Adelaide is known as the city of churches – but there aren’t any of those in this article. There are however 31 other quirky, fun and unusual things to do in Adelaide that you might want to try.
1. Hire a BBQ Buoy
These floating round boats are available to hire at Pinky Flat, close to Adelaide Oval. They are no normal boat though, they also have a space in the middle for a picnic table – or a gas BBQ. Pack your food of choice, pick up some beverages from the BBQ Buoys team and off you go. It costs from $140 for a boat for two for two hours.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which mean I earn a small commission if you use them to book. This does not cost you any extra. Differentville is also a member of the Amazon Associates Programme. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
We took our BBQ Buoy out at sunset which was fantastic – the river was super quiet and watching the sunset all around us as we floated past was amazing.
Check out their website to find out more or make a booking
Or read our full review to discover exactly why we loved it so much and also to find some other cool ways to get out on the River Torrens. You’ll find it here.
2. Find a Furby
Artist Laura Lamington has been adding paste up pictures of the tiny talking creatures all over Adelaide since late 2017 for no reason other than to make people happy. Well, it worked for me.
Exactly how many are out there no-one knows, but I found over 20 in the few days I was in town – top tip, wander up and down side streets and alleys, particularly those off the main Rundle Mall thoroughfare. Check flowerpots and utility boxes.
I admit, I did go back to Adelaide again recently and lots of the original furbies I found have disappeared, but there’s still some out there!
If you find one, you can upload it to @find_a_furby on Instagram who are curating quite the collection of images.
3. Go Dolphin Hunting
Lots of places have dolphins – you can even swim with wild ones in Port Stephens – so this might not seem like much of an unusual thing to do.
But in Adelaide, though you don’t have to go out on a boat to see the dolphins, you can see them from dry land.
Specifically, you have to head to Port Adelaide, an area about 30 minutes drive or 40 minutes on a train from Adelaide CBD. It’s a quaint old town with museums, street art, a cool old lighthouse – and a pod of dolphins that live in the Port River that runs through the town.
We’d seen boats offering dolphin tours when we visited the town but hadn’t realised you can actually see the dolphins from shore – until about 60 minutes before sunset on our last night in Adelaide. Cue a mad scramble as we jumped straight in the car to try and spot them.
There are about six vantage points along the river where they like to hang out (a route called the Dolphin Trail) but we weren’t lucky enough to see any the night we went.
There was a pretty sunset and a pelican though.
Dont Miss This Tour
I was also really upset to discover too late that there are kayak trips you can take to meet the dolphins and see the Ship’s Graveyard, the remains of around 40 ships scuttled off nearby Garden Island.
Weeks I spent researching this trip and it didn’t come up once or I’d have booked a trip immediately!
Don’t make my mistake, check out the Dolphin tours here and make a booking.
Yes, I know I should probably have looked at Get Your Guide myself!
4. Eat a Frog Cake
These are a unique Adelaide thing to do – a real tradition – but I warn you, you’re going to need a sweet tooth to get through one.
Frog Cakes are effectively a square lump of sponge, topped with a cream filling then covered with icing. The finishing touch, two eyes and a cut where a mouth would go that makes it look like a frog.
Thankfully, they are quite small. You’ll find them at the Balfours cafe in City Cross, 32 Grenfell Street.
The other unusual thing to eat in Adelaide is the pie floater – a pie floating on a pile of liquid mushy peas. I missed out on that one personally. It seems your best chance of finding one is the food carts that turn up in the city on football days as they aren’t as common as they used to be.
Find All the F Foods!
If you like the idea of finding Adelaide most unique foods, then you’re going to want to try The F Factor Food Tour from Flamboyance Tours
This will take you to places to try goodies including Frog Cakes, Fruchocs and Fritz – and as to what they are, you’ll need to take the tour to find out.
Need a car or camper van for your trip? Why not check out Jucy for a good deal? Just click the pic
5. Climb to the Top of the Oval
You can do this – not me. I’m scared of heights – but, if you’re braver than me, don’t miss the chance to scale the top of Adelaide Oval, the major sporting ground in the city.
At the top, you’ll get 360-degree views across the city and all the way out to the Adelaide Hills – and the chance to test your bravery at a special lean out point 50 metres above the ground.
Sydney has the Bridge Climb, this is Adelaide’s equivalent (and it’s a bit cheaper too!)
They do a sunset tour, which if our experience of Adelaide sunsets was anything to go by would be seriously pretty, or day time tours.
Click here to check out the tour options.
Other Ways to See the Oval
There’s a few other activities in Adelaide Oval.
If you’re more into sports than heights, you can also take a straightforward ‘backstage’ tour of the oval hearing about its history and seeing areas people don’t normally get to check out.
If you’re a cricket fan it’s a must-do as you’ll get to go into the Bradman collection dedicated to the career of Sir Donald Bradman, possibly Australia’s most celebrated cricketer.
If you’re going to an event at the Oval, you can also stay at the new Oval Hotel which looks pretty swish!
Okay, enough talk of the Oval… let’s get strange!
6. Find the Wall of Cars
Back in 2000, Slovenian artist Matej Andra Vogrincic, stuck 15000 tiny Matchbox cars to a wall over an Adelaide car park – and, despite the ferocious summer temperatures in Adelaide, most of them are still stuck fast!
Yes, that’s right, this picture is not of a car park from above, but a wall from below… mind blown eh?
Find it at Rosina Place – this isn’t marked on the map but basically head to Rosina Street and find the Wilson Car Park and you’ll find it.
7. Visit the Music Lanes
Launching in 2021, there are currently five small roads and laneways named after famous Adelaide musicians including Sia Furler, whose alley is also graced with this fantastic mural.
You’ll also find Cold Chisel Lane and three others.
Once the project officially launches there will be a walking trail and each of the lanes will also have appropriate street art.
See the full list of honoured bands and the lane locations here.
8. Try a Mystery Picnic
This is such a fun idea and we had a great time when we tried it.
It takes place around the seaside suburb of Glenelg and it sees you heading around to various foods stores and cafes to pick up the items that make up your picnic.
You’re then suggested a suitably pretty place to enjoy your feast.
Click here to see more about the picnics – head to the Adelaide page to see the locations.
They also have picnics in McClaren Vale if you fancy a trip out to wine country.
9. Visit Adelaide Gaol
I wasn’t sure about this originally. It’s one of the top things to do in Adelaide, and I normally steer clear of those… but I had a spare couple of hours one afternoon and so popped along – only to discover the most fascinating eerie place that begged to be added to my list of unusual things to do.
Forty-five people were hanged behind the walls of the jail and you can enter the areas in which it happened – and visit their graves just outside the prison walls which makes the place super creepy.
Also, don’t miss the collection of old adverts on the wall of the old canteen, it’s a proper trip down memory lane for those of ahem, a certain age!
Adelaide Gaol is open 7 days a week, 10 am – 4 pm. It costs $12.50 for normal admission.
But you can also book a heap of specialist tours – including ghost tours if you weren’t finding the gaol spooky enough.
Add those to your list of things to do in Adelaide at night!
See more about the Goal Ghost Tour or making a booking here.
10. Eat the Beast
Four sausages, eggs, potato tots, bacon, halloumi, some avocado just in case all the rest wasn’t enough it comes with toast and more.
This is The Beast breakfast at the Coffylosophy cafe at 198a Hutt Street. Okay, so you’re meant to share the $69 monster meal with someone else, but we won’t tell if you don’t.
If you’re after another food challenge, you might also want to visit the Black Bull on Hinley Street which offer a 1kg steak to the brave – or foolish.
While you’re there keep your eyes peeled for some of the stars of the DogsofHuttSt instagram hashtag.
11. Head to MOD
‘It’s Complicated’ is one of the current exhibits at this space that calls itself the museum of the future…. what that exactly means I’m not sure as on this trip I was in Adelaide on a Monday – the one day of the week that MOD isn’t open!
But, it looks super interactive, is full of robotics, gizmos and gadgets and has an exhibition about parachuting cats… why would you not want to see that?
See more at Mod.org.au
12. Sleep with Pixel Face
If Furby’s were the theme of my first trip to Adelaide, Pixel Face here made himself known for this one.
It’s not a new artwork for Adelaide, artist Peter Drew first started adding the smiley paste ups around Adelaide back in 2010, but there seemed to be a heap of fresh new ones this trip…. possible related to the fact that Drew, and Pixel Face are one of the art-themed rooms at the Majestic Minema Hotel in North Adelaide.
Want to Sleep Near the Art
To see more about the art-themed rooms at the hotel from Agoda, click here
If you prefer to use Booking.com, then you’ll find details on rates and availability here.
13. Find the Steve Irwin Mural
There’s a lot of cool street art in Adelaide, but one of my favourite murals was to be found on Tatham Street. It’s of the late naturalist and TV star Steve Irwin and it just made me smile.
If the Steve Irwin mural isn’t to your taste, you’ll find heaps more murals up and down Tatham Street, in nearby Eliza Street and in the laneways off the east end of Rundle Street.
14. Go Ghost Hunting
There seems to be a lot of spooky goings-on in Adelaide.
Adelaide Haunted Horizons offer the biggest selection of ghost tours including the completely terrifying sounding Z Ward (there’s no review of this because I was too scared to go on it).
If you’d rather test your paranormal-seeking powers without a guide however take a trip to the fabulously ornate Adelaide Arcade which runs between Rundle Mall and Grenfell Street.
It’s said to be haunted by the ghost of the old caretaker. One night he went to fix the generator and slipped, accidentally losing his head in the process. He’s now said to haunt the arcade after dark.
If you like ghost tours, and are visiting Sydney on your trip around Australia, you might want to have a look at the Q Station ghost tours near Manly. Here’s what happened when we visited Q Station on one.
15. Try a Cheese Gelato
The Gorgonzola, Pear, Fig and Walnut ice cream from 48 Flavours on Gouger Street tied first place in the 2017 Gelato World Tour, a competition to find the best gelato in the world.
If the idea of cheese gelato is making you queasy it actually tastes more of pear than anything else. I also sampled the peanut butter flavour you can see here, and even though that was dairy-free it was really good.
16. Whizz Round on a Segway
Segways are pretty good fun. And this tour by Segway Sensations SA gives you the chance to try one out along the pretty Adelaide riverfront. Which is preferable to whizzing along the middle of the road in Munich where I once ended up on one – but I digress!
You’ll spend the first part of the hour-long tour learning how to use the machine (I can’t drive anything with wheels and even I can work a Segway) and then head out for the guided part of your experience.
Click here to see more details.
They also offer a tour along the seafront at Glenelg if you want to see a different part of the city.
This trip uses offroad Segways so you actually ride on the beach at the end of your tour.
If you’re planning a trip to the Barossa Valley, they also offer a Segway Winery tour – see more about that one here.
17. Go on a Date With Azou
No, I haven’t started the Differentville Matchmaking Club.
Azou is the charming owner of the Le Souk stall at Adelaide’s Central Market and if you get there when it’s not too busy he’ll offer you free samples of their dates – along with some seriously cheesy date related puns to go with them.
Adelaide Central Market is one of those must-do Adelaide tourist spots that everyone tells you about, and it is worth a trip.
However, having gone twice – once on a Saturday when it was heaving and once about 4 pm on a Tuesday, I can safely say for a more unusual trip, the latter is a better time if you really want to see what’s on offer and chat to the stall owners – and hear Azou’s best date-based puns!
True foodies, however, might want to take one of the tours around Central Market which also gets you the inside track on the stallholders and their specialities.
18. Go Nuts for Desserts
An explosion of fabulous dessert shops has occurred in Adelaide since my last visit so, here’s a few you might want to check out.
Love, Stephy is famous for its fruit shaped cakes – green apples, strawberry and something that looks straight out of Snow White all sit glistening in the cabinet.
Or get floral with the mousse-filled rose cake.
You’ll find them on Hinley Street right by the Holiday Inn Express.
Astonish Patisserie: Cameras out as the desserts here are full of decorative touches like flower garnishes and coloured dust.
But it’s not all style over substance, they’ve won awards for their cakes so you know they’re going to taste as good as they look.
Find them at 393 William Street.
Then there’s Uniqorn Eats. Full of foods with colours not normally seen in nature, there’s rainbow cheese toastie, stacks of brightly coloured pancakes and pretty pastel pink Chupa Chups milkshakes.
They’re at 226 Grenfell Street.
19. Head to Where to Old Meets New
In most art museums, genres are grouped together – old masters sit in their gold frames in one room, primary coloured pop-art cluster together in another – but not at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Here a Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin sits beneath the gaze of some Grecian nymphs while the portrait of Henry the Eighth has a great view of a piece involving the carcass of a horse!
At first I didn’t realise what was different about the galleries, but once I did I decided it’s something more museums should emulate – even if the old lady admiring portraits of gentry and their dogs did get a bit of a shock of the naked statue of transgender activist Buck Angel!
If you like the work of Yayoi Kusama, then you might want to add Naoshima Island to your bucket list. It’s in Japan and has a number of her works – including a very photogenic yellow pumpkin by the sea. See what happened when we visited Naoshima here.
20. Rub a Pig for Luck
A Day Out is the name of the statues of four pigs toward the west end of Rundle Mall shopping precinct. Each of the four pigs has a name – Horatio, Oliver, Truffles and Augusta – and rubbing either their nose, neck or their back (look for the shiniest place on each pig) is supposed to bring good luck.
While you’re in the area also check out Rundle Mall’s other super-sculpture the Malls Balls – two giant shiny spheres balanced on top of each other.
Apparently, if you come to the mall about 2 am on a weekend, you’ll see at least one person trying to climb them! This is not suggested on the Differentville tour of unusual things to do in Adelaide!
21. Wave at The Beatles
The first time I saw it, I couldn’t work out why I could see a window with a picture of a young Paul McCartney in it as I walked down Adelaide’s King William Street.
But then I took a free walking tour of Adelaide by Ryan from Tours Around Adelaide (who don’t seem to be up an running right now) and he explained EVERYTHING.
The story goes that after two local radio stations banded together and got a petition of over 80,000 signatures, in June 1964 The Beatles came to Adelaide and made a personal appearance on the balcony of the Town Hall.
At that time, not many big stars went to the city so this was huge news – 300,000 people turned out to see them – the pictures and stories of the day itself are incredible and it must have been amazing to actually be part of it.
In 2016 the image was added to the Town Hall to commemorate this big day in Adelaide history.
22. Drink Fizzy Red Wine
Sparkling Shiraz is something I’d never had before I came to Australia – but it’s sooooo good.
It’s served cold and traditionally drunk here at Christmas – I don’t need the arrival of Santa to have a glass though, any excuse will do. However, the only place I’ve seen it actually served in pubs is Adelaide. I had a glass at the Exeter Hotel on Rundle Street.
Warning – it’s rather moreish and seems to go to your head quick fast – don’t go overboard with this stuff. I might have learned this the hard way in the past – but that’s a story for another day.
Don’t forget, Adelaide is right in the middle of two of Australia’s major wine regions – the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale.
We took an interesting wine tasting trip with Trailhopper hop-on, hop-off bus on our trip to McLaren Vale. It’s a really easy way to get to the region if you don’t want to drive.
23. Visit the Chocolate Factory
Haigh’s Chocolate stores can be found all over Australia selling fabulous like treats like their dark chocolate frogs – but one of the unique things to do in Adelaide is visiting the factory where the magic is created.
It’s a short drive outside the city and you will need to make a booking.
24. Count the Polites Signs
These are everywhere and after seeing about the 15th one I had to find out why – it turns out Polites is a local real estate company and if they own a building they like to make it with their sign.
I just thought lots of nice people lived there!
Yes, I know, it’s not the most exciting thing to do in Adelaide, but the signs are everywhere and at some point you will wonder why – so here’s the answer.
25. Hit the Beach
There are two beaches within a short distance of Adelaide CBD, Glenelg which is reachable by tram and Henley Beach which is a short bus ride away and they both offer spectacular sunsets directly over the ocean.
We chose to visit Henley Beach and sat on the balcony of the RSL for an uninterrupted view. It’s a gorgeous spot and the oysters from the menu were pretty good. The Cobb salad not so much.
The easiest way to reach Henley Beach is via the X30 bus which takes about 40 minutes from the centre of town. You can buy your ticket directly from the driver, but don’t forget to then punch it on the machine a bit further down the bus.
26. Try Olive Oil from the Cemetery
The West Terrace Cemetery in Adelaide is a tourist attraction in its own right with a few different tours on offer to explore the site and its history. However, once a year they produce something quite special – an olive oil pressed from the small grove of olive trees in the grounds.
You have to be quick, only a few hundred bottles are produced and they normally come into Jagger Fine Foods in the Central Market around June time.
If you’re on a bit of a road trip and Coober Pedy is on your list, don’t miss the graveyard there. It has some really interesting, fun, graves. See more about it here.
27. Take a Quick Trip to Japan
In Peppermint Park off South Terrace is a little piece of Japan – Himeji to be precise.
The Himeji Japanese Garden is designed as a place of piece in the middle of the city.
You’ll find a stone Zen garden designed to evoke images of waves, a small pond that teams with fish and other aquatic life, bonsai, willow tress, clacking bamboo and more.
28. Book the Jimmy C Street Art Tour
Considering how much great street art there is in Adelaide, it’s surprised me that there isn’t a street art tour (that I could find anyway) until now.
Flamboyance Tours offer a tour of the work of London born – but Adelaide-raised artist Jimmy C. His work is distinctive because he tends of work in daubs of paint rather than straight lines.
Sadly, if there was a moral to my last (super short) trip to Adelaide it was don’t make Monday your only day in the city – the choice of things to eat, see and do is very limited as a lot of things simply aren’t open – and, the Jimmy C tour was one of those things… but, I hear glowing recommendations from my friend Paula over at Australia Your Way who did take it.
They also offer that unique food tour I mentioned above and a self guided audio tour to Queer Adelaide History.
See more at Flamboyance Tours.
If you like the look of Jimmy C’s work, and are visiting London at some point, then you might want to check out our guide to London’s Southbank as there’s a couple of mentions in it there too.
29. Visit Blakebys
This old-fashioned sweet shop in James Place in Adelaide CBD has the most amazing window displays and outside decor – not to mention all the sweets you remember from your childhood tucked away inside.
And yes, I do admit there’s a lot of sweet stuff in this list of unusual things to do in Adelaide.
That might be because I was there over Easter so a) I had chocolate on my mind and b) half the cool bars I wanted to tell you about were closed on the days I needed to visit them so chocolate took the place of booze!
If you are in a drinky frame of mind though there…
30. Hit Up a Quirky Bar
Had I not been there in the middle of Easter, these fun, quirky bars in Adelaide would have been where I’d have gone.
Have a look at Biblioteque, a bar and book exchange, The Colonist pub is Norwood with its quirky interior and Peter Rabbit cafe and bar which I has actual bunnies
Also, look for The Sorcerers Bar with their wizard-themed cocktails, Butterbeer shots – and lots of fire and smoke.
Cry Baby is another fun dive bar…. the gents toilet is decorated in a rather erm, interesting fashion that is most definitely not suitable for work!
31. Climb a Tree
Treeclimb Adelaide is located in South Adelaide and is the perfect way to hit new heights come the weekend. They have over 70 obstacles to climb up, clamber over and zipline down from.
Pick from the 2 hour Grand Course which is divided into sections depending how brave you’re feeling or there’s a smaller, simple one for littler kids. See more at treeclimb.com.au
Where to Stay in Adelaide
On our last trip, we found an amazing’ slightly unusual hotel right in the middle of everything.
It’s called the Miller Apartment and one of the reasons we loved it was that it was split level – the downstairs had its own kitchen and living room – and then, up a rather fabulous (albeit a bit steep) spiral staircase is a compact bedroom.
Miller Apartment is on Hindley Street which is Adelaide’s party strip – however, this particular room is right at the back so you would be cushioned a bit from the noise.
We were there on a Monday night and didn’t hear a peep from anyone.
Click here to check out more pictures and room rates (not all the rooms have staircases).
So there you have it, my list of 31 fun, quirky and most unusual things to do in Adelaide. Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments.
What to Read Next
As part of our trip, we also took a few day trips outside from Adelaide – we swam with some tuna, saw a giant burger and a Big Rocking Horse, and visited a tiny German-style town. If you want to know more, read our post on 12 Easy Day Trips from Adelaide.
Also, if you’re using Adelaide as a jumping off point to a trip to Coober Pedy, you’re going to want to read our guide to fun things to look for on the Adelaide to Coober Pedy drive.
And, then, when you get there, you’ll want to check out at least some of our fun things to do in Coober Pedy -and there’s a lot of them. See out main Coober Pedy post here.
Who Writes Differentville?
My name is Helen Foster and I’m a journalist and author living in Sydney.
My travel articles have been published in titles include The Australian, Body & Soul at the Sunday Telegraph, RAC Horizons, Jetstar magazine and more.
I like the weird, the wonderful and anything that makes me jump and down with glee like I’m about three. That’s what you’ll find here.
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Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which mean I earn a small commission if you use them to book. This does not cost you any extra.
Cheese gelato?!?!?! That’s GROSS!! Poor gelato, I want to cry for it haha. I love ice cream but HATE cheese!! Another awesomely interesting list! Well done Helen!
I love that Steve Irwin mural – it really captures his positive and energetic spirit! What a great way to remember a great man!
There are so many things I would love to do! The BBQ buoy, dolphin and ghost hunting, fizzy wine, love it!
As an adelaidean who has been away for a while, there were things on here I did not know about!! Good starting list for visitors, and I will be checking out furbiea this trip! 😉
Love it, a great round up of our beautiful city 😊
I live in Adelaide and did not know about the wall of cars. I do know about LeSouk though and the food there is absolutely fantastic at a pretty good price. I didn’t know Azou’s name so I know what to call him next time I go there. Despite the restaurant sounding very Moroccan Azou is in fact Algerian. “Would you like a date”? Daytrips to Goolwa and Victor Harbor not to mention any of the wine producing areas whould be on your Adelaide to do list.
Thanks for this compilation! It’s fantastic!!!
Thank you for these awesome fun ideas! Been here in Adelaide for a while, was looking for something new. Definitely going to try a few from here. 🙂