Introduction

Adelaide (pop. 1,190,000) has always been a free-spirited, free-thinking type of place -- the first to outlaw sexual and racial discrimination, the first to do away with capital punishment, the first to recognize Aboriginal land rights and legalize nude swimming, and the first state to give women the vote. Adelaide was the only capital to have been settled by free settlers, rather than convicts, and was totally self-sufficient, receiving no financial backing from the British government.

Australians who have never visited Adelaide tend to dismiss the city as little more than a large country town, but that is the city's greatest charm. Meticulously planned by surveyor-general Colonel William Light in 1837, the city is an elegant grid of broad streets surrounded by a green belt of parkland set beside the River Torrens, between the Adelaide Hills and the waters of Gulf St. Vincent. It's an easily navigable city and everything is within walking distance.

Any season is a good time to visit Adelaide, though May through August can be chilly and January and February hot.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

The South Australia Visitor & Travel Centre, 18 King William St. (tel. 1300/655 276 in Australia, or 08/8463 4547; fax 08/8303 2249), has maps, travel advice, and makes hotel and tour bookings. It's open weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm, weekends from 9am to 2pm.

City Layout

Victoria Square is the geographical heart of the city, surrounded by grand government buildings, some of which have been reborn into elegant hotels. This is also where you'll find the historic tram that takes 20 minutes to trundle to the seaside suburb of Glenleg, with its famous long pier and white sandy beaches. On the western side of the square is the Central Market, Australia's oldest continuously operating produce market (since 1869), now home to the best range of international foods in Australia.

Bisecting the city from south to north is the main thoroughfare, King William Street. Streets running perpendicular to King William Street change their names on either side; Franklin Street, for example, changes into Flinders Street. Of these cross streets, the most interesting are the restaurant strips of Gouger and Rundle streets, the latter running into the pedestrian-only shopping precinct of Rundle Mall. Another is Hindley Street, with inexpensive restaurants and nightlife. On the banks of the River Torrens just north of the city center, you'll find the Riverbank Precinct, the home of the Festival Centre, the Convention Centre, and the SkyCity Adelaide Casino.

North Terrace is one of the four boundary streets that mark the edge of the city center and the beginning of the parkland belt that slopes down toward the River Torrens, where you'll find almost all of the city's major attractions and museums, most of which are free.

Follow King William Street north and it crosses the River Torrens and flows into sophisticated North Adelaide, an area crammed with Victorian and Edwardian architecture. The main avenues in North Adelaide, O'Connell and Melbourne streets, are lined with restaurants, cafes, and bistros that offer the tastes of a multicultural city.

Northwest of the city center is Port Adelaide, a seaport and the historic maritime heart of South Australia. It's home to some of the finest colonial buildings in the state, as well as good pubs and restaurants.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Organized Tours

Grayline Day Tours (tel. 1300/858 687 in Australia; www.grayline.com.au) operates a city sightseeing tour for A$61 for adults and A$30 for children. It operates from 9:30am to 12:15pm daily and departs from the Sightseeing Travel Centre, 211 Victoria Square.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Active Pursuits

Biking -- Adelaide's parks and riverbanks are very popular with cyclists. The city bikes scheme allows you free bike hire for use anywhere within the city limits. All you need is either your driver's license, proof of identity card, or passport. Your ID will be held as a deposit for the duration of the hire and will be returned to you when you return your city bike. You can get bikes from 9 locations around the city including Bicycle SA at 111 Franklin St. (tel. 08/8168 9999). For other locations, check www.bikesa.asn.au or call the Bicycle SA number above. Recreation SA (tel. 08/8226 7301) publishes a brochure showing Adelaide's bike routes. Pick one up at the South Australia Visitor & Travel Centre. In January, Adelaide is host to the Tour Down Under (tel. 08/8463 4701; www.tourdownunder.com.au), which attracts some of the biggest names in world cycling. Keen cyclists can take part in special legs of the race and there are routes open to children and families too.

Golf -- The Adelaide Golf Links (tel. 08/8267 2171) in North Adelaide have great views of the city. Greens fees for the full-size championship course are A$21 weekdays and A$25 weekends. To play the par-3 course (great for families) is A$14 for adults and A$11 for kids.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Spectator Sports

Cricket -- The Adelaide Oval (tel. 08/8300 3800), on the corner of War Memorial Drive and King William Street, is the venue for international matches during the summer season and is widely regarded as the most picturesque Test cricket ground in the world. Take a guided behind-the-scenes tour of the oval to find out all you ever wanted to know about Australia's national game, and national hero, cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman (who lived in Adelaide for most of his adult life). Tours depart Monday to Friday, nonmatch days, at 10am (no tours on public holidays). You'll need to book by calling tel. 08/8300 3800, and tickets are A$10 for adults, A$5 for kids. If you're a real cricket tragic, you'll also love the free Bradman Collection Museum. It's open weekdays 9:30am to 4:30pm.

Football -- Unlike New South Wales, where Rugby League is the most popular winter sport, in Adelaide you'll find plenty of Australian Rules Football fanatics. Games are usually played on Saturday at the Adelaide Oval or at AAMI Stadium, Turner Drive, West Lakes. The home teams are the Adelaide Crows and the Port Adelaide Power. Games are played February through October, with the finals in September and October. Tickets must be purchased well in advance from Ticketmaster (tel. 13 61 00 in South Australia; www.ticketmaster.com.au).

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Maps

Customize your trip planning experience by plotting selected points of interest using our interactive map of Adelaide.
Plan your trip around all of Adelaide, or focus in on specific Adelaide neighborhood maps if you prefer.

Interactive Map

Guidebook Maps

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  Adelaide Accommodations
  


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  Adelaide Dining
  


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  Adelaide Attractions
  

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Hotels

Frommer's Star Rating

	0 stars	Frommer's Recommended
	1 stars	Frommer's Highly Recommended
	2 stars	Frommer's Very Highly Recommended
	3 stars	Frommer's Exceptional

About Our System

Frommer's ranks every hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife
establishment it reviews for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using
a star-rating scale, an expression of the strong compare-and-contrast opinions that are
a brand hallmark.

Other ratings provide stars based primarily on price and amenities; the
Frommer's star rating is meant to quantify the kind of intangible, experiential elements that
help travelers make informed decisions.

The "baseline" recommendation is zero stars--every
hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife establishment that Frommer's chooses to
review is recommended; otherwise, we simply wouldn't include it.

: About our rating system

	Price	Name	Neighborhood
		Adelaide City Park Motel	City Center
		Hilton Adelaide	City Center
		Intercontinental Adelaide	City Center
		Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury	Around Town
		North Adelaide Heritage Group	North Adelaide
		Rockford Adelaide	City Center
		The Mercure Grosvenor Hotel	Around Town

Hotels

The South Australia Visitor & Travel Centre can supply information on B&Bs and home stays around the state. The rates given below are rack rates, or what the hotels hope they'll get on a good day -- you can often get a room for much less, especially by booking directly through the hotel's website.

Plan Ahead -- If you plan to be in town during the Adelaide Festival, make sure you book accommodations well in advance. The town can be packed during Christmas and New Year's, so it's wise to book well in advance then, too.

In North Adelaide

This leafy and attractive suburb a 10-minute bus ride across the river is an interesting place with nice architecture and a great restaurant strip.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Restaurants

Frommer's Star Rating

	0 stars	Frommer's Recommended
	1 stars	Frommer's Highly Recommended
	2 stars	Frommer's Very Highly Recommended
	3 stars	Frommer's Exceptional

About Our System

Frommer's ranks every hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife
establishment it reviews for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using
a star-rating scale, an expression of the strong compare-and-contrast opinions that are
a brand hallmark.

Other ratings provide stars based primarily on price and amenities; the
Frommer's star rating is meant to quantify the kind of intangible, experiential elements that
help travelers make informed decisions.

The "baseline" recommendation is zero stars--every
hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife establishment that Frommer's chooses to
review is recommended; otherwise, we simply wouldn't include it.

: About our rating system

	Price	Name	Cuisine
		Beyond India	Indian
		Botanic Café	Italian
		Jolleys Boathouse Restaurant	Modern Australian
		Matsuri	Japanese
		Mekong Thai	Asian
		Mesa Lunga	Spanish
		National Wine Centre of Australia
		Rigoni's Bistro	Italian
		Wellington Hotel	Pub

Restaurants

With more than 600 restaurants, pubs, and cafes, Adelaide boasts more dining spots per capita than anywhere else in Australia. Many cluster in areas such as Rundle Street, Gouger Street, and North Adelaide -- where you'll find almost every style of cuisine you can imagine. For cheap noodles, laksas, sushi, and cakes, head to Adelaide's popular Central Markets (tel. 08/8203 7494), behind the Hilton Adelaide between Gouger and Grote streets.

Glenelg has a host of nice cafes, including Zest Café Gallery, 2A Sussex St. (tel. 08/8295 3599), which serves baguettes and bagels; and Café Blu, Glenelg Pier Hotel, 18 Holdfast Promenade (tel. 08/8350 3108), which has good pizzas.

Because of South Australia's healthy wine industry, you'll find that many of the more expensive restaurants have extensive wine lists. Many Adelaide restaurants allow diners to bring their own wine (BYO), but most charge a steep corkage fee to open the bottle -- A$6 or so is not uncommon.

Something Different: Market Tours

Adelaide's Top Food and Wine Tours (tel. 08/8386 0888; www.topfoodandwinetours.com.au) offers a range of food-based tours, including both dawn and midmorning tours of the Central Market. Dawn Tours cost A$49, and start at 7:15am on Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday; midmorning tours depart at 9:30am and cost A$36.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Attractions

Frommer's Star Rating

	0 stars	Frommer's Recommended
	1 stars	Frommer's Highly Recommended
	2 stars	Frommer's Very Highly Recommended
	3 stars	Frommer's Exceptional

About Our System

Frommer's ranks every hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife
establishment it reviews for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using
a star-rating scale, an expression of the strong compare-and-contrast opinions that are
a brand hallmark.

Other ratings provide stars based primarily on price and amenities; the
Frommer's star rating is meant to quantify the kind of intangible, experiential elements that
help travelers make informed decisions.

The "baseline" recommendation is zero stars--every
hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife establishment that Frommer's chooses to
review is recommended; otherwise, we simply wouldn't include it.

: About our rating system

	Name	Type
	Art Gallery of South Australia	Gallery
	Botanic Gardens	Park/Garden
	Haigh's Chocolates Visitors Centre	Activity
	National Railway Museum	Museum
	South Australian Maritime Museum	Museum
	South Australian Museum	Museum
	The Migration Museum	Museum
	The National Wine Centre of Australia	Winery/Brewery/Distillery