Has Adelaide become the new Melbourne?

“What school did you go to?”

For a moment I thought I was back home in Christchurch, where this is the necessary follow-up question to ask absolutely anyone who reveals they are from the Garden City. But no, I was in the twin city of Adelaide – and I still couldn’t escape that infamous interrogation.

I had heard a lot about Adelaide before my first visit there that it was similar to Christchurch in terms of layout, design, personal connections and obsession with high school education, but on a larger scale with a population of 1.3 million versus the 381,000 from Christchurch.

But after just one day in the South Australian city, I realized that Adelaide was much more than just a bigger version of my home city, and in recent years has transformed from a big country city vibe to a mini-Melbourne, without the private school snobbery. Laneways brightened up with speakeasies, bold street art, historic cottages and an impressive, authentic historic food market – Adelaide has transformed into a buzzing hipster city while you weren’t looking.

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Adelaide is also a designated Unesco City of Music, as well as being home to the oldest and largest Fringe Festivals in the world, Australia’s first Festival of Arts and even the world’s first Writers Festival. The Cultural Center shows no signs of slowing down in its art installations as the City of Adelaide has a strategic plan to increase public art in the city while celebrating the living culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

That means you’ll find colorful, bold street art adorning brick walls, apartment buildings, storefronts, and garage doors in almost every corner of the city, from parking garages to restaurant lanes. Adelaide is one giant canvas.

One of the best ways to tour the city’s public art with a little guidance is on an Eco Caddy tour – an electric-pedal rickshaw that meets you at your accommodation and then guides you through the city in an eco-friendly way. city, with a guide on hand to give you insider information.

One of our first stops is at a small car park in one of Adelaide’s many alleyways, which our guide Kristen O’Dwyer introduces as “the world’s largest car park”. I look into the parking lot and see only half a dozen vehicles parked there and am a bit confused.

But when I look more closely, I realize that there are thousands of miniature toy cars glued to the wall above the cars. Created by Matej Andraz Vogrincic in 2000, the matchbox car park has 15,000 toy cars installed on a 22m² brick wall, inspired by Adelaide’s many garages and car parks. I would have walked right past it if it hadn’t been noticed.

During the tour, Kristen weaves stories about Adelaide and points out incredible, colorful artwork. Some are hidden behind rows of trash cans, others loudly and proudly occupy the entire facade of an apartment building.

There are abstract works over walls and incredibly detailed portraits of indigenous leaders in bright colors, captivating visitors and locals alike. I start to tune in and suddenly my eyes realize everywhere I look, there is more art, hidden in plain sight. Every wall, fence and door in the city is a blank canvas waiting to be brought to life with art.

Each year, more works are commissioned for local and international artists, both emerging and established, especially for events such as the Sanaa and Fringe festivals, further entrenching Adelaide’s cultural identity.

Kristin points out local hot spots, advises us on the best bars and backstreets for cocktails (Peel Street and Leigh Street are where the cool kids hang out) and introduces us to iconic characters of the city such as Frank Vaiana of Frank’s Barber Shop, an institution in the area, and an iconic man who runs the store for 64 years after emigrating from Sicily.

In true Adelaide style, just as we’re turning a corner, a man comes up to Kristen and says, “I had your job once.” A few blocks away, a woman involved in the commission for another artwork for the Sanaa Festival happens to pass by and strike up a conversation. That’s Adelaide for you – full of personal connections and two degrees of separation. As a Kiwi, it is wonderfully familiar.

“The real difference with Adelaide is our focus on really meaningful connections,” Kristen says.

One area of ​​the city that has stood the test of time and really showcases those meaningful, personal connections is the Adelaide Central Market. One of the largest traditional produce markets in the Southern Hemisphere, it started in 1869 as a simple market on a piece of land selling fresh produce.

The market is now covered and although it is one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions, it is still a local market. There are merchants who have been selling their best products and wares here for decades, and generations of Adelaide families still running stalls today.

Cheryl Turner is one of the guides who shares her passion for the market with tourists through Food Tours Australia.

“The people are all my friends, the products are great,” she says. “Adelaide people need to be reminded how special it is. We had toilet paper here all the time (during the pandemic), and pasta and flour.”

While you can wander the market on your own, a food tour with a guide like Cheryl means introducing you to stallholders for that personal connection that makes Adelaide so famous. That’s one of the beauties of food markets like this one; it’s not just about supporting local merchants, but it also helps to build authentic connections with the people who help you feed. Now more than ever, it’s critical to support the communities in the places you visit and especially help smaller traders get back on their feet from the pandemic. And knowing where your food comes from is the next step in creating a more sustainable future.

“We support the local population when you shop here and support local farmers and producers. First South Australia, then Australia,” Cheryl says. Of course there are some imported goods as well, such as pastas and sauces, as Italians are also a strong part of South Australia’s history.

Some stalls have delightful small town names, such as ‘The Smelly Cheese Shop’ and ‘Happy Little Clucker’. I met Irene and tried her award winning marmalade at Gourmet to Go, talk to Stephan from Central Organic who has run his greengrocer’s for decades and is fluent in half a dozen languages, I try a sweet from the Old Lolly Shop where generations of Adelaide have families through the Bought traditional boiled lollipops over the years and watch the enchanting art of cheese wheels being cut right in front of us.

I even get to try some good old Aussie bush tucker, learn about native ingredients and native products from Something Wild, including the citrus-flavored protein-rich green ants, and sustainably harvested karkalla, a juicy, refreshing succulent that would make a delicious addition to summer salads.

Open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the market is a bustling hub of a well-connected community. The atmosphere is one of a friendly small country town, but within a big, vibrant city vibe – which seems to be the theme throughout Adelaide.

Ironically, over just a few days I meet a number of people from Adelaide who have connections to Christchurch – one’s daughter went to school in Christchurch, another has relatives living there, and on the last day a bartender who happens to be a fellow Cantabrian living in went to school near me at a similar time.

I love the connection Adelaide seems to offer to visitors and locals alike, and I think New Zealanders feel right at home there. It’s a vibrant, artsy city with great, unique subcultures, but combined with enough fame and kinship that you can’t find anywhere else.

Necessities

Accessibility: Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Adelaide (from 4th July). To see: airnewzealand.co.nz

Details: Adelaide Street Art Tour with EcoCaddy: A$165. See: ecocaddy.com.au. Food Tours Australia – Adelaide Market Tours start from A$89. See: ausfoodtours.com

Stay: Mayfair Hotel, from AU$342 per night. To see: mayfairhotel.com.au

CO2 footprint: Flying causes CO2 emissions. To offset yours, go to airnewzealand.co.nz/sustainability-customer-carbon-offset.

Staying safe: For the latest Australia travel requirements, see: australia.gov.au/international-travel. For rules on returning to New Zealand, see: covid19.govt.nz/international-travel

The writer was a guest of the South Australia Tourism Commission.