Adelaide

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Book popular activities in Adelaide

Things to see in Adelaide

Attractions

• State Library of South Australia

Founded two weeks after the passing of the South Australia Act by the British Parliament in 1834, the State Library of South Australia exhibits a catalogue of books and artefacts dating back to the 1800s. The library regularly houses temporary exhibitions and offers an audio tour of various Adelaide neighbourhoods and the library itself, available via an app you can download to your phone.

Address: North Terrace & Kintore Avenue, Adelaide.
Telephone:  +61 8 7424 6300
Opening times: Wed-Sun 10:00-17:00.
Website: www.slsa.sa.gov.au
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No

• National Wine Centre of Australia

Adjoining the Adelaide Botanic Garden, the National Wine Centre of Australia is a striking architectural delight. Its Cellar Door eatery with courtyard offers cheese and wine tastings, as well as seasonal menus featuring wood-oven breads, Carpaccio, slow-cooked lamb shoulder and market fish. The centre also hosts the Wine Discovery Journey, an interactive exhibition on Australia’s world-respected wine industry.
Track the lifespan of the grape, from planting to glass-swilling. Lovers of the drop can also embark on wine-appreciation classes, featuring worldly vintages and new releases. The Wine Centre recently started a new event series, City Cellar Door, which celebrates local Australian wineries as well as local produce in a setting “reminiscent of a mini-festival experience.”

Address: Corner of Botanic and Hackney Roads, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8313 3355
Opening times: Daily 09:00-18:00.
Website: www.nationalwinecentre.com.au
Admission Fees: Yes (for some events).
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• Art Gallery of South Australia

Fronted by iconic Rodin sculptures, the Art Gallery of South Australia boasts one of the best collections in the country. Fittingly, it is the host of the Adelaide Biennial too, as it features nearly 40,000 pieces including Australian, European, Asian and North American collections, charting art from Aboriginal cultures, past Renaissance greats, through colonial styles to today’s avant-garde. Exhibitions regularly draw some of the most sought-after collections from across the globe, such as the recent exhibit of Saatchi’s best-known pieces. The gallery’s cutting-edge smartphone App, with a detailed audio tour, keeps visitors connected to artists and critics’ insights for a truly engaging experience. The gallery hosts a vast range of events catered for all ages and tastes.

Address: North Terrace, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8207 7000
Opening times: Daily 10:00-17:00.
Website: www.agsa.sa.gov.au
Admission Fees: No (apart from some exhibitions).
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• Adelaide Botanic Garden

The city’s beautiful green oasis showcases tree-lined avenues, rose gardens, palm houses, herb gardens, lily ponds, duck ponds, and rare and endangered plants. The striking Bicentennial Conservatory protects rare lowland tropical plants that would otherwise be at risk. Climb the upper walkway to filter through the tree canopy and view the forest floor below. The Amazon Waterlily Pavilion contains the precious Victoria amazonica waterlily, while the recently developed First Creek Wetland contains about 20,000 plants, many native. Snake your way through the wetlands via viewing platforms, learning how this habitat offers life to plants, birds, reptiles, insects and fish through a comprehensive water-filtering process. Wander down Australia’s oldest and prettiest avenue of Moreton Bay fig trees to capture dreamy photos.

Address: North Terrace, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8222 9311
Opening times: Mon-Fri 07:15-17:30.
Website: www.botanicgardens.sa.gov.au
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• South Australian Museum

One of the most visited museums in Australia, the South Australian Museum houses a collection of national and international significance. It is also a top research facility that is famous for its Aboriginal heritage collections. Visitors can check out artefacts from the South Pacific Islands, contemplate Egyptian antiquities, and learn about local plants and wildlife in the Biodiversity Gallery.

Address: North Terrace, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8207 7500
Opening times: Daily 10:00-17:00.
Website: www.samuseum.sa.gov.au
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute

This is an Aboriginal-owned gem, housing local and national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artwork in various galleries. Pieces are showcased from established and emerging artists displaying multimedia and traditional works. Indigenous experts are on hand to talk about the current artworks. The institute runs film events, dance performances and cultural presentations, while travelling exhibitions keep this gallery energetic and renewed. Don’t miss the inventively shelved shop offering arts and crafts, as well as clothing, books, music and authentic didgeridoos.

Address: 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8224 3200
Opening times: Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00.
Website: www.tandanya.com.au
Admission Fees: No (except for cultural performances).
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• Adelaide Zoo

Adelaide’s Noah’s Arc aims to save rare and endangered species from extinction. It has a furry, scaled, winged and finned community of over 3000 animals. Many are natives, as well as exotic species from across the globe. Wang Wang and Fu Ni, the two pandas that arrived from China in 2009, are the only pair of giant pandas to reside permanently in the southern hemisphere. They can be seen at close proximity in their enclosure. On your travels, find Tasmanian devils, echidnas, potoroos and tree kangaroos as well as Hamadryas baboons, Sumatran tigers and Malayan Tapirs. Animal-feeding and keeper talks feature daily, with a thrilling blue and gold macaw free flight show to challenge camera shutter lag. Free half-hour Walkabout Tours are offered daily.

Address: Frome Road, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8267 3255
Opening times: Daily 09:30-17:00.
Website: www.adelaidezoo.com.au
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• Haigh’s Chocolate Factory

Established in 1915 by Alfred Haigh, this is one of the few chocolatiers in the world to create chocolate straight from the raw cacao bean. It’s Australia’s oldest family-run chocolate manufacturer, managed by fourth-generation family members. Take a free tongue-tantalising tour of their factory and follow the life of the bean. Journey from when it is picked, through how cocoa nibs are ground into liqueur, to when it arrives in your mouth. There are even some deliciously sinful tastings. Watch the talented chefs in the factory, hand-dipping, hand-marking and hand-wrapping their chocolate treasures. Tea and coffee is provided.

Address: 154 Greenhill Rd, Parkside SA.
Telephone: +61 1300 424 477
Opening times: Mon-Fri 09:00-17:30.
Website: www.haighschocolates.com.au
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No

• The Migration Museum

An intimate museum that tells the tale of early Australia and the mass migration from Britain. A story of courage, heartache and happiness, this sensory museum, the only one of its kind in the country, contains a priceless assemblage of personal stories and belongings, colonial costumes, bric-a-brac and toys that arrived with the white settlers. Among the hundreds of old relics, see Colonel Light’s plan of Adelaide, and private items belonging to the early explorer, John McDouall Stuart, the first European to trek the continent on foot. The building was once an Aboriginal boarding school and a destitute asylum for the homeless, sick and elderly.

Address: 82 Kintore Avenue, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8151 3240
Opening times: Daily 10:00-17:00.
Website: www.migration.history.sa.gov.au
Admission Fees: No (except for tours).
Disabled Access: Yes
UNESCO: No

• National Railway Museum

Step back in time at this interactive railway museum, the largest of its kind in Australia. Examine the rolling stock of yesteryear by stepping inside charming carriages and peering into steam engines. Take a ride around the grounds on a train that chugs along the 457mm gauge railway. Discover intriguing railway memorabilia, such as old cutlery used in the Trans Australian passenger trains and timeworn
staff uniforms, or view a coffin cart from the 1880s, used to transport coffins. A highlight is the interactive Tea and Sugar Train carriages, which traversed the continent to deliver provisions to outback communities.

Address: 76 Lipson Street, Port Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8341 1690
Opening times: Daily 10:00-16:30.
Website: www.nrm.org.au
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No

Tourist Offices

• Adelaide Visitor Information Centre

Address: 9 James Place, off Rundle Mall, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 1300 588 140
Opening times: Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00.
Website: www.experienceadelaide.com.au

Seek expert advice on exploring Adelaide by friendly staff that can offer sightseeing tips, issue maps, and make reservations on your behalf.

Tourist passes

• Adelaide Sightseeing

Website: www.adelaidesightseeing.com.au offers a variety of packages for full day and half day tours. These range from a full day tour of Barossa’s Food and Wine culture to a half-day “Adelaide City Highlights” tour.

Things to do in Adelaide

• Cycle The Coastline

Hire a bike

Telephone: +61 8 8168 9999
Website: www.bikesa.asn.au and cycle along Adelaide’s sun-splashed metropolitan coastline.

Almost all of its 70km (43 miles) is flat, and follows timber boardwalks and dune-flanked shared paths. You are likely to see stumpy tail lizards, blue-tongued lizards and dragon lizards, along with pelicans, cormorants, honeyeaters and dune plants native only to Adelaide’s dunes.

• Kayak Port Adelaide’s ship graveyards

Port Adelaide’s dolphin conservation zone is also home to the largest ship graveyards in the country. Hike a kayak from

Adventure Kayaking SA

Telephone: +61 8 8295 8812
Website: www.adventurekayak.com.au and paddle freely around partially submerged scuttled steamships, ferries and traders that lay rusting in the salty ripples.

Weave in and out of mangrove areas bordered by mudflats, and see Santiago, the oldest iron-hulled ship in Australia. This Scottish barque first arrived in Adelaide laden with coal.

• Ride in a Hot Air Balloon

Take to the sky over the Barossa Valley, just northeast of Adelaide, with

Balloon Adventures

Telephone: +61 8 8562 3111
Website: www.balloonadventures.com.au

Step into the basket before dawn to rise with the morning sun. When the fire switches off intermittently, embrace the silence and breathe in the hills as you float inline with the horizon. Enjoy a hot, post-flight breakfast with sparkling wine, orange juice and chocolates.

• Swim with dolphins

Swim with wild common and bottlenose dolphins with

Temptation Sailing

Telephone: +61 412 811 838
Website: www.dolphinboat.com.au

From Marina Pier in Glenelg, board a state-of-the-art 17.5m (58 ft) catamaran to meet some of the 1,000 dolphins that frequent these sheltered waters. Hold onto the floatation line as they inquisitively frolic around you.

A wetsuit, snorkel and mask are provided, and electronic Shark Shields are used during swims. An eco-friendly experience (the dolphins are not enticed), the company also monitors dolphin numbers and behaviour for research purposes.

• Watch cricket at Adelaide Oval

Be one of the first to watch a cricket match at the newly-redeveloped

Adelaide Oval

Telephone: +61 8 8211 1100
Website: www.adelaideoval.com.au

Though modernised and expanded, it still features the iconic heritage scoreboard. Join one of the Summer Series tours to go behind the scenes of this world-famous cricket site, where the legendary Donald Bradman made his debut aged 19. Or brave the rough and tumble with the locals, by catching Aussie Rules Football here during the winter season.

Adelaide tours and excursions

Adelaide tours

• Market Tour

Adelaide’s Central Market is one of Australia’s largest fresh produce markets, so a visit can be a little bewildering. To ensure you don’t miss the highlights, join gastronome experts from Central Market Tour as they open eyes and turn on taste buds with a 1 hour 30 minute wander around this foodie heaven.

Telephone: +61 0403 864 286
Website: www.centralmarkettour.com.au

• Gondola Tour

For an alternative–and rather romantic–view of the city, step aboard an authentic Venetian gondola tour. Adelaide Gondola can carry up to six people along the River Torrens, as visitors slowly and silently take in the sights with a glass of something sparkling to sip from. Tours generally last from 40 minutes to 1 hour and can be booked at any time during the day and into the evening.

Telephone: +61 8 8358 1800
Website: www.adelaidegondola.com.au

Adelaide excursions

• Clare Valley

Gourmet food lovers can find a smorgasbord of treats in the rich green dips of Clare Valley, just a 2 hour drive from Adelaide. With everything from olive oil and free-range chicken to carob and fresh pasta either made or produced in these pastures, large Eat Local signs in shops and restaurant point the way for the perfect picnic. Work up an appetite by completing the region’s walking trails or cycle routes and finish any excursion with a glass or two of the local plonk in a

Telephone: +61 8 8842 2131
Website: www.clarevalley.com.au

• Adelaide Hills

Just 40 minutes by car from Adelaide city centre, these hills are filled with historic villages, orchards and vineyards. Lose track of time by winding down its roads or exploring the local wildlife parks. With renowned farmer markets and the German-inspired Hahndorf town to discover and enjoy, the Adelaide Hills can sometime feel like they’re a world away from modern Australia.

Telephone: +61 8 8388 1185
Website: www.adelaidehills.org.au

Shopping in Adelaide

With its pedestrianised malls, arcades, food courts and markets, Adelaide offers a smorgasbord for the retail therapy-seeker to gorge on while exploring what Adelaide has to offer. Produces 80% of the world’s opal, with authentic Coober Pedy, Mintabie and Andamooka opal being of supreme quality. At the family-run Opal Diamond Factory on 32-34 King William Street, you can watch opal be cut, polished and designed into custom-made jewellery.

• Key areas

Recently redeveloped Rundle Mall has been sewn with rows of Chinese elms, new seating and contemporary paving, and features over 1,000 retailers which includes the 4-storey high addition of H&M. Norwood Parade and Burnside are districts where Adelaide’s ‘well-heeled’ shoppers clip around. They offer international labels and bespoke giftware, as well as gourmet foods stores. Hunt through the outlet stores at Harbor Town for cut-price designer labels.

• Markets

The multicultural lanes at Adelaide Central Market overflow with South Australian produce and international delicacies. Take a guided walk before filling your bags with fresh fruits, gourmet cheeses, freshly-ground coffees, olives, pickles, smallgoods (small meat products), charcuterie meats and fish.

The Sunday morning Adelaide Farmers’ Market at Adelaide Showground features gourmet produce often plucked from the ground that very morning. Look out for quandong preserves and purple cauliflowers. You can also watch live cooking demonstrations from acclaimed Adelaide hotel chefs.

• Shopping centres

Adelaide’s main department stores are Myer, David Jones and Harris Scarfe. Adelaide Arcade and the Regent Arcade in Rundle Mall are ornate gallery-style thoroughfares offering unique Australian designs in specialised boutiques. Find Akubra hats and vintage rag dolls and teddy bears here.

• Opening hours

Central Adelaide’s usual shopping hours are Monday to Thursday 09:00-17:00, though some retailers open until 1900. Friday is late-night shopping until 21:00. Saturday opening hours are 09:00-17:00 and Sunday 11:00-17:00. Late night shopping at other suburbs (such as at Westfield West Lakes) is on Thursday until 2100. Hours are likely to vary on public holidays like Anzac Day (25 April) and Australia Day (26 January).

• Souvenirs

For fluffy Australian animals, T-shirts, tea towels and coasters, visit Fancy That Gift in the Myer Centre at Rundle Mall. Alternatively, find hand-crafted gifts at Urban Cow Studio on Vaughan Place, or unique, one-off designs in glass, ceramic and wood at Jam Factory on Morphett Street.

• Tax information

There is a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Adelaide Food And Drink

Food In Adelaide

• Kangaroo Meat

Kangaroo meat is sourced from the 4 main species of kangaroos that are harvested in the wild. Although most species of macropod are protected from non-Aboriginal hunting in Australia by law, a number of the large-sized species which exist in high numbers can be hunted by commercial hunters.

• Barramundi

Barramundi is a sea bass filled with high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids. You may have also heard of this fish as Asian sea bass, sustainable sea bass, or giant perch. Barramundi has half the amount of calories per ounce as salmon.

• Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken parmesan or chicken parmigiana (Italian: pollo alla parmigiana) is a dish that consists of breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, Parmesan, or provolone. Ham or bacon is sometimes added. The dish originated in the Italian diaspora in the United States during the early 20th century. Came to Australia via America.

• Emu Oil

Emu oil is made from the fat of an emu. The emu is a flightless bird, native to Australia, that looks similar to the ostrich. According to The New York Times, one bird produces about 250 ounces of oil.

• Fish and Chips

From the early 21st century, farmed basa imported from Vietnam and hoki have become common in Australian fish and chip shops. Other types of fish are also used based on regional availability. In New Zealand, snapper or gurnard was originally the preferred species for battered fillets in the North Island.

• Fairy Bread

For those who aren’t familiar, fairy bread is a popular Australian children’s party food, made of soft white sliced bread slathered in butter (or margarine) and covered with colourful 100s and 1000s.

• Anzac Biscuits

The Anzac biscuit is a sweet biscuit, popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter (or margarine), golden syrup, baking soda, boiling water and optionally desiccated coconut.

• Beerenberg Farm

• Wine

Great Wine Capital of the World. Adelaide is a gateway to some of Australia’s best wine country and home to a bustling bar scene. Adelaide is surrounded by some of the best wine regions in the country, many of which are just a short drive from the city.

Restaurants in Adelaide

With more restaurants per head than any other Australian capital city, Adelaide offers some of the country’s most authentic and multicultural eateries. Prices are relatively low compared to other Australian city restaurants. The Adelaide restaurants below have been hand-selected by the author, and are grouped into three price bands:

Expensive (over $40)
Moderate ($20 to $40)
Cheap (up to $20)

The above prices are for a main course, including a glass of house wine or soft drink. Tipping is not customary in Australia (/australia) but diners tend to tip when the service and food have been good.

Expensive

• Jolleys Boathouse

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Set on the banks of the River Torrens, this tucked away boathouse is a stylish restaurant with friendly, down-to-earth staff. Watch the boats and black swans sail by as you feast alfresco. Or gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows, warmly sat by the flickering fire during winter, banqueting on elaborate seasonal produce. The menu features suckling pig with caramelised shallots, grass-fed Cape Grim Scotch fillet, roast kangaroo loin and share plates. The crisp-skin barramundi is always cooked to perfection.

Address: 1 Jolleys Lane, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8223 2891
Website: www.jolleysboathouse.com

• Peel Street

Cuisine: Australian

Hip and popular, this locale is a treat for wine-lovers and food connoisseurs alike. The menu, written by hand upon a huge black board hung on the wall, changes regularly, but each share plate is thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented. The emphasis here is on creating the most favourable combinations of flavours and textures—but to fully enjoy the experience, be prepared to be adventurous! Consider trying, for instance, the Banana Blossom Chicken.

Address: 9 Peel Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8231 8887
Website: www.peelst.com.au

• Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

At the birthplace of Penfolds wine, Magill Estate Restaurant is the number one establishment for discerning wine and dine connoisseurs. Their Michelin-starred chef doesn’t just match whites with whites and reds with reds, but expertly fine-tunes flavours, weights and textures between wine and food. The restaurant houses a state-of-the-art, purpose-built underground cellar. Choice menu selections are the Coorong mullet and blue swimmer crab, to be enjoyed overlooking the estate’s vineyards and city beyond.

Address: 78 Penfold Road, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8301 5551

Moderate

• 2KW Bar and Restaurant

Cuisine: Australian

An eighth floor restaurant on the corner of King William Street and North Terrace, 2KW Bar and Restaurant offers great views of Adelaide in addition to a unique menu made up of traditional Australian dishes creatively prepared. These dishes are made for sharing, so grab a bunch of your friends and enjoy the food and views in 2KW’s rooftop garden.

Address: 2 King William Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8212 5511
Website: www.2kwbar.com.au

• SQ Restaurant

Cuisine: Asian

Overlooking leafy Hindmarsh Square, this modern restaurant is kitted out with a polished timber floor and furnishings between red and brown walls. Enjoy Asian-influenced modern Australian dishes using the freshest South Australian ingredients. Favourites include chargrilled prawns with watermelon nahm jim, green duck leg curry with rice and mango pickle, wagyu pie with beetroot chutney and twice-cooked goat’s cheese soufflé. Save a spot for the illegally good coconut panna cotta, laced with Malibu ice cream.

Address: 55-67 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8412 3397
Website: www.sqrestaurant.com.au

• Auchendarroch House

Cuisine: Modern international

Polished pub dishes served in an airy bistro adjoining an elegant 19th-century house, plus gardens.

Address: 17 Adelaide Rd, Mount Barker SA 5251.
Telephone: +61 8 8391 6100
Website: www.auchendarroch.com.au

Cheap

• Let Them Eat

Cuisine: Vegetarian/ Vegan

Known locally as the vegetarian café that meat-eaters crave, Let Them Eat offers sophisticated, homemade dishes that are nutrient-packed and chemical and preservative free. Some dishes are suitable for vegans. Tanya Angius, the café’s highly experienced chef, only prepares wholefood that she would be prepared to eat herself. The seductive cabinets have a multi-coloured display of salads that feature quinoa, cracked wheat, mung beans, lentils and chickpeas. Also enjoy outstanding handmade pies, quiches, wholemeal pastries and cakes. The pumpkin and red lentil lasagne is faultless.

Address: Shop 10/20 James Pl, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 4 1313 8428
Website: www.let-them-eat.com.au

• Pancakes At The Port

Cuisine: American

For a fluffy range of sweet and savoury buttermilk-rich pancakes, head to Port Adelaide. As well as the traditional maple syrup, whipped butter and fruit types, this family operated business excels at Hawaiian pancakes topped with ham and pineapple. The sizzling Cajun chicken breast dish with potato chunks and salad is also a fine choice. Sit at a waterside table and watch the resident dolphins glide by.

Address: Port Adelaide, 1 Mercantile Dock, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8447 1877
Website: www.pancakesattheport.com

Adelaide Nightlife

Adelaide is your closet exhibitionist. It may not seem like a wild child from its chilled daytime façade but come dusk, it blossoms. From cosy chocolate cafés and pint-sized cocktail bars to multicultural venues and commercial nightclubs, the city has it all. Classical tunes, retro beats and hard metal can be found competing almost shoulder-to-shoulder in and around the Central Business District. Every February and March, ingenious pop-up bars spring from the alleyways and rooftops during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, which hosts events and live performances.

Bars in Adelaide

• Casablabla

One of the city’s most multicultural venues, this tapas bar and lounge on trend-setting Leigh Street is the hottest spot in town. It features DJs, live samba, soca, flamenco and Turkish belly dancers as well as African drummers. The tropical fish in the tank almost seem to join in with the grooves. Kick back in their cushioned courtyard and enjoy a cheeky orange margarita on summer evenings, or slip inside the warmly-lit bar and surround yourself with exotic artworks.

Address: 12 Leigh Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8231 3939
Website: www.casablabla.com

• Fumo Blu Cocktail Lounge

For chic, 1950s décor, cosy booths, funky upholstered chairs, and a lot of blue light, head to this ex-underground cigar lounge in the East End. Order their signature blue-hued lemonade cocktail, Blue Smoke. Or, if you have the confidence to look the bartender straight in the face, order a Laced Nikkers, before mingling with those who have mastered the art of looking cool.

Address: 270 Rundle Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 4 5603 6438
Website: www.fumoblu.com.au

• APOTECA

If ever there was a medicinal bar, this is it. Located in the West End inside an elegant Heritage-listed building, this posh establishment houses bottled drinks and old chemist’s relics in restored pharmacy chests. The cosy setting seems like it’s been plucked straight out of a time-warped French village. Sip fine award-winning wines (a list of 1,200) and dine on gourmet cuisine in their rustic restaurant, before browsing your way through the glass cabinets containing old tincture bottles and amusing medicinal remedies. The Apothecary 1878 is the
intelligent choice for that very special occasion or to ask very important question.

Address: 118 Hindley Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8212 9099
Website: www.apoteca.com.au

Clubs in Adelaide

• Black Bull Hotel

Adelaide’s first permanent hotel, this 19th century-era building is the place to go for all kinds of good fun. During the week they serve highly praised burgers and steaks in their pub, and offer deliciously wood-fired pizzas in their huge beer garden out back. On Friday and Saturday nights the mood goes from laid-back to energetic when the hotel’s popular nightclub opens upstairs. If live DJs and great food don’t entice you, know that the drinks are cheap!

Address: 58 Hindley Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8231 3236
Website: www.blackbullhotel.com.au

• Electric Circus

Situated down an otherwise innocent looking alleyway in Adelaide’s West End, Electric Circus is found behind the doors of Crippen Place, which also hosts the live music venue Rocket Bar upstairs. Expect international and local DJs performing every Friday and Saturday night. If you do need a break from dancing, head up to the top floor, where Rocket Bar operates a rooftop bar and cinema with 360-degree views of Adelaide.

Address: 17 Crippen Place, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8212 7433
Website: www.crippenplace.com

Live music in Adelaide

• Grace Emily Hotel

One of Adelaide’s most vibrant live music venues, the Grace Emily Hotel is a pub that bends backwards to accommodate performers from all musical inclinations. A glance at its ever-changing events schedule will reveal indie, blues, folk, acoustic, rock and a cappella shows delivered by successful local and interstate bands. Despite being away from the nightlife hotspots, and proud of being poker-machine free, the Grace Emily is an institution in Adelaide’s live music scene. It’s also an active venue during Adelaide’s annual arts festivals.

Address: 232 Waymouth Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8231 5500

• Thebarton Theatre

Better known as “Thebby’s”, the Thebarton Theatre is a 2000-capacity venue that promotes a range of shows; from up-and-coming bands breaking onto the circuit to more established artists looking to play a more intimate show in Adelaide. The theatre boasts original decor dating back to the 1920s and hosts a number of concert and comedy performances every week. Check the official website for listings.

Address: 112 Henley Beach Road, Torrensville.
Telephone: +61 8 8443 5255
Website: www.thebartontheatre.com.au

Music and Dance in Adelaide

• Adelaide Festival Centre

Adelaide’s iconic performing arts venue brags a prime position, being perched alongside the River Torrens, adjacent to Central Station and facing Adelaide Oval. The catalyst for the city’s ever-blossoming festival scene, the Festival Centre includes multiple performance venues, ranging from the intimate to the resplendent. Its versatility sees it host anything from visual art exhibitions to theatre, musicals, opera and comedy. Being one of Australia’s artistic treasures, the Festival Centre is host to major international touring performances.

Address: King William Street, Adelaide.
Telephone: +61 8 8216 8600
Website: www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au