Overview

Adelaide is the capital of the state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1,150,000 people. Adelaide is located on the southern coast of Australia and is approximately 1827 km squared. The Adelaide metropolitan area is divided into eighteen different local councils.

Adelaide is a great city to live or visit. Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food, wine and culture, and its long beachfronts. The city is designed to give its residents an easy convenient lifestyle. The city and its surrounds offer incredible beauty with access to a diverse range of scenery and living options from inner city apartments and suburban living to one of the several beaches. The city is constantly improving and it continues to rank highly as a livable city, being in the Top 10 in The Economist's World's Most Livable Cities index. The city is a very multicultural place with a substantial percentage of people coming from Italy, Greece, China, UK, Vietnam and Germany.

Adelaide's economy is primarily based around manufacturing, defence technology and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries. It has large manufacturing, defence and research zones. They contain car manufacturing plants for General Motors Holden, and plants that produce electronic systems that are sold worldwide for applications in medical, communications, defence, automotive, food and wine processing and industrial sectors. Almost half of all cars produced in Australia are made in Adelaide. Australia’s largest oil company, Santos and Australia's second largest listed investment company Argo Investments Limited call Adelaide their home. Adelaide is also home to a large proportion of Australia's defence industries, which contribute over AU$1 billion to South Australia's Gross State Product.

Getting Around

Adelaide International Airport is located 15 minutes drive west of the CBD with a combined domestic and international terminal. The airport caters for flights from around Australia and overseas on a daily basis. Skylink Shuttle (www.skylinkadelaide.com) operates between the airport, city and Adelaide Parklands Rail Terminal JetBus links the airport and the city and some suburbs. Parafield Airport is Adelaide’s second airport located north of the CBD.

The main way for people to travel in Adelaide is by car. Adelaide is often referred to as the “20-minute city” because you can easily get to the beaches, historic North Adelaide, or the Adelaide Hills in a 20-minute drive, or if you’re on foot, all the city’s attractions are within 20 minutes walk of most hotels.

Adelaide and its suburbs are serviced by buses, including Tindo, the world’s first 100% solar-powered bus, trains, trams and the O-Bahn busway, travelling between the city and the suburban shopping centre of Tea Tree Plaza.

Adelaide city centre has a free bus, The Adelaide FREE (99C), which loops around the city. It runs every 15 minutes during shopping hours and visits the city’s major cultural, entertainment, dining and retail centres. The Adelaide Connector, a free bus links the city with North Adelaide, travelling via the Adelaide Oval and Adelaide Zoo to the fantastic shopping, restaurants and night life of O’Connell and Melbourne Streets. There is also a free tram, The Adelaide FREE Terrace to Terrace Tram. It operates between North and South Terrace, linking many of the city’s hotels with Rundle Mall and Adelaide Central Market. All these services stop at Victoria Square, near the Adelaide Central Market, where they connect with the tram to Glenelg. The famed Glenelg tramline runs between North Terrace in the city and beachside Glenelg. For further information, please visit Adelaide Metro’s website, www.adelaidemetro.com.au.

The Adelaide rail network has 6 rail lines that all terminate at Adelaide Railway Station. They include Outer Harbor, Grange, Tonsley, Belair, Gawler Central and Noarlunga Centre. The interstate trains The Overland, The Ghan and the Indian Pacific arrive and depart from the Keswick Rail Terminal, located on Richmond Road, Keswick 3km from the city centre. All three are operated by Great Southern Rail, www.gsr.com.au.

The main bus terminal in Adelaide is the Central Bus Station at Franklin Street. All interstate and intrastate coaches depart from and arrive at this terminal.

Adelaide City Bikes supplied by Adelaide City Council are free to hire between 9am - 5pm for visitors riding within the city limits. For more information, please visit the Bicycle SA’s website, www.bikesa.asn.au.

Taxis are widely available from numerous city taxi stands, and can be hailed on the street. Taxis can also be ordered by phone. On evenings in the city, you can find major taxi ranks on the North Terrace near SkyCity casino and also at the corner of Hindley and Morphett Streets.

Climate

Adelaide enjoys a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers averaging 29C (84F) and mind winters around a very pleasant 15C (59F). The South Australian capital, Adelaide, is the driest Australian capital city. Summer rainfall is light and unreliable; completely rainless months are not uncommon. June the wettest month averages less than 80mm. The annual estimated average rainfall for Adelaide is 585mm.

Health Service

There are a number of hospitals in Adelaide, Australia offering all kinds of health care in Adelaide. Public hospitals include The Women and Children Hospital, The Royal Adelaide Hospital, The Flinders Medical Center, Lyell Mcewin Hospital, and Repatriation Hospital which specializes in the care of older people and veterans offering a range of medical and surgical services to the people in Adelaide. Among the private hospitals, there are Cavalry Hospital, Flinders Private Hospital, Parkwynd Private Hospital, St Andrew’s Hospital, The Memorial Hospital, and Wakefield Hospital.

Attractions

Adelaide boasts famous wineries and beautiful beaches. Living is affordable and the lifestyle is relaxed. There is an abundance of culinary options in the city from the world class restaurants and cafes of North Adelaide small delicatessens delivery gourmet delights. If you like to shop than Rundle Mall is the place to be offering over 800 shops in one location. There are also many cultural activities to see such as The South Australian Museum, Botanic Gardens, National Aboriginal Culture Institute and the National Wine Centre. Adelaide central market is open every Saturday and should definitely not be missed.

The city offers numerous activities to partake in and events throughout the year. The city comes alive with the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Festival Fringe and the annual WOMADelaide music festival and Clipsal 500 national motorsport event.

Adelaide’s architecture is striking and features colonial-era homes, gracious Victorian and Edwardian structures alongside modern buildings. The city has beautiful old buildings set along tree lined streets, with parts of the central areas feeling a lot like many European cities.

Night time in Adelaide provides bars, pubs, nightclubs and live music for all tastes. The main night spots are on Rundle Street, Hindley Street and Light Square.

For a list of things to do in Adelaide, please visit Australia’s official tourism website:
www.australia.com/destinations/cities/adelaide.aspx
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