What are the best things to do in Adelaide, South Australia?

The best things to do in Adelaide include dining in laneways such as Peel Street, taking in the heritage buildings of North Terrace and shopping at the Adelaide Central Market. Other Adelaide activities include mountain bike tours, swimming with dolphins from Glenelg and climbing the roof of the Adelaide Oval cricket ground.

Things to do in Adelaide, South Australia

Adelaide is the state capital of South Australia, and by far its largest city. It has a more sedate reputation than Australia’s other state capitals, but combines a wealth of heritage buildings and fascinating museums around North Terrace and Victoria Square with easily accessible wine regions and well-preserved bushland. There are also plenty of things to do in Adelaide.

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Adelaide’s CBD is rapidly improving. The stalwart attractions of Rundle Mall (including the Adelaide Arcade, Mall’s Balls and Haigh’s Chocolates – visitable on a food tour) and Adelaide Central Market have been joined by a laneway bar and restaurant scene. Peel Street is arguably the most interesting of these, although there are other quirky laneways named after musicians, such as Cold Chisel Lane.

Just across the River Torrens from the city centre, the Adelaide Oval is one of the most beloved cricket grounds on earth. You can stay at the Adelaide Oval Hotel, while the Roofclimb tour there lets visitors loose on the white, scallop-shaped roofs. It is possible to go for a gondola ride or hire a BBQ Buoy on the River Torrens afterwards or try the aerial adventure park at TreeClimb Adelaide.

Nearby, you’ll find the serene Adelaide Himeji Garden and the 50 metre pool at the Unley Swimming Centre.

If you’d prefer to do something in the evening, then the Adelaide Gaol ghost tours provide plenty of grisly tales.

More Adelaide activities

But Adelaide’s strengths lie on its fringes. Beachside suburb Glenelg offers swimming with dolphins cruises and the Moseley Beach Club. Surfers may prefer to take the Seaford train down to Seaford Beach, which tends to get bigger waves. Semaphore Beach in the north, meanwhile, is a good family hang-out.

Elsewhere, the Morialta Conservation Park around Morialta Falls is a great place to spot koalas.

Should you wish to hold a koala, the Cleland Wildlife Park offers that opportunity. This is a stop-off on one of the best things to do in Adelaide – the Escape Goat mountain bike tour from Mt Lofty.

Another option is kayaking around Garden Island’s shipwrecks in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.

Day trips from Adelaide

Adelaide is also blessed with having plenty to see on its doorstep. Go north, and you quickly hit the world-famous Barossa Valley wine region. Here, you can take an early-morning Barossa Valley hot air ballooning tour or cycle the Barossa Trail. There are also several wine-tasting tours from Adelaide.

The Adelaide Hills to the east also offers wine at the likes of Golding Wines, beer at the Mismatch Brewing Company in Lot 100 and gin at the Applewood Distillery. But the strangely German town of Hahndorf is also fascinating for art-lovers. You can stop at the Crafers Hotel for a beer and a meal on the way back.

To the south of Adelaide are the beaches and bushland of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Try renting a car in Adelaide, then fishing for mullet at Sellicks Beach. South of Adelaide is also where you’ll find the McLaren Vale, home to world class Shiraz wines and quirky wineries. While there, stop for a walk in the Onkaparinga River National Park, biologically-grown wines at Inkwell and a hefty dose of weirdness at the d’Arenberg Cube.

Bars and restaurants in Adelaide

2KW | Aurora | Chicco Palms | Crafers Hotel | Fugazzi | Golden Boy | Hispanic Mechanic | Madame Hanoi | Marion Hotel | Maybe Mae | Merrymaker | Moseley Beach Club | ShoSho | Sol Bar | Yiasou George