Welcome to Adelaide!
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. It lies on the eastern shores of Gulf St Vincent in the central, southern part of the Australian continent. Adelaide is Australia's fifth largest city, with a population of over 1.2 million. More than three quarters of South Australians live in the Adelaide metropolitan area.
Adelaide is on a plain between the rolling Adelaide Hills and the Gulf and is bordered by many of Australia's famous wine regions. The Barossa Valley and Clare Valley regions lie to the north, the McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek regions to the south and the cooler climate Adelaide Hills region to the east. Historically known as the City of Churches due to its new world origins as an incubator for religious freedom, much of the architecture in the inner city is retained from the colonial era. Heavily influenced by the prevailing styles popular in England at the time, the heritage architecture is similar to many European cities built in the 19th century. The city is built on a grid plan, featuring tree-lined city streets unusually wide and spacious for an Australian metropolis and six city squares bordered by parklands.
Proximity to premium wine and food growing regions, as well as waves of immigration from Germany, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, China and India have created a unique multicultural gourmet food and café culture in the City and inner suburbs. This café culture is supported by Adelaide's global reputation for the arts and particularly the arts festivals held in March including the Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, which is second only to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in size.
The city is the home of Adelaide Oval, famed as one of Test cricket's most picturesque grounds and has been redeveloped to host AFL football matches during the winter months. Australian football has a long history in Adelaide and AFL matches are played at Adelaide Oval in North Adelaide. Adelaide and the surrounding wine regions also host the Tour Down Under, which is the largest cycling race in the Southern Hemisphere and the first stage of the UCI WorldTour.
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demonym Adelaidean is used to denote the city and the residents of Adelaide. Adelaide city centre was originally inhabited by a group of Kaurna people and known as Tarndanyangga ("place of the red kangaroo") – now the dual name of Victoria Square in the middle of the city – or Tarndanya.
Adelaide is situated on the Adelaide Plains north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St Vincent in the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges in the east. Its metropolitan area extends 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges and stretches 96 km (60 mi) from Gawler in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south.
Named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city centre and chose its location close to the River Torrens. Light's design, now listed as national heritage, set out the city centre in a grid layout known as "Light's Vision", interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parklands.
Early colonial Adelaide was shaped by the diversity and wealth of its free settlers, in contrast to the convict history of other Australian cities. Until the post-war era, it was Australia's third most populated city. It has been noted for its leading examples of religious freedom and progressive political reforms, and became known as the "City of Churches" due to its diversity of faiths. Today, Adelaide is known by its many festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its coastline and hills, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. Adelaide's quality of life has ranked consistently highly in various measures through the 21st century, at one stage being named Australia's most liveable city. As South Australia's government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevards of North Terrace and King William Street.