The must-do highlights of Adelaide in three days

In the last decade, Adelaide has reinvented its riverbank, given the Adelaide Oval new purpose and energised unloved laneways with a lively small-bar scene. Upshot? Australia’s ‘big country town’ packs a surprising amount of attractions and distractions, and all within a space that can be easily explored on foot. Get ready for a lively 72 hours…

DAY ONE

Set off on a serene cruise along the River Torrens with Popeye River Cruise.Credit: Joey Joenes

MORNING

We’re starting in the East End – specifically at Ebeneezer Place, formerly the old Fruit and Veg Market and always crackling with morning energy. Take sustenance at Exchange Speciality Coffee (go lo-fi with their banana bread or turn it up with the ‘crab scramble’) before starting your day of inner city delights.

By ‘inner city’, we mean Adelaide’s historic square-mile which is completely surrounded by parklands. It’s one of the world’s great walking cities – so let’s start by crossing North Terrace for a gentle circuit of gorgeous Adelaide Botanic Garden. The 1875 glass Palm House is a jewel and said to be the only one of its kind; the Museum of Economic Botany is an astonishing time capsule as well as a seed repository and often missed by visitors.

Back on North Terrace you have a slew of options that are practically cheek-by-jowl and all free. Each is capable of absorbing an entire day, though it’s just as easy to do a ‘best-of’ tour. The Art Gallery of South Australia has one of the nation’s finest collections of Australian colonial paintings in the original 1881 gallery; the South Australian Museum has the world’s largest collection of indigenous artefacts; the State Library has an often-missed treasure in the old Mortlock Wing (an evocative piece of late-Victorian exhibition architecture); and the surprisingly good Migration Museum houses an original 1837 plan of Adelaide by Colonel William Light.

AFTERNOON

If you haven’t been stopped in your tracks by a museum, we’re going to take things a little more leisurely. Walk past the lovely Governor’s Residence (the first built in Australia) and make for the Malt Shovel Taphouse for house-made dips and charcuterie board (as well as an eyeful of the lake and famous Adelaide Oval). Then drop into Elder Park to board a Popeye River Cruise. You’ll have the new Riverbank precinct put into its proper context, taking in the Festival Centre, the Entertainment Centre and the amazing new SAHMRI medical research building. You’ll loop back to the leafy, historic Adelaide Zoo where you can alight for an encounter with Sumatran tigers, orang-utans and the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere.

EVENING

Sundowners with a view at 2KW.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission

Get an overview of your day at 2KW rooftop bar on the old bank building, or Sôl atop the shimmery-shiny Eos by SkyCity hotel. Catch a tram or walk back to the East End and surrender to the lively pavement dining scene on Rundle Street/East Terrace. Try Golden Boy for their extremely popular (and quite affordable) Tuktuk ‘feed me’ menu. After you’ve given the waiter a few clues on what you like, sit back and wait for the magic to happen.

DAY TWO

MORNING

We’re flipping the script this morning and breakfasting in the West End – at Peter Rabbit, a fab little garden oasis in the university precinct. House sourdough crumpets with maple bacon and spiced mascarpone should set you up. While you’re here, consider a visit to the nearby Samstag Museum of Art, JamFactory (a stunning craft and design hub with artisans in residence), and new MOD (Museum of Discovery) where you can have your ideas challenged and envelope pushed.

Catch the tram along North Terrace or stroll the Riverbank back to King William Street. Either way, you’ll see the Adelaide Festival Centre, the new EOS hotel (plus casino) and state parliament. Make time to pass through the railway station for an extraordinary mix of late-19th-century neo-classicism and post-modern organic vaulted arcade.

Watch a sporting match or scale the top of the oval at dizzying heights.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission

Take the curving footbridge to Adelaide Oval for a tour of the grounds made famous by Donald Bradman, a hand-cranked scoreboard (it’s still hand-cranked) and more recently an audacious development that showed even sacred old stadiums can be completely reinvented for the better. Volunteer-led tours of the complex will give you plenty of sporting history and behind-the-scenes access; you can also scale the amazing new roof for a thrilling (if less informative) tour; and finally, if you’re inclined to simply look down on the hallowed turf, visit the Bespoke Wine and Kitchen in the new Oval Hotel. Of course, it also serves coffee, food and drinks…

AFTERNOON

Walk or take the free tram to Victoria Square, then peel off onto Gouger Street. The eating options along this huge eat-beat are wide open – spin the compass for a cuisine of your choice, be that Thai street food, Korean BBQ, Japanese ramen, Argentine grill etc. And yes, that is Chinatown behind those golden lions…

A Discovery Tour is the best way to tick off this iconic marketplace.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission/Julian Cebo

Your ultimate destination is Adelaide Central Market, open Tuesday to Saturday, where you can do a Discovery Tour, an operation that’s almost as venerable as the markets themselves... The 90-minute perambulation is a joyous affair, very much embodying the spirit of the 1869 market, so expect to meet stallholders, encounter amazing ingredients and taste the best of SA’s cheese, mushrooms, seafood and more.

EVENING

Take a 20-minute tram for Victoria Square to Moseley Square in Glenelg. Part of the pleasure is alighting at the square of restaurants and bars to see the sun setting on the old Town Hall and jetty. Take dinner in long-staying Italian, Cardone’s, or newcomer SheShells; alternatively, grab some hot fish and chips and a bottle of wine for a sundowner on the sand.

DAY THREE

MORNING

Head to higher ground with a mountain bike tour with Escape Goat.Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission

We’re changing up a gear on day three, so don’t go light on the breakfast, which you’ll take at or near your accommodation. At 9am, you’re being collected from your hotel by Escape Goat and whisked to a higher ground…

Your mountain bike tour begins at 710-metres on Mount Lofty Summit, the highest point of the Mount Lofty Ranges, affording sensational views over Adelaide and the forested foothills. Once you’re saddled up, you’ll drop into those same forests, with your guide leading the way, coursing downhill on tracks and trails to lovely Cleland Wildlife Park. Here you’ll encounter native animals including emus, ’roos, dingos and Tasmanian devils.

After morning tea it’s back on the bike to descend through Cleland Conservation Park. Your guide will be providing commentary on the natural and human histories, keeping his/her eyes out for wild koalas (if you don’t see them, you get your money back!). After 10 kilometres you’re into some of Adelaide’s quiet back roads before arriving at Victoria Park – before being returned to your accommodation for mid-afternoon.

AFTERNOON/EVENING

Go bar-hopping through the CBD laneways, with icons like Pink Moon Saloon.Credit: Michael Waterhouse Photography

Armed with a raging thirst, we’re disappearing into the very cool laneways – an urban regeneration project that has seen bars, speakeasies, cafes and restaurants jammed into all sorts of nooks, crannies and basements.

Start in Peel and Leigh Streets around 4pm, where you’ll find colourful places opening up for business. For pre-dinner drinks try Pink Moon Saloon (a super-narrow, timber cutie that occupies what used to be a bin alley), Clever Little Tailor (a smooth perennial with a great beer list) and Leigh Street Luggage (with a cocktail lounge hidden at rear).

For dinner, you’ll be spoiled for choice with top eats guaranteed at the like of Peel St, Shōbōsho and Bread & Bone. If you’re still up for it, head further into the skein of lanes, seeking out late-night vibes at Shotgun Willies, Hains & Co, Bank Street Social and Maybe Mae (a speakeasy that will require a bit of local assistance to locate…).