Adelaide Walking Tour: 50 Free Video Stops

This Adelaide walking tour links 10 sights and 50 short video stops narrated by Clarissa, from the stalls of the Central Market to the galleries of North Terrace, the Botanic Garden and the Riverbank Footbridge at Adelaide Oval. The whole route stays inside the compact city grid and its parklands, so you can walk it end to end. The notes below add timing, transport, etiquette and the many free sights worth knowing. For official visitor information, also check South Australia, the official tourism site of the South Australian Tourism Commission.

Route 1, the market and the square (stops 1 to 3). Start at the Central Market, trading on this block since 1869, and play the videos as you move through the produce halls, the cheese, smallgoods and bread stalls, and out to the edge of Chinatown. Walk a block east to Victoria Square, also called Tarntanyangga, the centre of Colonel William Light’s city plan, with the Three Rivers Fountain, colonial statues and the law courts. Then loop back along Gouger Street, the city’s restaurant row, best saved for lunch or dinner.

Route 2, the shopping streets (stops 4 and 5). Walk north up King William Street to Adelaide Arcade, opened in 1885, with its glass roof and ghost story, and step into Rundle Mall for the famous Mall’s Balls sculpture, the bronze pigs and Beehive Corner. Carry on east past the mall into Rundle Street and the East End, with its cafes, old picture theatres and Tandanya, the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. This section of the Adelaide walking tour is lively day and night.

Route 3, the cultural boulevard (stops 6 to 8). Turn onto North Terrace, lined with grand public buildings. Visit the Art Gallery of South Australia, opened in 1881, for colonial painting, Hans Heysen’s gum trees and First Nations art, then the South Australian Museum next door, with the Australian Aboriginal Cultures gallery, Flinders Ranges fossils and the Mawson story. Just behind, on Kintore Avenue, the Migration Museum fills the old Destitute Asylum buildings with the arrival stories of South Australia.

Route 4, the garden and the river (stops 9 and 10). Walk east to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, opened in 1857, for the Victorian Palm House, the Bicentennial Conservatory, the waterlily pavilion and the fig avenues. Finish your Adelaide walking tour by the River Torrens, crossing the curved Riverbank Footbridge to Adelaide Oval, home of cricket and football since 1871, with its heritage scoreboard and Moreton Bay figs.

Colonel Light’s 1837 plan is the key to the city. He laid out a square mile of streets around Victoria Square and wrapped it in a ring of parklands, which still separate the centre from the suburbs. That is why every stop on this tour is close to green space, and why you can walk from the market to the river in well under an hour without hurrying.

For photos, the best free viewpoints on this Adelaide walking tour are the Riverbank Footbridge at sunset, the glass roof of Adelaide Arcade, the Palm House in the Botanic Garden and the view back to the city from Light’s Vision on Montefiore Hill, just north of the Oval. With one day, Routes 1 and 3 make the core free walking tour Adelaide visitors can do on foot.

Spring, from September to November, and autumn, from March to May, are the most comfortable seasons for an Adelaide walking tour. Summer is dry and often very hot, so walk early, shelter in the museums at midday and finish at the river in the evening. February and March bring the Adelaide Festival and the Fringe, when the East End and the parklands fill with shows and crowds.

The Central Market does not trade every day, so check its current trading days before you plan Route 1; the full market days give you the busiest stalls. The galleries, the museums and the Botanic Garden have their own opening hours, and Adelaide Oval tours do not run on some event days. Check each official site before you go, especially around public holidays and big matches.

Adelaide’s centre is flat and easy to walk. The tram along King William Street and North Terrace is free within the city section, and free city bus services loop around the grid, so you can hop between stops without a ticket. Outside the free zones, use a Metrocard or the payment options listed by Adelaide Metro. The Glenelg tram runs from the city to the beach, a good extra trip after the tour.

Adelaide Airport is only a short drive west of the city, with buses and taxis into town. Adelaide Railway Station on North Terrace is a few minutes from the Riverbank Footbridge, so if you arrive by train you can start this Adelaide walking tour at the Oval and walk the stops in reverse.

Adelaide stands on Kaurna land, and you will see Kaurna names such as Tarntanyangga for Victoria Square and Karrawirra Parri for the River Torrens. Take time in the museum’s Australian Aboriginal Cultures gallery, follow any notices about sensitive cultural material, and ask before photographing people. At the Migration Museum’s memorials, keep your voice low.

Adelaide is a food and wine city. Try local cheese, bread and coffee at the Central Market, seafood from the gulfs on Gouger Street, a Haigh’s chocolate near Beehive Corner and South Australian wine from regions such as the Barossa and McLaren Vale. Tipping is not expected in Australia, though rounding up for good service is welcome. Tap water is safe to drink, and many parks have drinking fountains.

Adelaide is a safe, relaxed city, but watch your bag in the busy mall and at the market, and keep to well-lit streets late at night. The sun is strong, so wear a hat and sun cream, and carry water on hot days. In the parklands and the Botanic Garden, stay on the paths near water and watch for cyclists on shared paths along the Torrens.

Many shops in Rundle Mall stay open later on Friday nights, and the East End cafes stay busy until late, so an evening stroll along Rundle Street is an easy way to end a day of sightseeing. On big match nights, the crowds walk to the Oval over the footbridge, which makes the river crossing lively but slow.

Almost every stop on this Adelaide walking tour is free. The Central Market, Victoria Square, Gouger Street, Adelaide Arcade, Rundle Mall and the East End cost nothing to walk. General entry to the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the Migration Museum is free, with charges only for some special exhibitions. The Botanic Garden is free, and the plaza outside Adelaide Oval is free; only the stadium tours and the RoofClimb are paid.

The parklands that ring the city are free too, and they make a good extension if you still have energy after the river. Paths lead from the Botanic Garden into the wider east parklands and along the Torrens, where you may spot ducks, pelicans and rowers on the water. Pack a picnic from the Central Market and eat it on the lawns beside the river before the final stop.

Some attractions offer reduced prices for children, students and seniors, and many galleries run free tours and talks. Check the official sites for current prices and programmes before your Adelaide walking tour, and book paid tours directly.

Adelaide is one of the easiest Australian cities for wheelchair users. The grid is flat, kerb ramps are common, the city trams have level boarding at most stops, and the North Terrace institutions have accessible entrances. The Botanic Garden’s main paths are sealed, and the Riverbank Footbridge has a gentle gradient. Some older arcade entrances and East End shopfronts have steps.

After this Adelaide walking tour, carry on with more free walks in Australia: the Melbourne walking tour, the Sydney walking tour, the Perth walking tour and the Canberra walking tour. You can browse every city on the Free City Tours home page.