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If you’ve been glued to your screen as India and Australia contest for the Border–Gavaskar Trophy in “The Lucky Country,” you won’t have to wait too long for the second Test match in Adelaide from December 6-10. The capital of South Australia is known for its sporting events, food and wine heritage, gorgeous hills and beaches, top educational institutions, and emerging space sector, including being the headquarters of the Australian Space Agency. Adelaide is also the nation’s “live music capital” and has the distinction of being a “City of Music” among the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Whether you’re a nature lover, food enthusiast or outdoorsy adventurer, there are plenty of things that will keep you busy in Adelaide. Here are the top things to do in “the City of Churches“ before the “Men in Blue“ take on the “Baggy Greens.”
An oasis in the heart of the city, the Adelaide Botanic Garden features beautifully landscaped gardens, majestic avenues and stunning architecture. Spanning 50 hectares, their plant collection is spread across numerous zones and areas that will take you nearly a whole day to explore well. For instance, the Australian Native Garden area showcases innovative and artistic ways of using native plants on a domestic scale. These include examples of native plants used for hedging, structural planting, screening vegetation, as specimen plants, formal and informal garden beds, in pots, and as copses of trees. The 20,000 plants of the First Creek Wetland in the garden’s southeast corner are designed to educate visitors on the importance of wetlands for maintaining healthy environments, especially urban ones. Then there is the majestic Ficus Avenue, where 150-year-old Moreton Bay Fig trees line the path. A cool spot on warm days, you can't help but be amazed by their buttress roots which help stabilise these towering giants of the botanical world. The International Rose Garden has thousands of fragrant and colourful roses that flower from spring to autumn. You can see Australian-bred, single, heritage and pillar roses here.
When it’s time to rest your legs and feed your body, head to the Botanic Lodge overlooking Main Lake or visit Evergreen Deli, nestled in the beautiful Mediterranean Garden. The Diggers Garden Shop offers a wide range of seeds, gardening books and garden wares, while the North Lodge gift shop sells a range of products from jewellery and art to candles and soaps.
One thing you will find in nearly every Australian city is the experience of climbing aboard towering structures like the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Brisbane’s Story Bridge. In Adelaide, you have the opportunity to climb the Adelaide Oval itself. Offering unparalleled 360-degree views of the city and beyond, from its stunning coastline to picturesque foothills, the climb guides visitors across the rooftop of the Oval’s Western Stand before navigating to the Riverbank platform, perched 50 metres from the ground. Sit in the world’s first rooftop stadium seats and learn the secrets and stories that shaped Adelaide’s rich history no matter when you go—dawn, daytime, twilight or at night. This is an experience you are not likely to forget in a hurry.
With over 70 traders under one roof, the Adelaide Central Market is one of the Southern Hemisphere's largest undercover fresh produce markets, buzzing with life and colour all year round. It has a large range of fresh food, including fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, seafood, cheeses, bakery, small goods, health foods, and some of Adelaide’s most popular cafés and eateries. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating market in its current location in Australia, at a size of 5,720 square kilometres, and attracts millions of visitors every year.
Some of the top food outlets at the Adelaide Central Market include the Lucias Pizza and Spaghetti Bar for fresh sandwiches, enormous plates of pasta, house-made pizzas, and panini specials like the Trento salami, fresh rocket and rémoulade; the Cumbia Bar Kitchen for generous helpings of paella and tapas; the seasonal fruit, native herbs and game meats like kangaroo, crocodile and wild boar of Something Wild; Providore for lemon curd cheesecake, Belgian chocolate brownies and strawberry tortes; and Let Them Eat, a deli-style eatery serving up handmade, vegetarian-heavy dishes that are sure to wow even the most stubborn carnivore.
The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution whose collections span the signs of early complex life to the most comprehensive collection of Australian Aboriginal cultural material in the world. Galleries include South Australia’s biodiversity, Pacific cultures, megafauna, opalised fossils, the Ediacaran geological period, minerals and an ancient Egyptian room. Don’t miss the ongoing “Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2024” exhibition where stunning images by professional, emerging and junior photographers have captured incredible moments in time. There’s also a self-guided LGBTQIA+ tour titled “It’s In Our Nature: A Queer Trail of the Museum” that makes Australia’s natural and cultural heritage accessible to all.
South Australian skies put on a show come sundown and the state is one of the top places in the country where you can watch the sun sink below the ocean horizon. Just 15 minutes outside of the central business district (CBD) lies Mount Osmond, a hidden gem offering panoramic views of Adelaide’s city sprawl. From this elevated vantage point, you can experience the unique beauty of a sun setting over an urban jungle before watching it disappear behind the horizon. Whether you're enjoying a leisurely hike to the summit or picnicking amidst the tranquil bushland, a sunset rendezvous at Mount Osmond is one of the best ways to wind down after a day of cricket.
