Adelaide CBD
Adelaide's CBD is very easy to explore, thanks to Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of the colony. On the gently sloping plain between the Mount Lofty Ranges and the sea, Light designed a block of 2.6 square kilometres (1 square mile) for the city centre, divided it with a grid of broad streets running north-south and east-west, and surrounded it with attractive parks. At the centre he placed a square, and another square in each quarter of the city. Today Light's plan is recognised as a work far ahead of its time. The design is largely responsible for the leisurely pace of Adelaide, a city free of the usual urban woes of traffic jams and concrete canyons.
Attractions:
- Tours of the historic buildings in Victoria Square, Government House and Adelaide Town Hall.
- Ayers Historic House Museum.
- The Art Gallery of South Australia, which houses the world's largest display of Australian art. Open daily 10am-5pm, tours at 11am and 2pm (3pm Sun).
- Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. Open daily 10am-5pm.
- Fascinating museums – South Australian Museum, Tate Museum, Migration Museum. There are also museums in the Old Treasury Building and Old Parliament House.
- Shopping in the Rundle Street Mall and Adelaide Central Market.
- Dining out at the popular eating precincts of Rundle Street, Hindley Street, Hutt Street, and Gouger Street in the CBD, and Melbourne and O'Connell Streets in North Adelaide.