A Weekend in Raddy (alt: Adelaide)

I must confess: until recently, I hadn’t really thought of Adelaide as an ideal weekend trip.  Spoilt by my time in London, I suppose, where Paris was only a two-hour train ride away. Alas, moving to Melbourne meant some serious re-evaluation in what made an ideal weekend break.

Still, it took until I was employed by an Adelaide-based company (hullo @Discovery!) before I made the trek out west.  And perhaps no expectations are the key to enjoyment: what a pleasant surprise the city was!

With flight time less than a hour and a half*, you could legitimately go here for a few days.  Longer, too, if you’re planning to visit the surrounds.  But, for the purpose of this blog, let’s keep it an ideal itinerary for 2-3 days

Day 1: CBD Time

One of the convenient things about this city is the size.  The airport is a short half-hour ride from the city, which means you can go directly to your hotel, or your cafe (or wherever really!) quite easily.

First stop for me (after I’ve dumped my bags) is usually a coffee: 

• Elementary is my pick, but unfortunately the CBD branch is closed on the weekends.  They do have a Torrensville branch open though (smack bang in between the airport and the CBD - kind of perfect!) and I imagine the quality is the same
• If you’re after something more scenic, Joe’s is right on Henley Beach.  The food is classic (eggs benny, bagels, BLTs etc.) if not spectacular - but really, you come here for the view

Second stop, of course, is a city lunch (and all of these are good options for dinner too)!  Adelaide has a lot of good food on offer and these are fairly central:

• Oggi’s - for classic Italian.  Read more in depth here.
• Fishbank - hands down my most favourite food in town.  Unfortunately I don’t have a write-up (I ate there well before the Confab concept was conceived), but genuinely world-class seafood on offer.  And housed in an old bank (hence the name - make sure you go to the loos to check out the architecture)
• Roxie’s - outdoors, casual and fun. Cooking mainly over charcoal or in their wood fired oven, and great value lunch deals if you happen to be visiting Monday-Thursday
• Stazzi & Co - in the cute little Grenfell St district, and my cheap & cheerful option.  Vegan Greek (which, until I ate here, I thought was an oxymoron).

Post-lunch, it’s dealer’s choice.  I love art, so I always make it a habit to check out the gallery when I’m somewhere new and AGSA is that compact sort of place one can spend a nice couple of hours in.  

The museum is next door if that’s more your thing, or you can stroll along the river, or hit the shops.  I’d avoid the chains (hey, you can find Myer anywhere, right?) and visit Jam Factory, a great place to grab local artisanal products of the everlasting (read: not edible!) variety.

The central markets are a nice little stop if you want to self-cater (a lot of local produce here!  And I stumbled upon some excellent goat cheese that I sadly left at my AirBnB).  I highly recommend sitting down for a tasting at the Gin Bar… not only for a much needed respite, but also your palate can visit Kangaroo Island even if your body can’t!

Day 2: Head for the Hills (or Vale)

A weekend in Adelaide is not complete without a visit to a wine region.  There are two that are close enough for a leisurely day trip: Adelaide Hills or McLaren Vale.

Adelaide Hills

This is where you find the tourist town of Hahndorf.  When I was in Europe, I thought German-style wines were massively underrated, and I recommend stopping off at Hahndorf Hill Winery for a glass or tasting: I ended up buying a couple of bottles of the Gruner Veltiner (and then had to buy a check-in bag for my flight home..  )

Udder Delights is a cute cheese shop nearby if you’re more a foodie than a wino: grab some chevre and crackers for a delightful picnic on the road.

If you’re an art fiend like me, I’d make the effort to visit the Hans Heysen studio.  They have guided tours of the house that run twice daily (11am and 2pm) or you could keep it to the studio and gardens for the budget option.

McLaren Vale

Even closer than the hills!

This is home to the d'Arenberg Cube, which is weird and wonderful, so I recommend going to this one if you have a kiddo or two in your group.  Wine tastings are booked in at the rooftop (you can do this walk-in) but to purchase a bottle (or even a carton) you have to go aaaaall the way (back) to their cellar door.

My top pick at the Vale is 148 McMurtie Road, a communal cellar door that is home to three beautiful wineries: Bondar, Shirrah and Lino Ramble.  I did three different tastings, and came away with five bottles.  Money (and time!) well spent for sure!

Foodie tips:

• Del Mare Coffee Roastery
• Salopian Inn for something fancy
• Pizzateca for a solid choice (and get a jar of their chilli honey to take away!)

Day 3:

If you find yourself with a third day, you could always visit which wine region you didn’t pick the day before.  I like variety when I travel (and, the older I get, lots of rest and respite), so I’m more likely to head coastal.

Assuming you’re staying central, Glenelg is a good, local choice.  It has St Kilda vibes (if you’re Melburnian, you know) and, weather permitted, you can sunbathe and swim** to your heart’s content.  

There are good eating options too.  My pick is SheShells - go here for a brilliant quality seafood feast.  Decor is not something they’ve spent money on, but when the food is this good, who cares?!  I’ve been recommended Fourth by more than one local, and I tried it, but it would go firmly in the mediocre bucket for me (... they have spent money on decor, if that’s more your thing).

If you want somewhere less crowded (though really, Glenelg has nothing on the numbers of people flocking to East Coast beaches), Semaphore is a short drive north.  I’d suggest getting some takeaway fish and chips rather than dining in, and the sand dunes here are very lovely.

So there you have it!  A perfect three days in Adelaide. Let me know any other suggestions in the comments.

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_{* from Melbourne}

_{** not me; I grew up in Queensland so south coast ocean temperatures are far less than ideal}

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