences

Swim with dolphins just 20 minutes from the city centre on a Temptation Sailing cruise. The 17-metre catamaran, based at Holdfast Shores Marina in Glenelg, is perfect for cruising beside Adelaide’s endless sandy shoreline. Afterwards, stick around to explore Holdfast Shores and its many great restaurants, pubs, luxury boats and apartments.

Location: Catch the tram from Victoria Square in the Adelaide city centre

Port Adelaide and Semaphore

Head to historic Port Adelaide for a look at the hands-on South Australian Maritime Museum and a short cruise to see the divine dolphins of the Port River.

Then delight in the seaside village atmosphere of Semaphore, with its majestic Palais right on the water and a long boulevard of antique shops, cafes, bakeries and pubs.

Location: Port Adelaide (straight down Port Road from the city centre)

Botany Bounty: the Adelaide Botanic Garden

Marvel at native and exotic flora displays and 5000 roses at the International Rose Garden. Stroll through a lush tropical rainforest in the Bicentennial Conservatory (it’s the biggest glasshouse in the southern hemisphere). Established in 1857, the 16-hectare Adelaide Botanic Garden is right on North Terrace and still South Australia’s most popular attraction.

Location: North Terrace, Adelaide city centre

Aboriginal Culture – South Australian Museum

Explore the world’s largest collection of indigenous artefacts in the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, an award-winning exhibition in the South Australian Museum.

Delve into the life of Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, or examine the opalised skeleton of a six-metre-long plesiosaur. Free tours run weekdays at 11am and weekends and public holidays at 2pm and 3pm. And for contemporary Aboriginal culture, head a few blocks away to Tandanya, the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.

Location: North Terrace, Adelaide city centre

Picture Perfect – Art Gallery of South Australia

See one of the best Australian colonial art collections in the world, renowned dot paintings of the Western Desert, landscapes by Sir Hans Heysen and the works of Australia’s much-loved impressionists including Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin. The Art Gallery of South Australia is housed in one of Adelaide’s most beautiful buildings – and you can’t leave without coffee and cake in the café out back.

Location: North Terrace, Adelaide city centre

The Home of Australian Wine

Test your skill at virtual wine making; meet the winemakers on the interactive Wine Discovery Journey; and delight in great Australian architecture at the National Wine Centre of Australia. Part of the University of Adelaide, the centre showcases the national wine industry and is a great place to start your journey through South Australia’s wine country.

Location: Corner of Botanic and Hackney Roads, Adelaide