50 Things To Do in and around Adelaide, South Australia

The other day I saw a group on Facebook entitled 'That silent pause when a tourist asks you what there is to see in Adelaide'. Now, if I was a grumpy teenager with small town syndrome, I might be inclined to agree. However, I'm a grown woman with normal interests like food and wine and culture and partying, so I'm posting to tell you what there is to see and do in Adelaide.

1. The Adelaide Zoo: it looks pretty good since the renovations associated with the Pandas, which are friggin' adorable. The two Giant Pandas are the only ones in the whole southern hemisphere, and they are also the first pandas to live permanently in Australia. Plus, they've been introduced for mating, so soon there will be little panda cubs made of mind-blowing awwwwww.

2. The Art Gallery of South Australia
It's free and pretty. And it's working hard to attract the hottest touring exhibitions.

3. SA Museum
The museum, right next to the art gallery on North Terrance, has one of the biggest collections of Aboriginal and Islander artefacts in the world. Plus there's a giant squid in a tube.

4. Cleland Wildlife Park
You get to pet kangaroos, and it's one of the only wildlife parks where you can hold a koala and get your picture taken with it.

5. Botanic Gardens
Top place for having a picnic or just taking a break from walking around town, and one of the only places it's acceptable to nap in public.

6. Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary
This unique wildlife park is a haven for native creatures in the Hills, and is famous for its platypus pond. It's really cheap to stay overnight in an eco-cabin (cool little unit that looks like a tent from the outside but has normal beds and a bathroom and everything), which is definitely recommended if you want to take a night time tour and see some nocturnal animals.

7. Haigh's Chocolate Factory
It's free to take a 20-minute tour of the factory that produces Australia's best chocolate, and you can taste the finished product at the end.

8. Glenelg
Glenelg has recently been developed as a tourist area, and the Jetty Road shopping precinct is open for business when some other places aren't. There's the beachfront and the jetty to walk around and soak up the sun, the Beach House amusement... thingy, it's not really a whole park but it's still OK, heritage museums, and aquatics schools where you can learn to dive and sail.

9. Hahndorf
Hahndorf is only a half hour out of the city via the freeway, and is the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia. There are plenty of great restaurants, top pubs, and things to check out like art galleries, gourmet and craft stores, and the Hahndorf Farm Barn. Nearby is the Beerenberg establishment, famous for their jam and chutney, where you can pick your own strawberries during the summer.

10. Fruit picking
Speaking of wholesome summertime activities, you can pick your own berries and cherries at the right time of year at several farms close to Adelaide. Usually you either pay a small fee and pick as many as you can carry, or you pay a ridiculously cheap price per kilo you pick yourself. It's a fun and cute date idea, or something to do with housemates or family on a boring holiday afternoon- you can extend it by figuring out how many you can eat before they go bad, and making the rest into jam.

11. Morialta Falls
Public transport goes near here and there's a fair bit of parking at the entrance area. This is a great spot for hiking as there are a number of walking trails of different lengths and difficulties. Plus also there's a waterfall.

12. Victor Harbour
A convenient day trip from Adelaide, there's a whale watching centre where you can learn about and maybe even see wild Southern Right whales. Also, there's penguins on Granite Island. And OMG in the winter, a local team of nannas knits TINY PENGUIN JUMPERS for the orphaned penguins that are saved and looked after in the conservation centre.

13. Mt Lofty Summit
The highest point in the Adelaide Hills, it's not so much of a mountain, more of a really tall hill. Anyway, at the top there is a lookout where you can see the whole city from east to west, and out south to sea. A very romantic place at sunset, and there's a cafe and bar where you can grab something to drink as you watch the sun sink into the Gulf.

14. Windy Point
Known as make-out or smoke-out point to a number of local kids, it also has one of the city's very best restaurants, which has won several awards and has a great floor to ceiling window that wraps around it and shows off another spectacular view of the town. The cafe downstairs is just as special but a little more affordable.

15. Adelaide Central Market
Housed in a historic building, it's not just a great place to shop for affordable fruit and veg, it showcases some of the city and state's best produce and gourmet foods. A tip from some fellow poor students is to do your own mini food tour of the market and feed yourself off delicious free samples. It is bordered by two streets known for their great restaurants and sweet bars and lounges, which really come alive on Friday nights.

16. Chinatown
Partly integrated into the abovementioned Market is Adelaide's very own Chinatown, with its restaurants ranging from el cheapo noodle bars to well established classic Chinese restaurants. There are also a number of grocery stores where you can go to pick up hard to find ingredients, or yummy sweets; try a sesame ball if you can get one fresh, I don't even know what the stuff in the middle is but I swear it's one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. If you're on the lookout for a variety of less expensive souvenirs, this is the place to go.

17. Architecture walking tour
If you're keen on architecture or just design in general, you can take a free walking tour of the city's historical and innovative buildings, including the famous churches. Maps are available at tourist info centres where you see that blue and yellow 'i' sign- there's one in Rundle Mall.

18. Kangaroo Island
It's debatable whether K.I. can be seen on a day trip, but I've done one before and it was great. You can explore untouched bushland, fish on pristine beaches, see the wildlife like the famous seals (where you can go right on the beach with them), go on an eco tour or charter, or visit one of the famous food producers, such as the honey factories (I know honey is made by bees, but this is where they keep them and extract the honey and make the associated products... never mind). Highlights for me were Seal Bay Conservation Park and the cute and informative, if slightly tacky, wild bird flight display.

19. Himeji Garden
This Japanese garden, a gift from Adelaide's sister city, is located in the south Parklands and is free to enter and open every day of the year. Unlike many ornamental gardens, picnicing is encouraged and there's a sheltered area to eat in next to the zen sand thingy. I've been on photo expeditions here and it's a great place to practice.

20. Adelaide Gaol
Do a tour of the old Adelaide Gaol; ghost tours and paranormal workshops are also available, as it's one of the most haunted sites in the state.

21. Adelaide Farmers' Market
This amazing farmers' market is on (nearly) every Sunday at the Adelaide Showgrounds, just outside of the city. Check out the produce the state has to offer, from flowers to seafood, fruit to honey, baked goods to fresh, unhmogonised milk straight from the cow. For a different Sunday treat, look for the icecream stall (inside) that sells unique Aussie bush tucker flavours.

22. Willunga Farmers' Market
An award winner and one of the original farmers' markets of Adelaide, this one is a little further out of town but well worth the trip. There are more than 50 stalls, and membership will get you even bigger discounts on the freshest, best local produce.

23. Stirling Market
Just off the main street of the sweet hills village of Stirling every fourth Sunday is the Stirling Market. It's more of an arts and crafts market, but there are also food and produce stalls, and stalls selling a variety of native plants. A civilized way to spend a hungover Sunday.

24. Coopers Brewery Tour
Take a tour of where the state's best beer is made. It's only $22 ($20 of which is donated to charity), and there are free tastings!

25. Festivals
It's not known as the Festival State for nothing. Any time of year there's bound to be a great arts or cultural festival going on, whether or not you're lucky enough to be in town for the Fringe Festival (the second biggest of its kind in the whole world). From the Cabaret Festival to Schutzenfest, WOMAD to SALA, the Festival of Ideas to the Royal Adelaide Show, there's something for everyone's taste.

26. The Reading Room
When you're broke and have nothing else to do in the city, go hang out at The Reading Room, on Hindley Street. It's like a loungeroom where you can chill out, listen to music, read books, have a cup of tea, and meet up with people, and nobody will make you pay money or join a religion and whatnot. There are also often screenings, open mic nights, readings and other fun events.

27. The National Wine Centre
As the home of Australia's (and some of the world's) best wine, it's only fitting that Adelaide should be home to the National Wine Centre. As per their webiste: "Here you can enjoy wine and winemaking from the ground up. Our interactive Wine Discovery Journey and exhibition showcases the complete wine experience. The Concourse Café offers fine Australian wines to taste and purchase or enjoy a meal from our seasonal à la carte menu while overlooking the stunning views of the Botanic Gardens"

28.  Adelaide Oval
If you're a cricket nut, catch a game or take a tour of one of the world's famously well-kept cricket grounds.

29. Indie Cinema
In the city's west end, there's the Mercury Cinema, which hosts the Adelaide Cinematheque amongst regular screenings of classic films and hidden gems. In the east end, there's the Palace and Nova cinemas, which show a mixture of arthouse and mainstream films, and have the city's cheapest tickets: Mondays before 4pm is $7 and after 4pm is $8. On Wednesdays, students can get a ticket and some popcorn for just $10. It's also one of the only licensed cinema venues, so you can take a beer into the theatre! If you enjoy a meal and a sneaky drink while you watch your movie, and also viewing said movie from a beanbag or somesuch, and also outdoors, then you have to check out the Moonlight Cinema during the summer.

30. Beaches
There's a huge variety of beaches along the coast near Adelaide, from water sports destinations to nudie beaches and beaches you can drive your car right on to. Did you know that South Aussie beaches are some of the only beaches in the world where the sand is silver and not golden, due to the unique source materials (minerals, ground up dolphins and crap) in the environment?

31. Rundle Street Markets
Every Saturday, 9am-4pm, down the west end of Rundle Street. Mostly an arts and crafts market, it's a great place to check out local artisan talent.

32. Gilles Street Market
The Gilles Street Market, held twice a month in summer and once a month in winter, is an AMAZING fashion market, where you can pick up new and vintage bargains. Beats the crap out of Sydney's Paddington Markets in my opinion.

33. Barossa Valley Wine Region
One of the state's wine regions and only a short distance from Adelaide, it has about a bajillion cellar doors to explore, where tastings are usually free. To see many of these and get home safely, try a wine tour (from about $40) where you go on a minibus to a variety of wineries.

34. McLaren Vale Wine Region
The main drag in McLaren Vale has some cute stores and great restaurants, and the region in general has a number of well-known wineries which also have top-notch restaurants attached. If you prefer beer or are just getting a bit sick of wine, go to the Vale Inn and try their craft beer.

35. Clare Valley Wine Region
A little further out from town, but worth the drive for the scenery and adorable old winery and cellar buildings.

36. Fleurieu Wine Region
This is the wine region to head to if you want to combine epic food with the best wine. I did a wine tour with a visiting friend from Canada which included stops at several well known cellar doors with free tastings and gourmet snackies at each stop. There are a number of different guided options like this to suit your budget; you can do a group tour in a minibus with other fun, like-minded travellers, or you can do a private tour in a limo; you can even do a wine and cheese tour by bicycle, if that's your thing! Check the link for more details: look for the search and book tab at the top of the page.

37. Like, O.M.G., Outlet Shopping!

38. Bowerbird Bazaar
If you're lucky enough to be in town at the right time, or you're a native in the first place, definitely check out the Bowerbird Bazaar design market, which showcases Adelaide's amazing emerging fashion, art and design talents.

39. Port Adelaide
Tons of public transport goes here, and it's easy to waste a day down the Port as you check out the heritage areas, or the big trash & treasure market on Sundays. The Port River is also home to a unique colony of dolphins which you may be lucky enough to spot on a cruise.

40. The Parade, Norwood
Home to a mixture of heritage boutiques and chain stores, the Parade is a fun place to shop and get a cup of coffee. There are also pubs dating back to the settlement of the area, and the Parade is also host to an annual food, wine and music festival. It's about eight seconds out of the city by car or public transport. Check out the Mary Martin Bookshop branch in the old church hall, and the Bottega Rotolo gourmet store (which also has a cooking school).

41. Maggie Beer Farm Shop
While you're in the Barossa, or on a day trip of its own, go and visit Maggie Beer's Farm Shop. Maggie is an Adelaide icon, and if you haven't tried some of her verjuice, pate or jelly, you've probably seen her on ABC's The Cook and The Chef. There are daily cooking demonstrations, and you can pick up her entire range of gourmet goodies, as well as picnic fare. Her icecream is epic, the flavours are totally unique.

42. Rundle Mall
I know, I know- the aforementioned stupid teenagers hang out here. But it has all the chain stores and department stores in one very central location, and there's always the (debatable) artistic merit of the pigs, fountain, and Balls. Hehe, balls. Oh- and if you want to get a souvenir tshirt of the mall's balls, or some other unique souvenir, head down Rundle Street and turn left on Frome, and look for the Urban Cow Studio.

43. Monarto Zoo
Monarto is an open range safari style zoo 15 minutes out of the city by car- you can get a bus there too. They focus on African animals but also have endangered species from other continents and Australia, such as bison, bilbies and wallabies. You can do special tours, including a behind the scenes tour where you get 'within a whisker' of the big cats.

44. Cheese
This blog post, which I'm stupidly writing over lunchtime, has got me thinking about cheese. Oh man, I love cheese. Luckily in Adelaide you can get imported stuff at excellent prices, as well as amazing local products (Paris Creek is one of my favourites, and some of their stuff is even available in supermarkets). I bought my dad a cheese making class for his birthday at Udder Delights and I'm still waiting for him to roll me out my wheel of brie...

45. Penfolds
Speaking of the make-your-own experience, at Penfolds cellar door in the Barossa Valley, you can do a tour of their Winemaker's Lab, and then have a go at blending your very own wine. Penfolds is home to arguably Australia's best and most famous wine, the Grange, which you can learn more about at the Magill Estate cellar door, which is just outside the city.

46. Check out the city's vintage boutiques
Adelaide doesn't have the same problem as Melbourne and Sydney when it comes to op-shops being cleaned out of vintage and retro finds, which are then ridiculously overprices in boutiques. Not only can you find amazing clothing at the city's op-shops, there are a few very well curated vintage and retro boutiques within walking distance of each other in the city. Check out a few different blogs for details and reviews.

47. The Festival Centre
See opera, ballet or theatre at the Festival Centre. Sure, it's not as fancy a building as the Opera House, but it hosts the best theatre, opera and music that is produced in or tours to Adelaide. There are often free events, students always get cheap tickets, and you can save a lot with a seasonal subscription. Come on, get some culture up ya!

48. The Experimental Art Foundation
The EAF is pretty, pretty rad. There are always sweet exhibitions and there's a permanent bookshop too. The EAF is also right by the Jam Factory, where you can view the gallery, see artisans at work, or even take a class in ceramics, glass or jewellery yourself.

49. WEA
This is one for the locals. If you're always complaining that you're bored, and also complaining that uni sucks or that you don't have time to learn outside work or that your brain is done being challenged, go take a damn short course at the WEA. Courses are really cheap and it's the place to go to learn random stuff like Crochet and Patternmaking (and sexy stuff like massage and foreign languages).The reason I posted this is that courses are designed for workers (out of business hours), and they're short so there's not a massive commitment.

50.  Eat Your Way around Adelaide
Adelaide is the kind of town where, if you know where to go, there's epic food and entertainment to be had. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about eating tours of cities including Adelaide; while you're waiting, check out Aroma Japanese Cuisine on Gouger Street for enough sushi for $13.80 that you won't want to eat again for a long, long time.