Things To Do in Adelaide & Adelaide Airport Layover Ideas

The historic beachside suburb of Glenelg has a jetty, the Grand hotel and many restaurants and cafes. Catch one of the historic trams from in Adelaide's CBD on weekends and holidays or new light rail trams other times.

Adelaide Hills, including the Mt Lofty Summit provides spectacular views of the Adelaide plains, Adelaide metropolitan area, Adelaide CBD, Glenelg and surrounding areas. There is a moderately priced restaurant at the Mt. Lofty summit and a souvenir shop which offers tourist information. The summit cannot be accessed by vehicle between late evening and early morning hours, however the lookout is still accessible by foot.

Hahndorf is a German settlement, a short drive up the freeway. Attractions include a small chocolate factory, the Beerenberg Strawberry Farm (where you can pick your own strawberries for very reasonable prices) parks with barbeque facilities and a playground plus many small stores selling all manner of products.

Founded in 1881, the Art Gallery of South Australia is home to one of Australia's great art collections, housed in one of Adelaide's most beautiful buildings. Located at the heart of Adelaide's cultural boulevard, North Terrace, between the South Australian Museum and University of Adelaide, the Art Gallery welcomes more than half a million visitors each year. The Art Gallery's outstanding collection of 38,000 works of art comprises Australian, European, North American and Asian works including paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, textiles, furniture, ceramics, metalwork and jewellery. The Art Gallery also houses a comprehensive collection of Australian art from the time of European settlement in the early nineteenth century to the present day, including one of the most important collections of Indigenous art. Open daily.

The Borassa Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions. It is located about 56 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia (in what is now modern day Poland). The hot continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. When the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines (particularly those made by the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon) in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique family wineries specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes. This led to a renaissance in the Barossa which catapulted the region to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.

The Coorong is a national park and lagoon ecosystem about 156 km southeast of Adelaide. Its name is thought to be a corruption of the local Aboriginal people's word kurangh, meaning "long neck"; a reference to the shape of the lagoon system. The name is also thought to be from the Aboriginal word Coorang, "sand dune", a reference to the sand dunes that can be seen between the park and the Southern Ocean. You would need a long layover to take this magnificent wilderness park in, but if you are so inclined, it would be worth the time.

Cleland Conservation Park is a large National Park located 20 min from Adelaide City. Although it lacks picnic and sports facilities, Cleland offers great opportunities for tourists to get up close and personal with Australian native fauna. Visitors can feed and wander at their leisure among kangaroos, wallabies, Emus and waterfowl. Displays of Dingoes, reptiles, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Echidnas and Koalas allow easy viewing access, or stroll through the aviaries. Visitors also have the rare opportunity to be photographed holding a Koala, under supervision from Parks and Wildlife Officers. There is also an Aboriginal cultural tour.