Adelaide is full of attractions if you know where to look. Food and wine are obviously highlights, but Adelaide has much more to offer. Arts, culture and history all thrive throughout Adelaide’s streets, and venturing further beyond the city’s borders opens you up to worlds of opportunity and gorgeous landscapes you wouldn’t want to miss.
The CBD is a hub of activity, especially for Adelaide’s arts institutions. The North Terrace Cultural Precinct is a great place to start if you’re interested in the fixtures of Adelaide’s arts culture, including the 160-year-old South Australian Museum, the State Library of South Australia, and the Art Gallery of South Australia. These sites are internationally renowned for their collections and research, and are absolutely worth a visit when in Adelaide, if not for the collections, then for their gorgeous grounds and neoclassical facades.
The precinct’s central location means visiting other iconic Adelaide attractions are a simple matter of walking. A six-minute stroll from the precinct leads you to Rundle Mall. This pedestrian street mall is one of the busiest in Australia, and also the longest. If you’re starving after your shopping trip, a ten-minute walk from there is the Adelaide Central Market. Over 70 traders sell multicultural cuisine and fresh produce out of the market, but note that it’s only open Tuesday to Saturday, with differing hours each day. On a Friday night they close at 9pm, so it’s the perfect opportunity to try some street food.
If you’re after more than just a meal on the go, there are a wealth of amazing restaurants and bars located in the CBD. In fact, Merrymaker Roofttop Bar overlooks the market itself. Most of the eateries serve up some kind of South Australian wine, given the pride for its international significance, and its general amazing quality. If you’re willing to travel a little, the wine regions of Adelaide will provide the best experience for wine tasting, combining the delicious food and drink with vineyard views. Only 15 minutes from the CBD is the Adelaide Hills region, where the famous Barossa Valley is only an hour away, and McLaren Vale 40 minutes.
The McLaren Vale region is found between the hills and the Fleurieu Peninsula, which is a great place to explore after you’ve had your fill of wineries, with beautiful beaches, boat tours to spot wildlife, and the Onkaparinga National Park to hike, rock climb or abseil the gorges of.
If you’re looking for more outdoor activities, the beach at Glenelg are perfect to spend the day on. Just over a 20 minute drive from Adelaide, Glenelg Beach is Adelaide’s most popular, with plenty of amenities and activities available. Swim with dolphins, dive or snorkel, or simply swim until the sunset comes. When you’re done on the beach, dine at one of the restaurants on the Marina Pier, ranging from Italian to fresh seafood or a Japanese steak house.
Henley Beach is also quite popular, and so is the walking trail from Henley to Glenelg Beach. This walk takes just over an hour, where you’ll see the best the coast has to offer. The path offers seats to watch the coast and staircases down to the water, along with cafes and places to rest or grab a drink to refuel. At the walk’s end in Glenelg’s Moseley Square, the tram can be caught back to the city.
Those still after some outdoor fun can find that in the city. Try the Adelaide Oval Climb to see the field (and the Adelaide skyline) from a bird’s-eye view, or stroll the Adelaide Botanic Gardens to explore 51 hectares of botanical collections and perhaps spot some native wildlife. The Adelaide Zoo is found a 15 minute walk from the gardens, where you’ll be guaranteed to see over 2400 animals on its grounds.