Things to do in Adelaide

Food · CBD

Around 70 traders under one roof since 1869 — produce, cheese, smallgoods and the Asian food strip of Gouger Street immediately outside.

Local tip: Go on Saturday afternoon in the last hour. Traders discount hard rather than carry stock, and it is the cheapest good produce in the city. Weekday mornings are for browsing, not for bargains.

Culture · CBD

The Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, the State Library, the Botanic Garden and the university, all free and all on one street.

Local tip: The Museum's Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery holds the largest collection of its kind anywhere and almost nobody queues for it. Start at the eastern end and finish at the Botanic Garden's Palm House.

Nature · Western beaches

Flat white-sand gulf beaches with genuinely calm water, reached from the CBD by a heritage tram that runs down King William Street.

Local tip: Glenelg gets the crowds; Henley and Grange are quieter with better food. Take the tram to Glenelg at sunset — the gulf faces west, so this is one of the few Australian capitals where you watch the sun go into the sea.

Nature · 20–30km east

Cool-climate wine country, a German settler village, and a summit lookout over the entire city and gulf, all within half an hour of the CBD.

Local tip: Hahndorf is the coach-tour stop. Drive fifteen minutes further to Stirling or Aldgate for better food, or walk the Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty track and get the view without paying for parking at the top.

Landmark · 40km south

Shiraz and grenache country running down to the coast, with cellar doors that are architecturally serious and a beach at the end of every road.

Local tip: Adelaide is the only Australian capital where three major wine regions are inside an hour. Do McLaren Vale on a weekday, finish at Port Willunga's cliff beach for sunset, and use a driver — the police target the Victor Harbor road hard.

Neighborhood · Inner north-west

The state's original port, with intact colonial warehouses, a working dolphin sanctuary in the river, and a long quiet beach at the end of the tram line.

Local tip: Hart's Mill on a Sunday and the Semaphore foreshore are where locals go and visitors do not. The Port River dolphin population lives in the harbour year-round and can be seen for free from the wharf — no boat required.