Adelaide’s spacious boulevards and lush gardens play host to a non-stop calendar of fun. All kinds of mayhem takes place on these clean streets, especially from late summer, at the end of February into March, when the largest fringe festival in the Southern Hemisphere hits town (a bit like Edinburgh in August, but with guaranteed sunshine). The Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival offer an exuberant month of outdoor theatre, art displays, street entertainers, dance performances, cabaret, film screenings and live music.
The Guardian has asked locals for their insider tips:
See a band at the Thebarton
David Sefton, director, the Adelaide Festival
For me it's a joy that I've ended up living in Adelaide. I spend a lot of time at the Thebarton, or the Thebbie as it's known locally. Pretty much every big band touring will stop here – recently it's had Portishead, Nick Cave, and the Pixies. This autumn will see Iggy and the Stooges, Birdy and The Kooks. It's a top-quality place to see bands.
Coffee Branch
Jane Howard, culture journalist
Coffee Branch serves the best coffee in Adelaide (on ice, if you need it in summer) and, if you get there early enough in the morning, beautiful pastries. The baristas always say hello and, on some days, it can seem like everyone there knows everyone else, the hole in the wall cafe bringing everyone that bit closer together.
Picnic in the Himeji gardenChanelle Leslie, photographer
Hire one of the free city bikes (bikesa.asn.au/AdelaideCityBikes), pick up a picnic from our famous Central Market (adelaidecentralmarket.com.au) and cycle to the little-known Adelaide-Himeji Japanese garden on South Terrace. It is a gorgeous, fenced-in space with water features, and just far enough from the city to be a quiet escape. With freshly baked bread from the market's Dough stall, some cheese from Say Cheese and a made-to-order juice from Zedz, it's a charming way to spend a couple of hours in the city.
Taste wine at Eastend Cellars
Michael Hoffman, project manager
If you go to a winery they will obviously just try to sell you their wines. At Eastend Cellars they sample everything they sell, which is over 2,000 varieties, and choose their stock on taste alone. They have bottles from all over the world but are particularly passionate about the local vineyards.
East Terrace for brunch
Professor Suzanne Miller, director of the South Australian Museum
My daughter and I have a tradition whereby each weekend we go out for eggs benedict and freshly squeezed orange juice. There are some lovely cafes on East Terrace, particularly the Continental at number 6 (open daily 7am-4pm, etccafe.com.au), a New York-style deli, and the more upmarket Jolleys Boathouse (1 Jolleys Lane, open Mon-Sun from noon,jolleysboathouse.com) by the river. And Rundle Street is fantastic for alfresco dining.
Catch a film at The Trak
Michael David Johns, restaurant manager
The Trak is an Adelaide institution, on the edge of Toorak Gardens, an affluent suburb, and shows out-there films to a diverse crowd: you'll see a guy with a ponytail and thongs (flip-flops) queuing next to a woman in a suit.
For more inspiration see the full artice or check out the Guardian's photo gallery.
Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian