Adelaide Tarndanya (Kaurna)
City
Adelaide skyline and the River Torrens Adelaide Town Hall St Peter's Cathedral General Post Office SAHMRI AEC Victoria Square
Adelaide Show map of Australia Adelaide Show map of South Australia Adelaide Show map of Oceania
Coordinates: 34°55′39″S 138°36′00″E / 34.92750°S 138.60000°E / -34.92750; 138.60000
Country	Australia
State	South Australia
LGA(s)	19 municipalities across Metropolitan Adelaide
Location	730 km (450 mi) NW of Melbourne[1] 1,160 km (720 mi) West of Canberra[2] 1,373 km (853 mi) West of Sydney[3] 2,007 km (1,247 mi) SW of Brisbane[4] 2,607 km (1,620 mi) East of Perth[5]
Established	28 December 1836 (1836-12-28)
Government
• State electorate(s)	Various (34)
• Federal division(s)	Spence, Makin, Hindmarsh, Adelaide, Sturt, Boothby, Kingston
Area [8]
• Total	3,259.8 km2 (1,258.6 sq mi)
Population
• Total(s)	1,469,163 (2024)[7] (5th)
• Density	450/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9:30 (ACST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+10:30 (ACDT)
Mean max temp	22.6 °C (72.7 °F)
Mean min temp	12.4 °C (54.3 °F)
Annual rainfall	536.5 mm (21.12 in)

Adelaide (/ˈædɪleɪd/ ^ⓘ AD-il-ayd;^[9][10] Kaurna: Tarndanya [ˈd̪̥aɳɖaɲa]) is the capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre; the demonym Adelaidean is used to denote the city and the residents of Adelaide. The traditional owners of the Adelaide region are the Kaurna,^[11][12][13] with the name Tarndanya referring to the area of the city centre and surrounding Park Lands, in the Kaurna language.^[14] Adelaide is situated on the Adelaide Plains north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St Vincent in the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges in the east. Its metropolitan area encompasses over 430 suburbs, extending 96 km (60 mi) from Gawler in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south and 20 km (12 mi) from the western coast to the eastern foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely settled British province in Australia, distinguishing it from Australia's penal colonies.^[15] Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city centre and chose its location close to the River Torrens. Light's design, now listed as national heritage, set out the city centre in a grid layout known as "Light's Vision", interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by park lands. Colonial Adelaide was noted for its leading examples of religious freedom and progressive political reforms and became known as the "City of Churches" due to its diversity of faiths. It was Australia's third-most populous city until the postwar era.^[16]

Today, Adelaide is one of Australia's most visited travel destinations^[17][18] and hosts many festivals and sporting events, such as the Adelaide 500, Tour Down Under, Gather Round, LIV Golf Adelaide, and the Adelaide Fringe, the world's second largest annual arts festival.^[19] The city has also been renowned for its automotive industry, having been the original host of the Australian Grand Prix in the FIA Formula One World Championship from 1985 to 1995. Other features include its food and wine industries, its coastline and hills, its large defence and manufacturing operations, and its emerging space sector, including the Australian Space Agency being headquartered there. With one of the world's largest foreign-born populations, Adelaide has consistently ranked within the top-ten most liveable cities globally for much of the 21st century, being named in 2021 the most liveable city in the country and third in the world.^[20] Its aesthetic appeal has also been recognised by Architectural Digest, which ranked Adelaide as the most beautiful city in the world in 2024.^[21]

As South Australia's government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the central business district along the cultural boulevards of North Terrace and King William Street. Adelaide has also been classed as a Gamma + level global city as categorised by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, with the city further linking economic regions to the worldwide economy.^[22] Adelaide is connected by extensive bus, train and tram networks, all of which are operated by Adelaide Metro, with its main railway terminus at the Adelaide railway station. The city is also served by Adelaide Airport and Port Adelaide, both of which are among the busiest airports and seaports in Australia, respectively.