"Adelaide, capital of the 'festi ..." a Adelaide Travel Page by Winged

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. It has a population of just over 1 million. Adelaide refers to two things - the actual city centre which is the suburb called 'Adelaide', and the city plus all the suburbs surrounding the city for many kilometres around. Most people, when they say 'Adelaide', are referring to the whole area.

I love Adelaide; of course, it's my home, so I'm biased, but I think it's one of the best places to live in the world.

I must admit that Adelaide probably wouldn't be my first choice for a holiday destination, but it's a pleasant, relatively safe city, quite spacious, quite green, fairly clean, good weather, and there are a few nice touristy spots around. It's known for having a bit of a dignified/conservative atmosphere, enhanced by its reputation for the arts and good food and wine.

Adelaide boasts great arts festivals, great eating, and great beaches. South Australia features the best wine regions in Australia in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale. Another popular site is Kangaroo Island, an island with kangaroos on it (what's in a name, huh? But there are more than just roos ^_^.).

South Australia also features many, many kilometres of barren wasteland that make it the driest state of the driest country in the world!

Geographically, the Adelaide CBD is a grid-shaped city roughly in the middle of Adelaide, surrounded by suburbs. The River Torrens runs through the centre. To the west is all coastline and beaches; to the south and east are the Adelaide Hills, which have the highest rainfall in South Australia and are generally nice and green. The highest point is in the hills, south-east of the city, Mount Lofty. It's not very mountainous or very lofty - all of South Australia is very flat! - but it's there nonetheless. ^_^.

I've heard it called the "20 minute city", because unless you're in the extreme north or south, it's usually no more than 20 minutes from anywhere to the city centre. 20 minutes or less to get to the beach, the airport, the Hills...

If you're wanting to get a feel for Australia and don't care about seeing famous landmarks (Australia probably has a total of about three of them anyway), Adelaide's a great place to go - it's kind of off the tourist track but there are still plenty of facilities, it's a bit cheaper and less crowded than the bigger cities, and just generally a nice place to be!