Adelaide Australia

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia.
The capital of South Australia is too often overlooked by travellers, but this only means you find yourself in smaller tourist crowds.
The most popular place to visit is Adelaide Central Market, but there are also the Botanic Gardens and Adelaide Zoo, and some interesting museums including the old Adelaide Gaol. Adelaide’s problem is probably its location, away from the more popular eastern coast, but if you are in the area, the city is definitely worth a visit.

    Adelaide Australia by Michael Dawes via Flickr.com

Great ways to enjoy Adelaide Australia:

CITY MORNING SIGHTSEEING TOUR

ADELAIDE AND HAHNDORF AFTERNOON SIGHTSEEING TOUR

The Central Adelaide Australia
Adelaide is symmetrically planned, with Victoria Square in the middle and four other squares around it. The city centre is between the North, South and West Terraces in the north, south and west; and Hutt Street in the east. The main street from south to north is King William Street which goes all the way to north Adelaide; and the main street east-west is Grote Street which changes name to Wakefield Street east of Victoria Square.

Things to do from Adelaide Australia:

MURRAY RIVER CRUISE INCLUDING LUNCH

BAROSSA VALLEY WINERIES

MCLAREN VALE WINERIES

KANGAROO ISLAND ONE AND TWO DAY TRIPS

COORONG WILDERNESS TOUR FROM ADELAIDE
 
Adelaide Australia - Eastern City Centre
East from the Victoria Square is St Francis Xavier Cathedral, west is St Mary’s Convent, and north is the Town Hall with a tourist information centre. On the surrounding streets there are a lot of hotels and restaurants, and east of the Town Hall is the Tandanya Indigenous Cultural Institute, an interesting place to learn about the culture of Australian Aboriginal People.

Adelaide Australia - Western City Centre
West of the Town Hall are the Central Market and Chinatown. As all the other Australian Chinatowns, it’s a colourful place to stroll and not that you will understand many signs unless you can read Chinese, but that’s what makes it different. There are many Chinese restaurants and interesting shops; and the Adelaide Central Market is a great place to have a look around.

Adelaide Australia - Northern Town Centre
But most of the action happens in and around Rundle Mall, north of the Town Hall and Chinatown. Like the malls of many other Australian towns and cities, Rundle Mall is a pedestrian mall with some great shops and restaurants.

Adelaide Australia - Museums
North of the Rundle Mall are some of the best Adelaide museums: South Australian Museum, Art Gallery of South Australia, and Migration Museum. The South Australian Museum has displays about Australia’s natural history and Aboriginal Culture, while in the Migration Museum you find stories of the many nationalities that have migrated to South Australia. The Art Gallery of South Australia is huge – there are both an Australian and an international art collection with works of many famous artists.

Adelaide Australia - Rymill Park and Ayers House
South-east from here there is an art gallery in the Urban Cow Studio; and the impressive Ayers House – a former home of Henry Ayers who gave name to Ayers Rock (nowadays called Uluru). Henry Ayers was a politician and a successful businessman who made a fortune in South Australia’s copper mines, and the house is huge and reflects all the wealth – it is so big there is even a library. Not all the rooms are open to the public, but the ones that are, are interesting to discover, and there are even two restaurants. East of the Ayers House is Rymill Park – a lovely place to walk or paddle.

Adelaide Zoo and Adelaide Botanic Gardens
North of Rymill Park is the National Wine Centre of Australia; and Adelaide Botanic Gardens. At the National Wine Centre of Australia you can go on a wine tasting tour, and in the Botanic Gardens there are free guided tours. North of the Botanic Gardens is the Botanic Park, and Adelaide Zoo south of Torrens River.

Torrens River and the Old Gaol in Adelaide Australia
The Torrens River, or River Torrens as it also is called, divides the town into a northern and a southern part. It is surrounded by lovely parklands with walking and bicycling paths which are very popular. On the western side along the river is the old Adelaide Gaol, an interesting museum that also has guided tours.

Adelaide Oval and St Peter’s Cathedral
North of the Torrens River is North Adelaide. As you drive north along the King William Road, it changes name to O’Connell Street after the bridge across the Torrens River. You’ll pass the Adelaide Oval on your left hand side before you come to the beautiful St Peter’s Cathedral, one of the town’s most famous landmarks. Further north is North Adelaide’s central square - Wellington Square, surrounded by a few streets and lots of parklands.

Port of Adelaide Australia and South Australian Maritime Museum
About 20km north-west of the city centre is Port of Adelaide – a port like others but the highlight is the beautiful red lighthouse that has been relocated twice and has been standing here since 1985. Inside is the South Australian Maritime Museum with displays about South Australia’s maritime history, ship models and nautical instruments, and even artworks and paintings of ships. It is an interesting museum, and the lighthouse itself is very pretty on photos.

Adelaide Australia - Glenelg South Australia
Adelaide’s most famous beach, Glenelg, is south of the city centre. It is popular with tourists as well as local swimmers and surfers, and there are some nice cafes on the beachfront. An interesting place to visit is Rodney Fox Shark Experience where you can learn all the good and bad things about Australian sharks, and the founder of the place is one of Australia’s most famous shark victims! You can also go scuba diving here with Glenelg Scuba Diving Centre.

Adelaide Hills and Cleland Conservation Park
East of the town is Adelaide Hills – a lovely area up in the mountains with small townships, vineyards and olive plantations. You can reach it via the Princes Highway south-east of the city centre. Not far out of the town on your left hand side is Cleland Conservation Park with some walking tracks, and the summit of Mount Lofty. Inside the park is the Cleland Wildlife Park where you can see the usual Australian animals like koalas and kangaroos.

Adelaide Australia - Eastern Adelaide Hills
East of Mount Lofty are Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens; and around in the area are lots of vineyards such as Asthon Hills Vineyard and Barratt Wines in north, and Petaluma’s Bridgewater Mill, Nepenthe Winery, Shaw Smith, Hahndorf Hill and Mawson Ridge in east. Further east in Mount Barker are the Hahndorf Farm Barn and Beerenberg Strawberry Farm.

Adelaide Australia - Festivals in Adelaide Australia
Adelaide has made South Australia famous as the “festival state” and there are a fair few festivals. In March there are Adelaide Festival of Arts, Clipsall 500 and Womadelaide. In August there is the Royal Adelaide Show and in October there are the Feast and Glenelg Jazz Festival. In November, there are the Christmas Pageant and Horse Trials, and in December there are the Proclamation Day and Bay Sports Festival.

Accommodation in Adelaide Australia
There are some good places to eat in the city, with Rundle Street, Chinatown, and Jetty Street in Glenelg being some of the most popular. And there are many places to stay (See here for more Adelaide Accommodation).

Hotels include Ambassadors Hotel, Arkaba Hotel, Comfort Hotel Highlander, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Grand Chifley Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Majestic Roof Garden Hotel, Mantra Hotel Hindmarsh Square, Mantra on Frome Hotel, Medina Grand Treasury Hotel, Mercure Grosvenor Hotel, Oaks Embassy Hotel, Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel, Plaza Hotel, Quality Hotel Tiffins on the Park, Rendezvous Allegra Hotel, Richmond Hotel, Rydges South Park Hotel, Stamford Plaza Hotel and The Sebel Playford Hotel.


Motels include Comfort Inn on Marion, Comfort Inn Scotty's,  Glenelg Motel, Jasper Motor Inn, Motel Adjacent Casino, Paringa Motel, Parkside South Terrace Motel, Pavlos Motel, Princes Arcade Motel, Princes Lodge Motel, Princes Highway Motel, Tollgate Motel and Welcome Inn 277.


Holiday apartments include Allenby Court Apartments, BreakFree on Hindley Apartments, Buxton Manor Apartments, Chelsea Apartments, Esplanade Apartments, Franklin Central Apartments, Glenelg Pacific Apartments, Grand Apartments, Manor Estate Apartments, Oakwood Frewville Apartments, Oaks Liberty Towers Apartments, Oaks Precinct Apartments, Oxford Terraces Apartments, Quest Apartments on Wakefield, Quest Mansions Apartments, Quest on King William Apartments, Quest on Sturt Apartments, Seawall Apartments, Timeball Apartments, and Windsor Apartments.

Here's a map of Adelaide Australia, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.

 
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