Adelaide

Adelaide was laid out in 1837 as a grid inside a complete ring of parkland, and the plan still holds: the city ends in green on every side. It was founded by free settlers rather than convicts, which left it a quieter, more deliberate character than the eastern capitals. Adelaide Central Market has traded since 1869 and remains the city's kitchen, cheesemongers, Asian grocers and seafood counters under one roof. A tram runs from the centre straight to the sand at Glenelg Beach, and the ruined jetty at Port Willunga Beach stands in shallow turquoise water. Inland, Mount Lofty Summit looks back over the whole plain, and koalas live wild in Cleland National Park. Barossa Valley Vineyards, planted by German Lutheran settlers, hold some of the oldest surviving shiraz vines on earth. Food and wine are the local religion, argued over at the market stalls and poured by the glass.