Best Things To Do in Adelaide: Culture, Coastlines, and City Adventures

Long underrated, Adelaide has become a marvel of food, wine, culture, sport, and accessible nature. The South Australian capital has around the same number of restaurants per capita as Melbourne, is consistently named one of the world’s most livable cities, and produces over 80 per cent of Australia’s premium wine within an hour of its CBD.

Set on Kaurna Yarta (Kaurna Country), the city grows outward, not up. There are no high-rise canyons here, just plenty of heritage sandstone, wide boulevards, and a city ringed by parkland. From Peel Street’s small bars to Bowden’s creative microbreweries, Port Adelaide’s street art scene, and a coastline dotted with laid-back beach suburbs, here are the very best things to do in Adelaide.

You don’t have to spend money to see the best of Adelaide. Some of the city’s richest experiences are gloriously free.

Start with North Terrace, the city’s cultural spine all lined up in a single, walkable kilometre. Start at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), where colonial portraits hang beside boundary-pushing contemporary works and one of the country’s most important collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

A few doors down, the South Australian Museum tells the story of this continent through mega-fauna fossils, meteorites, and the world’s largest collection of First Nations cultural objects.

Less than five minutes' walk will take you to the giant figs and lakes of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Step inside the 19th‑century Palm House imported from Germany, admire the architectural sweep of the Bicentennial Conservatory, then follow shaded paths to the native wetlands project where ibis and ducks search for lunch.

Finally, head to Port Adelaide, where weathered warehouses meet large-scale mural art. Since the Wonderwalls festival began transforming blank industrial walls in 2015, this once-sleepy port has become one of the country’s biggest and best open-air galleries. You’ll find hyper-real portraits, abstract giants and political commentary splashed across entire streets.

Adelaide’s food scene owes much to its early waves of Italian, Greek, Vietnamese and Indian migrants, whose influence is still visible across its delis, markets and suburban bakeries. Over the past decade, new generations of chefs, winemakers and distillers have been building on that heritage, fusing global technique with fiercely local produce.

Start in the CBD’s East End, especially around Rundle Street and East Terrace, where restaurants like Golden Boy and East End Cellars have become institutions. At Africola, Chef Duncan Welgemoed’s fire-fuelled tribute to North African cooking with glorious peri-peri chicken, smoked cabbage and earthy natural wines. A few blocks west, Peel and Leigh backstreets are packed with cocktail bars, wine dens and late-night eateries. Maybe Mae is hidden behind a sandwich shop, Bread and Bone slings bourbon and burgers from an upstairs perch, and Clever Little Tailor remains the go-to for low-lit, high-quality pours.

No culinary map of the city is complete without a stop at Adelaide Central Market, just off Gouger Street. A fixture since 1869, it remains the soul of Adelaide’s food culture. On Saturdays, the place thrums with shoppers balancing baskets of sourdough, sticky baklava and fresh seafood. Grab an espresso at Minor Figures, a panini from Lucia’s, a wheel of triple-cream from The Smelly Cheese Shop, and a steaming bowl of pho at Sunshine.

And then, of course, there’s the wineries. Adelaide is uniquely placed within striking distance of three major wine regions, each less than an hour from the city. To the north lies the Barossa Valley, home to Australia’s boldest shiraz and century-old estates like Seppeltsfield, where you can sip a fortified vintage from your birth year. To the south, McLaren Vale hugs the coastline with a climate perfect for grenache, fiano and cabernet franc. Here, the d’Arenberg Cube, a five-storey architectural curiosity, offers tastings and modern art exhibitions in one dizzying package.

East of the city, the Adelaide Hills is cooler, greener and a magnet for natural wine lovers. At Shaw + Smith, you’ll find some of the most elegant chardonnay in the country, while cider lovers should detour to LOBO, and cheese fiends will want to stop at Udder Delights in Hahndorf. No car? No problem. Operators like Pure SA and Getaways SA run small-group tours that take care of the driving while you take care of the tasting.

Adelaide is one of those rare capitals where a family holiday doesn’t involve long drives, brutal queues or frantic scheduling. Everything is close, easy and built to withstand the attention span of a six-year-old after a choc-top.

Start in the CBD at MOD., the University of South Australia’s science and technology museum. It’s free, hands-on, and designed to lure teens away from their phones with interactive exhibits on space, biotech, robotics, gaming and the ethics of future tech. It’s one of the few museums in the country built expressly for curious older kids.

A short walk away, Lot Fourteen has quietly become Adelaide’s innovation campus. Families can book into the Australian Space Discovery Centre, where kids can “drive” a Mars rover, learn how satellites track bushfires, and watch mission control simulations run by the Australian Space Agency. It’s educational without ever slipping into school-excursion territory.

When the weather is good the city’s parklands deliver the kind of outdoor space you usually have to go regional for. Bonython Park, on the river’s western edge, has one of the best playgrounds in the state: flying foxes, wheelchair-accessible equipment, a splash zone in summer and plenty of shady grass for parental recovery. A loop walk or bike ride along the River Torrens will take you past black swans, rowing crews and the surprisingly lively pirate ship playground at Angas Gardens.

To burn off even more energy, head north to St Kilda Adventure Playground, a cult favourite for generations of Adelaide families. It’s enormous, slightly chaotic, and old-school in a way that feels almost illicit in 2025: a multi-storey wooden castle, huge slides, rope climbs and a maze. The adjacent mangrove boardwalk is an unexpected bonus, with long timber paths weaving through wetlands and bird habitats.

On the coast, head a little north to Semaphore, a beach suburb with just enough nostalgia to keep grandparents happy. There’s a historic carousel, a mini steam train running on weekends and holidays, and an esplanade lined with playgrounds, picnic spots and shallow swimming areas perfect for little legs. In summer, the foreshore hosts a waterslide and carnival setup that feels lifted straight from a 1980s postcard.

If your kids’ interests run more toward creatures that don’t cuddle, try The Beachfront Snorkel Trail off Port Noarlunga Jetty. The sheltered reef just off the shore hosts schools of reef fish, starfish and soft corals. For non-swimmers, the long jetty and wide sands make it an easy half-day outing. Local operators also run short introductions to snorkelling in the shallows for beginners.

For rainy days, The National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide is an unlikely hero: a cavernous, kid-friendly space filled with vintage locomotives you can board, mini steam trains to ride, and exhibits that explain how the state was stitched together by rail. It’s engaging, grounded in local history and mercifully indoors. A few blocks away, The South Australian Maritime Museum offers family scavenger hunts and an excellent climbable lighthouse.

Round things out with Adelaide Oval RoofClimb, which offers a dedicated family route. Kids aged eight and up can strap in and walk across the stadium’s curved rooftop for panoramic city views. It’s controlled, safe and surprisingly serene once you’re up there.

If you’re chasing a classic beach suburb, take the vintage-style tram from the CBD to Glenelg. The gentle foreshore is perfect for families and even has its own mini amusement park, The Beach House, with dodgem cars, water slides and mini golf.

Further afield, about 50 minutes south of the CBD, Port Willunga offers a postcard version of the South Australian coast. White sand, limestone cliffs and the remains of an old jetty make this stretch of beach a favourite for photographers. You can hike, swim, sip and be back at your hotel in time for dinner.

For a sweeping view of the city and coast, head uphill to Mount Lofty Summit in Cleland Conservation Park. On a clear day, the entire Adelaide Plain stretches out below, framed by gum trees and sky. It's one of the best natural vantage points in any Australian capital, and entry is free. While you're up there, stop at Cleland Wildlife Park, a short drive from the summit. You can hand-feed kangaroos, spot emus wandering the trails, and meet koalas.

Or if you're just after a peaceful patch of green, Himeji Garden on South Terrace, a gift from Adelaide’s Japanese sister city, blends sculpted landscaping, stone lanterns, and water features into a quiet sanctuary on the edge of the city.

Adelaide is flatter than Amsterdam, with over 1,000 km of dedicated bike trails, meaning every beach, garden and gallery is within easy reach if you’re willing to pedal.

Kangaroo Island may not technically be a day trip, more of a rewarding over-nighter, but if you start early it can be done. The journey begins with a 90-minute drive south to Cape Jervis, followed by a 45-minute ferry across to the island. What waits on the other side is one of Australia’s richest natural environments with rugged coastlines, Remarkable Rocks, wild beaches, and the rare experience of seeing sea lions up close at Seal Bay.

About an hour east of Adelaide, the River Murray opens into a wide, ochre-lined landscape that feels a world away from the coast. Start in Mannum, a historic paddle-steamer town where you can take short cruises along one of Australia’s most important waterways. Cliffs tower over the river in places, birdlife crowds the gums, and the whole area moves at a pace that almost forces you to relax.

Ten minutes down the road sits Monarto Safari Park, the largest open-range zoo in the southern hemisphere. It’s not your typical zoo experience — the enclosures stretch for kilometres, animals roam in large herds, and the safari buses get you eye-level with giraffes, lions, hyenas and rhinos.

For something underrated but quietly spectacular, and one of the best day trips out of Adelaide, head to the Fleurieu Peninsula. Around 45 to 60 minutes south of the city, this region is where South Australia’s winemaking heritage collides with the sea. In Victor Harbor, you can swim with wild dolphins or ride the horse-drawn tram to Granite Island. Inland, the Onkaparinga River National Park offers deep sandstone gorges and kayaking routes that feel prehistoric.

Even closer to the city, the Adelaide Hills offer a cooler, greener kind of day trip. Just 30 minutes from the CBD, the region is anchored by Hahndorf, Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement, with timber-framed beer halls, wood-fired bakeries, farm shops and galleries.

For a city often (wrongly) labelled sleepy, each Adelaide explodes into a cultural free-for-all, with a run of world-class festivals that transform parks, theatres, laneways and warehouses into stages.

First is the Adelaide Fringe, the biggest arts festival in Australia and the second largest in the world after Edinburgh. With over 1,200 events packed into four weeks across February and March, it’s wild, irreverent and joyfully inclusive. Comedy, cabaret, circus, theatre, experimental performance - if it can happen on a stage, it probably will.

Overlapping, but at a different register, is the Adelaide Festival. Established in 1960, this is the city's cultural cornerstone, a curated program of opera, dance, theatre, classical music and visual art that draws top-tier performers and companies from around the world.

Then comes WOMADelaide, a four-day open-air celebration, also in March, of world music, arts and dance held in the city’s Botanic Park. Founded by Peter Gabriel and now a flagship event on the global festival circuit, it’s where Afrobeat legends, jazz collectives, Indigenous storytellers and sonic experimenters share the stage under fig trees and festival lights. It’s family-friendly, sustainability-minded, and widely considered one of the most relaxed and joyful festivals anywhere in Australia.

Outside this cultural high season, Illuminate Adelaide lights up the winter months with large-scale projection art, immersive technology experiences and installations across the city, and in June, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival brings velvet-draped excess to the Festival Centre.

Adelaide is known for its festivals, wine, and a lifestyle that actually lives up to the word “relaxed”. Each year, it hosts Adelaide Fringe, the second-largest arts festival in the world, and sits within an hour’s drive of three internationally recognised wine regions: the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills.

Three to five days is ideal. That gives you enough time to explore the city’s galleries, beaches and laneway bars, while also leaving room for a winery lunch in McLaren Vale, a scenic loop through the Adelaide Hills, or even an overnight trip to Kangaroo Island.

Not by Australian capital standards. Adelaide offers strong value across the board. Accommodation, food, drink and transport all tend to come in below the Sydney or Melbourne mark. Many of the city’s top attractions, like the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Botanic Garden and even some festivals, are free to enter.

Families are well looked after in Adelaide. Cleland Wildlife Park is a must for up-close kangaroo and koala encounters in a natural bush setting. The Adelaide Zoo, home to Australia’s only giant pandas, is walkable from the CBD and always a hit with kids. Glenelg’s Beach House amusement park offers water slides, dodgems and arcade games, while the Adelaide Botanic Garden has a dedicated Little Sprouts area for hands-on nature play.

Start with a drink in the small-bar laneways of Peel Street and Leigh Street, then catch a show at Her Majesty’s Theatre or the Festival Centre. In warmer months, locals head to the coast for sunset swims and fish and chips at Henley Beach. Visit during Fringe or WOMADelaide, and you’ll find the whole city lit up by street performers, late-night cabaret, outdoor installations and live music across every corner.

Pullman Adelaide is a sleek, full-service hotel located in the leafy East End, just minutes from Rundle Street’s dining precinct. Spacious rooms, an indoor pool and wellness facilities make it a reliable choice for both business and leisure.

Affordable, central and surprisingly stylish, ibis Adelaide's rooms are compact but comfortable, and the hotel’s location near Rundle Mall and Hindmarsh Square makes it perfect for weekenders or travellers who plan to spend more time exploring than lounging.

If you’re after boutique luxury choose The Playford Hotel Adelaide - MGallery Collection. Its art deco interiors set it apart and the location, opposite the Convention Centre and close to the riverbank cultural precinct, makes it a favourite with festivalgoers, theatre lovers and anyone seeking a little grandeur.