Unlike most Australian cities that grew up haphazardly around early settlements, Adelaide was planned from the start – and it shows. Colonel William Light’s 1837 town plan of broad streets surrounded by parkland has produced a city with next to no traffic jams, a grid-like street system which makes getting lost very hard to do, and best of all, an inner city where everything is within easy walking distance of everything else.
Start at Victoria Square, a diamond-shaped island in the geographical centre of the city surrounded by stately government buildings, some of which have been restored and transformed into elegant hotels such as the Medina Treasury Hotel. On the western side of the square, behind the Hilton Hotel, is the Central Market, a must see for all visitors to Adelaide. This is Australia’s oldest continuously operating market which began life as eight produce-laden carts driven by market gardeners in January 1869. Today it is a bustling undercover complex with the best range of international foods in Australia. More than 80 stalls sell an assortment of fresh fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, spices and all sorts of exotic produce. The atmosphere is electric as stalls holders vie for your attention, offering tastes and samples and all sorts of bargains. Even if you’re not shopping to stock up your pantry, you can still spend a few hours here tasting fresh sushi, baked pastries, steaming laksa, exotic breads, olives, spicy teas, smoked meats, handmade chocolates, pates, bush tucker, dried fruit… the list goes on. If it all gets too much stop for a coffee in one of several cafes and watch Adelaide’s chefs buying up for the night ahead, or wait until the hour before closing for some incredible bargains as stall holders try to empty their trays
From the market, wander northwards through the city to North Terrace, one of the four boundary streets that marks the edge of the city centre and the beginning of the parkland belt that slopes down towards the Torrens River. On the way drop into the GPO to marvel at the beautiful architecture just one of Edmund Wright’s many masterpieces designed in the 1870s. His trademark style, classical lines, carved columns, fine stonework and beautifully carved details, can be seen all over the city. Other buildings to keep an eye out for include the two clock towers over the GPO and Town Hall opposite, several banks, churches and of course, Parliament House.
North Terrace is a gift to visitors of the city. Along its length are all the city’s major attractions – of which the majority are free.
Towards the western end is the Exhibition Centre, and tucked under the overpass near Morphett’s Bridge is the Jam Factory, a collection of modern art and craft studios and workshops. Watch glass blowers at work, shop for gifts in the very tempting gallery store or browse one of the changing exhibitions in the gallery space
.
Continue past the railway station and casino to Parliament House, which was built in two sections. The west wing, designed by Wright, was completed in 1889, but the building remained unfinished due to a lack of funds until 1934, when wealthy local, Sir Langdon Bonython, donated £100,000 so that the east wing could be built and the building completed. The public gallery is open when Parliament is sitting.
Cross King William Street, skirting Government House and the National War Memorial. It’s double-sided so make sure you walk around the memorial to see the representations of before and after war – one of the few in the country that doesn’t actually depict soldiers.
This next section of North Terrace is crammed with attractions – all of them free. First is the State Library, which is home to the Bradman Collection of the cricket legend’s personal memorabilia. Smack up against the library is the South Australian Museum, where highlights include the natural history section (lots of stuffed animals for children to check out), the remarkable Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery and the Mawson Gallery.
Right next door is the Art Gallery of South Australia, which has a great café-cum-restaurant if it is time for lunch, and behind that are the Police Museum and barracks and the Migration Museum. This award-winning museum is housed in what was once the city’s destitute asylum, and has been beautifully restored. The first gallery, the forum, is given to community groups to tell their own migration stories, and subsequent galleries trace the history of Adelaide’s migration history, right up to the current situation dealing with asylum seekers and deportation camps. It’s an innovative museum that doesn’t pull any punches, letting first hand stories (many written by visitors and posted on notice boards) tell the history without the gloss of hindsight or political agendas.
From this cluster of culture, North Terrace spears eastward past the University of South Australia and Royal Adelaide Hospital to end in the Botanic Gardens, a haven in the heart of the city. First opened in 1857, the gardens are European in style, the original garden plans being influenced by Kew Gardens in England and Versailles in France. Highlights include several grand avenues and arched walkways crowned in wisteria, the ornate 1868 glass house and the new Bicentennial Conservatory, the largest single span conservatory in the southern hemisphere, which houses tropical rainforest plants and looks like a huge beetle from the air.
The last stop on this walking tour is the National Wine Centre of Australia, a massive structure of glass, wood and iron tucked into a corner of the Botanic Gardens and surround by grapevines. Home to Australia’s peak wine industry associations it has interactive exhibitions on the history of Australia’s wine industry and many wine producing regions, tasting rooms and a restaurant. Scratch and sniff your way around the wine making process, listen to holograms of some of the country’s leading winemakers’ talk about wine and then answer a quiz to see how you would shape up as a wine maker. This is easier than it sounds – my riesling turned out to be “the perfect accompaniment to an appalling meal, better suited as a niche cleaning agent for exterior surfaces.”
If all this walking finds you footsore you can jump on one of the free city loop or Bee Line Buses. If all else fails, hop on the historic tram to Glenelg which takes 20 minutes to travel from Victoria Square to the seaside suburb, grab yourself some fish and chips or a fresh ice cream cone and find yourself a sunny spot on the wooden jetty or sandy beach.
Attractions in the city are easy to reach on foot or on the free City Loop or Bee Line Busses. Trams to Glenelg depart from Victoria Square.
Central Market
Between Victoria Square, Grote and Gouger streets.
Open Tues 7am - 5.30pm, Thurs 9am – 5.30pm, Fri 7am – 9pm, Sat 7am –3pm.
Susie’s Boutique Tours
Walking tours of Adelaide Central market Bookings essential
Two hour tours depart 10am, Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat.
Phone: 0417 841 008.
Jam Factory.
Contemporary Craft & Design 19 Morphett Street
Mon – Fri 9am - 5.30pm, Sat 10am - 4pm. Closed Sundays and public holidays.
South Australian Museum
North Terrace.
Open daily 10am – 5pm.
Art Gallery of South Australia
North Terrace.
Open daily 10am-5pm except Christmas Day.
The Bradman Collection
State Library of SA, North Terrace.
Open Mon – Thurs 9.30am - 6pm; Fri 9.30am - 8pm; Sat & Sun noon - 5pm.
Closed public holidays.
Migration Museum
82 Kintore Ave.
Open Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm; Sat, Sun and public holidays 1pm - 5pm. Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
North Terrace.
Open Mon – Fri 8am – sunset; Sat, Sun and public holidays 9am – sunset.
Wine Centre of Australia
Corner of Botanic and Hackney roads.
Open daily 10am - 6pm.
Ayers House Museum
North Terrace.
Open Tues – Fri 10am - 4pm; Sat, Sun and public holidays 1pm - 4pm. Closed Monday except public holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Tourabout Adelaide.
Guided walking tours Phone: (08) 8333 1111.
All year.
January: 16-28°C
July: 3-19°C
Adelaide has a dry climate, with most rain falling during winter.
Visitor Information Centre
Ground Floor, 18 King William Street, Adelaide.
Phone: 1300 655 276.
4WD
