...we are having a great great great trip!!!
Ellie L.
Australia
by The Travel Group
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My City Adelaide - "Must do's"

Adelaide City Centre - The City centre is really nice and easy to walk around.  Shopping is excellent on the paved pedestrian "Rundle Mall" in the middle of the city. Go to a "Pie Cart" (there is normally one in the city often in Victoria Square or on "The Parade" in Norwood which is a nice older suburb 5 minutes out of the city) and be brave and order a Pie Floater!  This is a traditional South Australian snack of a meat pie in the middle of a plate smothered by mushy peas and tomato sauce! Yummy! 

The museums and galleries are mostly all on North Terrace. The Museum and the ArtGallery are excellent and they are free! The "Mawson Antarctic Display" on the top floor of the museum is really interesting. Go into the "Mortlock Library" (turn right and follow the sign when you enter the state library on North terrace), it’s a really nice old building, great architecture. Reminds me of Harry Potter a little. You can access your email for free next door in the general library section if you want (currently amongst construction of a new "super library").

The Adelaide Casino is the old Railway Building and is a very bright and exciting casino amongst stunning architecture.

Adelaide Oval is known to be the most picturesque Cricket Oval in the world. You can do tours of the place but it's just nice to walk out into the grounds (free and always open to the public)and just look around.  It's just a few blocks from North Terrace walking towards North Adelaide along King William Street.  After Adelaide Oval you should walk up behind it to "Lights Vision" in North Adelaide. It's on a slight hill and provides the best photo opportunity of the city.  There is a statue of Colonel William Light there at the lookout who planned the city (he also planned Christchurch in New Zealand). Just ask the locals if you get lost.  Just past the lookout a few blocks is a good area for restaurants and the North Adelaide Aquatic Centre. Huge Olympic Size pool and great indoor swimming area if you're into it.

Adelaide Nightlife - All the pubs are good...for a good cafe and pub scene spend some time in Rundle Street (not Rundle Mall...it's at the end of the Mall towards the hills). There are excellent restaurants and outdoor cafes on Rundle Street and it really is becoming the "vibe" of the city.  Also, Norwood, North Adelaide and Kent Town are great for pubs/cafes and Restaurants.

Glenelg – The Beach at Glenelg is great. Ride the old tram from Victoria Square in the city centre down there. Only takes about 20 minutes.  Nice little seaside suburb and some shops etc...it’s best in summer as can get a little “fresh” in winter.  http://www.glenelgsa.com.au/

 

 

Victor Harbor - About 1 and a half hours drive down the coast - South of Adelaide...rugged cliff fronts, excellent seaside town and good wineries on the way down (Mclaren Vale Wineries).  http://tourismvictorharbor.com.au/

Hahndorf - German town in the Adelaide Hills.  There are local buses from downtown to Hahndorf...takes a little over an hour but is a really pleasant trip and the town is great.  Many German settlers in the late 1800's moved into the Hills and formed a town.  All the stores and pubs are German and the feel is very European. Pretty in the spring, and is still nice in the winter.  http://www.adhills.com.au/tourism/towns/hahndorf/

Barossa Valley & Magill Estate - Can't be missed. My favourite wineries in the Barossa are Peter Lehmann Wines, Seppeltsfield, Chateau Yaldara, Yalumba and Penfolds (Penfolds also has a great winery in the suburbs of Adelaide in Magill, the Magill Estate where the world famous Penfolds Grange is made). They have a great tour you can do at the Magill estate and it’s only 20 minutes from the city.

http://www.penfolds.com/brand_penfolds/cellar-doors/magill-estate/

Hiking in Adelaide Hills - for Hiking and scenery. I always enjoyed Morialta Conservation Park which has a nice little hike that takes you to the Morialta Falls and some nice views back down over Adelaide.  Also Mt Lofty has brilliant views over Adelaide and great hiking and also Waterfall Gully is great to name just a few.  Adelaide has some great spots such as these for hiking and picnics and nature at it's wildest and best.  Can be dry and hot in the middle of summer but still worth a visit. All of these areas are about a 20 minute drive from the city. 

This website is great for information on the Hiking options in the parks.

http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide_Hills

Cleland Conservation & Wildlife Park - In the Adelaide Hills, again local buses from downtown can take you to Cleland or car rental is easy.  Excellent natural surroundings wildlife park full of Kangaroos that you can feed and they eat right out of your hand.  There are Koala's and Tasmanian Devils and lots of other wildlife...worth it if you've not done this type of thing before. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/clelandwildlife/Home

Gorge Wildlife Park - In the Adelaide Hills. Easier with car rental but still only 20-30 minutes from the city centre.  Just like Cleland yet a little less touristy and you don't have to pay to hold a koala.  My personal favourite park although it can be a little tricky to find.  http://www.gorgewildlifepark.com.au/

Adelaide Suburbs - Port Adelaide is worth a look nowadays with it's Maritime Museums and history...good to walk around if you have some spare time and it can be reached easily by train in 20 minutes.

All the beach suburbs are pleasant but obviously not as nice in the winter.  Glenelg is the biggest and most touristy and really nice. Henley Beach is great and where the movie Shine was shot in "Henley on the Beach" cafe, Grange and Semaphore beaches are excellent too and have cafes and jetty's (piers) to wander on.  Nice place to spend an afternoon or early evening especially in the heat of summer.  

I grew up in the suburbs at the foot (base) of the hills - "Highbury" and "Magill", pretty areas but not really anything for tourists, other than a visit to Penfolds Winery at the top of Magill Road on Penfolds Road (see Barossa..section above) 

If you like you could get on the O'Bahn busway from one of the bus stops on Grenfell Street in the city centre and travel to Tea Tree Plaza Shopping Centre (out my way).  The buses travel on the road for about 10 mins then onto train track type things through nice scenery.  It's a bus on tracks with suctions and travels about 110kms an hour and only stops twice before getting all the way out to the “Plaza”. It's a German design and the only other one like it is in Germany. The “Plaza” is a  decent regular suburban shopping centre.

Norwood is one of the oldest suburbs in Adelaide and close to the city.  The "Parade" is the main street that runs through Norwood  and has some boutique shops good pubs and a great outdoor cafe "vibe".  Another similar area is the suburbs of Kent Town and Unley also close to the city where you will find boutique clothing and antique stores and great architecture.   

Aussie Rules Football - ADELAIDE CROWS or Port Power are in the national competition.  Try and get to a game at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide.  It's not expensive and is fantastic. There are direct buses that leave from Currie St in the city. Try and get some locals to take you and especially a Crows game as that's my team!  It's really part of the culture this game and many of them are played at night under lights and the atmosphere is great.  Eat a meat pie with sauce (tomato...never ask for Ketchup) and a pastie...it's what you have to do at the footy! The games are only once a week with the season from APR-SEP (subject to making the finals in SEP).

        

Have a great time in my city!

 

Adelaide City Centre -

The City centre is really nice and easy to walk around.  Shopping is excellent on the paved pedestrian "Rundle Mall" in the middle of the city.  Go to a Pie Cart"and be brave and order a "Pie Floater".....