In short
Adelaide is a grid set inside a ring of parks. Colonel William Light's 1837 plan surrounds the centre with an unbroken belt of Park Lands that was never built on: the city does not fade into its suburbs, it stops outright.
North Terrace lines up museum, art gallery, library and university along a single avenue. The Central Market, trading since the 1860s, is the covered market of reference. North Adelaide, across the Torrens, is residential and Victorian.
Arriving and getting around
The tram links the centre to Glenelg, the busiest beach, and its city-centre section is free. The City Connector bus loops the centre and North Adelaide without a ticket.
The airport is less than ten kilometres from the centre, served by city bus.
The vineyards need a car: Barossa Valley and Clare Valley to the north, McLaren Vale to the south, the Adelaide Hills just behind the city. None is conveniently served by public transport.
What it really costs
Adelaide is the cheapest of the large Australian capitals for housing, which makes it a serious base for a long stay.
The Central Market remains the most reliable way to eat well for little: it is a producers' market, not a tourist hall.
When to come
March holds almost everything: the Adelaide Festival, the Fringe — one of the largest arts festivals in the world — and WOMADelaide overlap. Accommodation prices follow.
The climate is Mediterranean: dry, very hot summer and mild, wet winter. April–May and September–October are the comfortable seasons.
What nobody tells you
Kangaroo Island is reached by ferry from Cape Jervis, two hours' drive away. It was severely hit by the 2019–2020 fires and its vegetation has recovered only in places: check the state of individual sites before planning.
The park belt is crossed on foot in twenty minutes in any direction. That is what makes Adelaide walkable where other Australian capitals are not.