Adelaide City Guide - Culture

Adelaide is a very cultured city - maybe helped by the fact that it was the only state capital settled by English free settlers rather than down-at-heel convicts.

The city's main performing arts hall is the Adelaide Festival Centre, King William Road (tel: (08) 8216 8600; website: www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au). Here you'll find four auditoriums, the 2,000-seat Festival Theatre (home to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra), the 620-seat Dunstan Playhouse, and the 400-seat The Space Theatre. An outdoor amphitheatre, used for jazz, rock concerts and country music concerts, seats another 600 people. Also part of the centre is Her Majesty's Theatre, located in the city itself, at 58 Grote Street, opposite the Central Market.

Another respected performing arts venue is The Arts Theatre, at 53 Angas Street (tel: (08) 8221 5644). The Adelaide Repertory Festival puts on comedy features here, and it's also the home of the Metropolitan Music Theatre Company, which presents two comedy productions annually.

Movie-lovers should head to Adelaide City Cinema, 128 Hindley Street (tel: (08) 8231 5961; website: www.greaterunion.com.au). The cinema shows 10 films at any one time. Or try the Palace Nova, 251-274 Rundle Street (tel: (08) 8232 3434; website: www.cinemanova.com.au) for  new release art house films as well as more commercial ones.