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Adelaide
Trip Planning & Itineraries
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When the early colonists arrived and began building Adelaide they used stone to build a solid, dignified city like no other state capital in Australia. The solidity goes further than architecture, for Adelaide was once regarded as a city of wowsers (read: puritan spoilsports) and was chiefly renowned for its disproportionately large number of churches. Nowadays, much to the wowsers' chagrin, pubs and nightclubs far outnumber those churches.
With its grandly proportioned streets, city squares and lush green boundaries, Adelaide is an enchanting city to explore. And if you think that's all there is to the South Australian capital, think again. This city's pleasure-seeking spirit flows from its vibrant dining scene and magnificent wines through to the numerous galas celebrating a thriving arts community. Adelaide makes an excellent base for trips into the nearby wine regions, surf lessons on the Fleurieu Peninsula and hikes through the wildlife lair of Kangaroo Island.
Best of Adelaide: Top 3 Must-Do Experiences
Best of Adelaide: Suggested Itineraries
Get to know Australia's 'festival city' on a morning city tour, highlighting Adelaide's famous churches, grand public buildings, sandstone homes and gardens. Or tour the city in the afternoon on a leisurely Adelaide highlights tour, including a visit to Chinatown, St Francis Xavier Cathedral and Victoria Square, all in the heart of the city. The afternoon tour also takes you through the Adelaide Hills, dotted with historic villages, to enjoy afternoon tea in the quaint village of Hahndorf, Australia's oldest German settlement. If you're touring by car, make sure to pick up a South Australia Cellar Pass to more than 50 boutique wineries. The pass is packed with special offers and tastings for two at premium wineries all over the state, including Penfolds and Hahndorf in the nearby Adelaide Hills.
Day Two: Day Trips from Adelaide
Adelaide and South Australia are famous worldwide for their award-winning wines, so take a day trip into the state's vineyard heartland, the Barossa Valley. The day trip includes wine tasting and lunch at a winery, plus a visit to the quaint German township of Hahndorf. McLaren Vale is another famous South Australian wine region, which you can visit on a day trip twinned with a tour of the Fleurieu Peninsula, Victor Harbor by the seaside and Goolwa at the mouth of the Murray River. Cruising on the Murray River by riverboat takes you back to the days of the paddlesteamers. Another day trip highlight is Kangaroo Island, a rugged wildlife haven home to wallabies, koalas and, yes, kangaroos.
Best of Adelaide: Top 3 Hotels
The charming, red-brick Grand Chancellor is not your ordinary top-end hotel. Quietly stylish, the neo-Georgian hotel features surprisingly warm touches like country-style chairs, snug bedspreads and semi-rustic cabinets. As you'd expect in an up-market, inner-city hotel, the rooms are spacious and comfortable.
A handsome and very comfortable low-rise hotel, the Rockford is only a short walk from attractive parkland. Sharing the top level of the hotel with a sauna, the pool is heated and welcomes in daylight through an open skylight. The spa suites are particularly spacious and welcoming little extras include bathrobes and complimentary movies.
A class above most other hotels in the City of Churches, this boutique inner-city hotel is the only hotel in Adelaide with a rooftop garden. Request a balcony room to drink in lovely views of the Adelaide Hills, particularly at sunset, and relax in this calm oasis just steps away from the city's vibrant East End.
Best of Adelaide: Top 3 Restaurants
Auge delivers brilliant, creative Italian cuisine in a relaxed, stylish setting. Rich tones of wood and glittering glass mosaics set a suitably luxurious dining environment for elegant dishes like chestnut flour gnocchi with braised duck, or squid ink pasta with Moreton Bay bugs. The accompanying wine menu is superb.
Gaucho's brings a taste of the Argentine Pampas to Adelaide, specializing in grilled aged beef served with their signature "chimmichurri" sauce. Start with the tapas plate before moving onto the reserve list steaks - fillet, rib-eye, rump, T-bone or Porterhouse. Local seafood is another highlight on the award-winning menu.
Dripping with accolades, this restaurant in busy Gouger Street is regarded as the best place in town for modern Thai cuisine. Tuck into crispy chili barramundi and scallops with wild asparagus, Thai chili beef, duck with sweet coffee dressing or grandma's crispy pork. The huge specials menu is a local favorite.
Adelaide Arts Festival
The Adelaide Arts Festival takes place at the beginning of March in even-numbered years. The festival attracts culture vultures from all over Australia to see live drama, dance and music. It also includes a writers' week, art exhibitions and poetry readings. Guest speakers and performers from all over the world attend. The Fringe Festival, which takes place at the same time, features alternative contemporary music and performance art. Womadelaide is an outdoor festival of world music and dance which takes place every February / March.
- Plan Adelaide vacations on Yahoo! Travel
- Adelaide hotels, Australia from PlanetWare
- Adelaide hotels from HotelsCombined.com
- Local news from the City Messenger
