Adelaide is the Capital City of South Australia, the dryest state in the dryest country in the world. It is a small city on the international stage, with a local population of around one million.

Traditionally, the great "Australian Dream" has been to own a house on a modest quarter acre block. The suburbs are testament to that dream and most Adelaideans live on large allotments in spacious surroundings. The suburbs have few multi-story buildings and are leafy and green. Recently, inner-city townhouses have become very fasionable among those with too much money on their hands and have lead to a spate of highrise developments.

Adelaide was founded in 1836 and is the only city in Australia that did not begin as a penal settlement. It was entirely populated by free men and women who wanted to start a new life in a land of opportunity. Many of its original settlers were farmers from Germany and Great Britain. An increase in the number of immigrants after WWII has created a multicultural society providing an opportunity to taste and experience the best the world has to offer.

The layout of the CBD was planned by Colonel William Light before construction of the first building in the area began. Light stood on a what is now known as Montefiore Hill (just to the North of the city) and looking down on the surrounding bushland he imagined a great city. As a result, the city has not developed in the hotch-potch manner many cities have and this a testament to Light's foresight. Adelaide is situated on the mighty Torens River¹ and is nestled halfway between the sea to the West and the Adelaide Hills to the East. The CBD is one mile square, with wide roads crossing in a symmetrical grid. There are five well kept squares (parks) in the city, one in the centre and one towards each of the corners. Adelaide is the only city in the world completely surrounded by parklands, with a broad band of greenery a half kilometre wide encircling the city and North Adelaide.

Adelaide is renowned for its vast variety of dining options, and has more cafe's and resturants per head of capita than just about anywhere. Most of these only use local product as some of the best food and wine (see Wine Tasting In Adelaide ) producing areas in the world are only a stones throw away. Adelaide is one of those rare places where they have taken the best produce and processes from all over the world and managed to improve on them and has now started exporting them back to the experts. Just ask the French, who can't get enough of South Australian wine. The Adelaide Convention Centre attracts thousands of international delegates every year, and has been voted in the top three convention venues in the world three years running.

For a small and usually sleepy city, Adelaide has developed a reputation for holding big events, with successes that make other cities envious. For eleven years, Adelaide was the host of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix and was voted the best Grand Prix venue of the year on almost every occasion. The Grand Prix course ran through the leafy East Parklands, on the outskirts of the CBD, though to watch it on television you might never have known. It was the knowledge and experience gained by the Adelaide F1 GP team that Sydney drew upon to run the 2000 Olympic Games. Since the Grand Prix has left Adelaide² the gap in the social calendar has been replaced by other racing events - the Le Mans series for a year, the Sensational 500 V8 race, and the Classic Australia Rally. In the last five years the East Parklands have also been host to the Adelaide International Horse Trials, the only five star horsing event in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Jacobs Creek Tour Downunder, one of the only international cycling events to lure the top stars away from Europe.

If you are lucky enough to time your trip perfectly, every second year SA is host to one of the best known art festivals in the world. The Adelaide Festival of Arts and its accompanying Fringe Festival are an amazing collection of performances of the highest quality that have to be seen to be believed. The Fringe Festival brings the streets of the city alive, making up for the slow nightlife at other times in the year. People cram into venues across the city and throughout the State to see the best comedy, theatre, performance, visual arts and film anywhere on offer.

Adelaide is a town of surprising contradictions, that for its size should never have attracted the international attention that it routinely receives. Adelaide has the best of both worlds, a slow, laid back approach to life, and a surprising energy and vibrancy that pops its head out every now and then...

Have a look at these websites:
Adelaide Fringe Festival
Tour Adelaide contains some very good photos of Adelaide