A Traveller’s Guide to Adelaide in Festival Season
Performers and artists flock to Adelaide from all over the world for the festival season, but it’s the out-of-town audiences that make the city a truly international destination. Here's a handy guide to Adelaide for those making the pilgrimage
Floods of Fire with Electric Fields & the ASO
Review: Time Machine
Review: Antigone in the Amazon
Review: I Hide in Bathrooms
Getting Around
Public transport is fairly uncomplicated: pick up a MetroCard from a convenience store and you’ll be able to catch trains, buses and trams all over the greater metropolitan area. You can even catch a direct bus from the airport to the city centre for a regular fare. If you don’t want to walk around the city, City Bikes and the proliferation of pedicabs should make for tempting options. There are also the default options of cabs and share-rides. Trams are free within the CBD and there are two free bus loops around the city and North Adelaide.
Supermarket Hours
Supermarket trading hours in Adelaide are fairly constrained, and even in the city the supermarkets are closed by 9pm on weekdays and 5pm on weekends. If you’re wanting to stock up on the basics and it’s outside those hours, it pays to wander along Hutt Street where the IGA supermarkets are open until 10pm every night. Walk to the end and you’ll find Hutt Street Cellars, which stocks a decent selection of booze and is also open as late as midnight on weekends.
Cheap Shows
Make sure you sign up for the Adelaide Fringe newsletter. Each day they’ll announce HalfTIX specials to a generous list of shows, but be quick – these prices are only available from midday to 3pm. Be sure to engage with any artists you see flyering their shows. With a bit of luck, or if you play up an accent, they might offer you free or discounted tickets in exchange for word-of-mouth.
Cultural Attractions
The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, which also doubles as a Fringe venue, is well worth a look in at any time of the year. Same goes for the Art Gallery of South Australia, which will be featuring a Biennial exhibition from 3 March. Cricket fans can check out the four-day test match at the Adelaide Oval in late February, and for the first week in March the city will play host to the Adelaide 500.
Cheeky Brews
Craft beer lovers will find themselves well served if they’re willing to venture out of the CBD. The Wheatsheaf Hotel and Pirate Life Brewing can be found in the suburb of Thebarton, the Big Shed Brewing Company is located down by the port, and Prancing Pony is just an hour’s drive up the freeway.