Adelaide

North Terrace, the market and the river in one day

See Adelaide in a day on foot: the State Library, Art Gallery and South Australian Museum on North Terrace in the morning, lunch at the Central Market off Grote Street, an afternoon by the River Torrens and Adelaide Oval, and the tram to Glenelg for sunset over Gulf St Vincent.

Start on North Terrace, the boulevard that holds the State Library, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the South Australian Museum, founded in 1856. The university campuses sit alongside them.

Walk south through the grid to the Central Market, entered from Grote Street, for lunch. It first opened as the City Market in 1870 and has more than 76 stalls under one roof.

In the afternoon, cross the River Torrens, Karrawirra Pari to the Kaurna people, by the footbridge to Adelaide Oval, then follow the riverbank paths through the Park Lands.

End the day on the tram to Glenelg for sunset over Gulf St Vincent from Moseley Square.

Festival season in February and March

Come for the Adelaide Fringe, Australia's biggest arts festival, which runs from about mid-February to mid-March alongside the Adelaide Festival of Arts. It is open-access, so shows range from comedy to cabaret and circus, many in park venues such as the Garden of Unearthly Delights, Gluttony and Fool's Paradise. Book accommodation early.

Adelaide's year turns on its festivals. The Adelaide Festival of Arts began in 1960, and in the same year local artists started staging their own shows alongside it, the beginning of the Adelaide Fringe.

The Fringe now runs from about mid-February to mid-March and is Australia's biggest arts festival. It is open-access, so no curator chooses the programme, and shows range from comedy to cabaret and circus.

Much of it happens in the parks. The Garden of Unearthly Delights in Rundle Park has hosted shows since 2000, Gluttony in Rymill Park since 2010, and Fool's Paradise in Victoria Square since 2023. WOMADelaide adds world music to the same season.

Hot summers, mild autumns and wet winters

Visit Adelaide in March and April, the most comfortable months, when highs ease from about 26 to 22°C, or in mild October and November. January and February average about 28.6°C with frequent heatwaves; the city hit 47.7°C on 24 January 2019. June to August are cool, around 15 to 16°C, and wettest.

Adelaide has a Mediterranean-style climate. January and February average highs of about 28.6°C, with little rain, and heatwaves are frequent: the city reached 47.7°C on 24 January 2019.

March and April are the most comfortable months, with highs easing from about 26 to 22°C, settled weather and the end of festival season. October and November are similarly mild.

Winter is cool, with highs around 15 to 16°C, but June to August bring most of the year's rain. It is a quieter time for city sightseeing and for the cellar doors of the hills.

Day trips to Hahndorf, the Barossa and Kangaroo Island

Adelaide's best day trips are short drives. Hahndorf, Australia's oldest surviving German settlement, lies 28 km south-east in the Adelaide Hills. The Barossa Valley is about 75 km north-east, just over an hour by car, and Kangaroo Island is a 45-minute SeaLink ferry crossing from Cape Jervis, two hours south of the city.

German-speaking Lutheran settlers founded Hahndorf in 1839. Its main street of old stone cottages, bakeries and cellar doors is a State Heritage Area. During the First World War anti-German feeling led to the town being renamed Ambleside in 1917; the original name returned in 1935.

The Barossa is one of Australia's best-known wine regions, with cellar doors spread along the valley around Tanunda, Nuriootpa and Angaston. Go with a tour or a designated driver, since tastings add up quickly.

Kangaroo Island deserves at least one night. SeaLink ferries run from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw, and the crossing takes about 45 minutes. Hire a car on the island, as distances between beaches and wildlife areas are long.