Adelaide is a cultural, eventful, and entertainment hotspot. You can enjoy award-winning eateries in the centre of Adelaide or get to sip world-famous wine just a few minutes away from the city. When it comes to serving up the best, Adelaide has everything you want. Adelaide is a gateway to some of Australia’s best wine countries and is home to Australia’s official best restaurant, hotel, wine, gin, and beach. The city of Adelaide and its inhabitants are referred to as Adelaideans.
The metropolitan area of this city stretches 96 kilometres from Gawler in the North to Sellicks Beach in the south, and 20 kilometres from the coast to the Mount Lofty Ranges’ foothills. The city was established in 1836 as the planned capital of the only free-established British province in Australia and was given the name Adelaide in her honour. One of Adelaide’s founding fathers, Colonel William Light, designed the city centre and choose the area near the River Torrens for it.
Light’s design is today recognised as a national heritage. Adelaide’s numerous festivals and athletic events, its cuisine and wine, its coastline and hills, and its substantial defence and industries have made the city famous today. Through the 21st century, Adelaide’s quality of life has continuously scored highly on many scales; at one point, it was declared Australia’s most liveable city.
Many governmental and financial organisations are located in Adelaide, which serves as the administrative and commercial hub of South Australia. The majority of these are centred in the heart of the city along North Terrace and King William Street, two major cultural thoroughfares.
Adelaide is famous for both locally and internationally best-selling opals. Lighten your wallets by shopping for the best-priced opal for you! Adelaide enjoys cool winters and hot, dry summers. In summer, the highest temperature is often 29°C, while in winter it lowers down to 15 and 16°C.
In this blog, we’ve selected the best place for you to travel from Adelaide. Visitors and seasoned travellers wishing to experience some of the region’s most well-known landmarks will find everything they need to know in our guide, including the must-see sights and the best day trip destinations surrounding Adelaide. We also offer tips on how to get to each place on your own.
1. Burra
Historical places enable time travel and let us peek behind the scenes of past eras and also enable us to daydream. Burra is a quiet centre and a popular tourist destination located in the northern region of South Australia. It is situated on Burra Creek the east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, which is a section of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges. Burra, an ancient mining town, is located two hours from Adelaide between the Clare Valley’s luscious vineyards and the Outback’s red soil. This strange town was once a thriving hub for copper mining and attracts travellers today due to its unique history. Before you head to the Burra Regional Art Gallery, use a Burra Heritage Passport to tour the town’s extensive mine sites, underground caves, and historic police station.
About 3 km outside of town, stop for a photo at one of Australia’s most well-known ruin places. Red Banks Conservation Park, located just outside the town, has some of the purest and cleanest water. The state’s finest and darkest skies may be found in Red Banks Conservation Park, which is nearby and is the perfect place to experience sightseeing. The area is recognised as a mining heritage site in Australia. It was designated a State Heritage Town in 1994 due to the abundance of spectacular historic buildings it holds and the opportunities it provides for visitors to have a taste of life in a 19th-century copper mining town. Burra is in a marginal area of land. Tourists can easily spend a full day exploring the town’s rich mining heritage in this picturesque and historic town.
How to Reach
Adelaide and Burra are connected by a 143 km distance. The distance on the road is almost 165 km. You can get from Adelaide to Burra in 3 different ways: by bus, by train, or by car.
- By Bus: From Adelaide Central Bus Station, take a bus to Burra. It costs between $30 and $35 to travel there in 3 hours and 20 minutes.
- By Train: You cannot travel by train directly to the place; instead, you must change the train and take a bus to get there. From Adelaide Station, take the train to Gawler Central Station, and then from Gawler, take the bus to Burra. It takes 4 hours and 20 minutes and will cost you nearly $28.
- By Car: From Adelaide, take a drive to Burra. The trip there takes 1 hour and 50 minutes. It is the quickest way to get to Burra. About $25 – $30approx.
Things To Do
You can have fun doing a lot of new activities in Burra. Burra is a historical town, so you can explore a lot of locations that tie to the past and learn more about them. Visit Time Halls, Art Galleries, Railway Stations, Copper Mines, Museums and much more.
- Burra Copper Mine: Once you’ve finished exploring the area and finding all the other historical structures and graveyards, enjoy the open-cut mine pool. You can drive up from the Town Lookout to Burra Lookout. Explore the Burra Mine Site, a Nationally Listed Heritage Area, on foot or by self-drive tour. The outdoor museum recreates the thrilling environment of the monster mine using mining activity remnants. Several facilities have been provided there including parking for coaches and public restrooms.
- Morphett Engine House Museum: The Monster Mine site includes the Morphett Engine House Museum. Many structures and artifacts can be found within the vast, fenced area. Along with safety advice, there is information about other South Australian mining sites that are similar. When the engine house is accessible, a guide is present. Other than that, tourists are free to explore the other remains, which include the 1847 Powder Magazine building, one of the oldest mine structures still standing in Australia. A guide at Morphett’s Engine House Museum will display a scale model that is fully functional to demonstrate the operation of the engine and pump system used to de-water the mine. A scale model of a jinker, mining artefacts, an 1820s pocket bible, and high-quality samples of malachite and azurite are all included in the collection. Outside visitors can access Morphett’s Windinghouse, the pool, the mine offices and cottages, Grave’s engine house, and a glimpse of an open-cut mine by passing via an underground adit and viewing the mineshaft. A Burra Heritage Passport must be purchased to receive a free guided tour.
- Burra Regional Art Gallery: One of the top Burra tourist attractions, the Burra Regional Art Gallery is situated on the town’s main street and features the creations of numerous local artists. Despite the small size of the gallery, it features some stunning masterpieces, especially some of the smaller ones that are being sold in the gallery. These include silk scarves, miniature sculptures or statuettes, and even a few photographs and books. The Gallery enables artists to display their creations in group and solo exhibitions. It sponsors significant travelling exhibitions, holds competitions, and invites renowned artists to conduct master classes and workshops at the Gallery. Along with its permanent collections, competitions, artist talks, sculpture garden, and events, Burra’s creative tradition is alive and evolving through a calendar of 12 distinct exhibitions each year. You can visit anytime as the gallery is open every day from 10 am to 4 pm.
Food and Drinks
Every city has a few top-notch coffee shops and eateries. The Burra Bakery offers a quality brew, while the Town Square Gallery and Café offers a quality brew along with some light fare and a tiny specialized art gallery. Nevertheless, Gaslight Collectibles and Old Books in Burra serve the tastiest coffee we’ve ever tasted there.
Check out these cool spots also; you’ll adore them.
Places | Famous for its |
Waters Burra Baker | Pastries, cakes and tarts |
The Cook O'Burra Takeout | Delicious Mexican food |
St Just Cafe | Delicious coffee and great ambience |
Gaslight Cafe, Collectables and Old Books | Antiques and collectables to buy |