My Adelaide: Sunsets, Shiraz, serendipity

Adelaide is tree-lined boulevards and wide-open skies. It's a glass of Barossa Shiraz at a beachside wine bar, less than hour from where the grapes were grown. It's a Fringe performer in sequins sharing a tram with a lawyer on the way to work. It's the buzz of Central Market on a Saturday morning and the hush of the Botanic Gardens on a Sunday afternoon. It's a city that doesn't need to shout to be heard.

I was born and raised in Adelaide and lived here until I graduated from university. My husband and I then spent 20 wonderful years in Sydney, before returning to our hometown to be closer to family and enjoy the Adelaide lifestyle with our two children.

What I love most about Adelaide is the ease and pace of life. The long, hot, dry summers, flat crystal-clear beaches, month-long festivals and sunsets over the ocean are hard to beat.

I love that you can walk jetty to jetty along the coast, and in the same day, drive through endless green hills and visit Barossa Valley wineries reminiscent of castles. Adelaide also boasts a creative population of artists, musicians and culinary innovators, which means this tiny city is full of hidden gems and really punches above its weight.

Adelaide comes alive in "Mad March" - a festival season that includes the internationally acclaimed Adelaide Festival and its vibrant sibling, the Fringe, the second-largest arts festival worldwide, beaten only by the original Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city feels electric as pubs spill onto footpaths, circus tents pop up in parklands and laneways buzz with everything from experimental theatre to world-class comedy. And the energy doesn't stop there - Adelaide now hosts sporting spectacles like the AFL's Gather Round and LIV Golf, cementing its reputation as a world-class events city.

Something that surprises many people is just how unique Adelaide really is. It's Australia's only UNESCO City of Music, and the only Australian capital that wasn't founded as a penal colony. And right now, it's on its way to formalising a sister-city agreement with Athens!

Adelaide has a long history of progressive thought. It was the first place in the world to grant women the right to stand for Parliament and the birthplace of some of the country's most impactful social justice movements. There's a thread of quiet determination that runs through the city.

But if you're visiting, you must make time for the wine. Our wine regions - the Barossa, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Coonawarra - are world-renowned, and most are less than an hour's drive from the city. It's worth booking a night or two away to properly meander through cellar doors and vineyard restaurants, breathing in the landscape and sipping some unforgettable vintages.

And here's something most people don't realise until they've been here: Adelaide is nicknamed the "20-minute city" - and with good reason. Whether you're heading from the city to the beach, the hills or even to Penfolds (yes, the home of Grange!), it usually takes no more than 20 minutes. 

Some people still think Adelaide is quiet. Maybe it is, compared to Sydney or Melbourne. But I think that's the point. Adelaide is thoughtful, creative and confident in its own skin. It's a place where people take their time - with ideas, with each other and with life.

We're not flashy. We're not in a hurry. We're quietly proud - of our food, our festivals, our natural beauty and our sense of community. And while we'd never brag about it, we're always happy to let others discover just how good we have it here!