Off to Adelaide in a couple of weeks to see the rugby 7's, have a couple of spare days to fill, those that are there or have visited what should we be doing?
Open to all ideas, cant stay overnight anywhere as thats all sorted.
4 adults early 30's. hoping not to have to bother with a car.

Wine regions - Barossa, Mclaren Vale, how far are they from the centre of adelaide? which is best? specific places to head? best way to get there etc, any day trips etc anyone can recommend

Hahndorf - fancy a lunch etc out there, how far is it? can you get there by public transport? is on the way/near either of the wine regions?

Coastal areas to visit?

Inner Adelaide - anything worth seeing/doing?

Transport in the city - any of it free? is there a tram system still?

Pubs/bars/restaurant/nightlife etc?

Sell me your city guys

Cheers
Steve

This is what I'd do if I was visiting.

I'd start off with a visit to Glenelg, which is a suburb near the beach to the West of Adelaide CBD. There's a bit of everything there, shopping, pubs, stuff for the kids and of course a beach.
http://www.touradelaide.com/glenelg_pg1.html

Then I'd head over east to the hills to have a look around Hahndorf. Can't tell you much about the place cos I haven't been yet. http://www.adhills.com.au/tourism/towns/hahndorf/

Then I'd head down South to McLaren Vale for a bit of wine tasting etc http://www.winediva.com.au/regions/mclaren-vale.asp

There's a free bus that takes you round the City center. The tram is still there and you could get that down to Glenelg as it stops right near the pier.

There are loads of restaurants, mainly in North Adelaide and lots of pubs in the CBD.

I'm not sure how many of these place are on bus/train routes (except for Glenelg) so you may need to hire a car if you want to venture to the wine region or Hahndorf. Here's the link to the public transport site though so you can see where you can get to http://adelaidemetro.com.au/ If you buy a day ticket, it costs $7.20 for all day unlimited travel

If you like wildlife, then there's also Mount Lofty.

I adore the Barossa though, so I might abandon most of that and just go there.

Barossa Valley is about 60km northeast of Adelaide; McLaren Vale is about 40km south of Adelaide. I'd recommend a car for both. You will find some "wine & food tours" here.

35.5km from Adelaide. I have attached some photos of Hahndorf, taken last year during my 3-week holiday back home.

Yes. Take buses 164, 164F, 165M, 166M, and 840F.

No - though there may be a couple of local vineyards kicking about the place.

Victor Harbour & Goolwa.

SA Museum, Botanic Gardens, Elder Park, Chinatown, Art Gallery, Migration Museum, Planetarium, Town Hall, casino. Or you could just take a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Torrens.

Yes; click here.

Yes; it's the one which takes you from the inner city to Glenelg, and back.

Take a walk down Hindley Street.

Loads of art galleries and really really good museums in Adelaide, should the weather be not up to par...

http://www.totaltravel.com.au/travel...y/artgalleries

The Botanical Gardens are really lovely and there's a superb restaurant there.

http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/botanicgardens/

Oh and if you're totally stuck, just drift into a cafe in one of the many green areas in this beautiful city, order some drinks and enjoy. Adelaide's got such a brilliant feel to it... so green and open, low rise buildings, beautiful landscaping in a wonderful situation by the river.

'Where in the wide world will you find a city better planned than Adelaide? Adelaide with its broad streets and with its quincunx of squares and its park lands 2,300 acres in extent--a grand inheritance of the citizens for all time. The choice and laying out of the site of the City of Adelaide was an effort of genius.'
(Sir Samuel Way)


If I wasn't here, I'd be there. Hope you have a lovely time.

Theres a good strip bar next door to the novatell ( thinks thats the hotel i stayed in !!) and a great Thai place just up the road from there

Suddenly, this thread feels so dirty...

World Police and fire games are on here until the 26th March,lots of free stuff,so as you are into sport you should find something to do.
Also recommend Hutt St for restaurants,although North Adelaide is my favourite for eating out,probably because it's close to me and we've tried out a few more of the reastaurants.Grote St is also great for food.

There's a really nice cellar door on the main strip in Hahndorf (near the cheese place), the winery is called Barristers I think. Really lovely lady running it as a family concern, we got some wine there that was very nice.

We went by public transport to Hahndorf, very easy, catch bus from the city, bus stops are clearly signposted (and bus maps are available at tourist information centres and main train stations), about 45 mins on the bus, pleasant journey, chance to have a bit of a kip.

Re visiting one of the wine regions, you can get public transport to the 'village centre' of McClaren Vale but then you'd need some form of transport to get you round. You could always hire bikes or pay a taxi to take you to a couple - would probably work out cheaper than all of you paying for a tour.

Thanks everyone for your replies, much appreciated. What would be the best pubs/bars in Adelaide to head to of an evening? we're staying in the Hilton but no issues with a 15-20 min walk if need be.

Any specific restaurant reccomendations?

The Strathmore Hotel, North Terrace, which is opposite the Railway Station.
If you go upstairs into the balcony they do a good range of 'local' food.

My fav is the mixed dish of local fish and meat, which is brought up on a plate, with a hot slab for you to put the raw food on and let it cook yourself.

Well worth a visit.