North Terrace Cultural Precinct

Sightseeing Highlights Art Gallery of SA SA Museum Migration Museum Chocolate Highlight Cocolat, Rundle Place

Options  Balaena Cafe Chris Jarmers@Air Rundle Plaza Rundle Mall

This tour is to be undertaken on foot.  The northern side of North Terrace contains some of the most prestigious buildings in Adelaide.  Starting from the East we have the Botanic Gardens and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.  Then there is the old Brookman building of the University of South Australia, Bonython Hall and the Elder Conservatorium of Music in the Adelaide University, then we have the Art Gallery, Museum and State Library.  Heading further east we than have Government House, Parliament House, the Train Station and Casino.

We start our tour at the Art Gallery of South South Australia which is a grand old building.  Entrance to the gallery is free for most exhibits and  you can spend hours looking through the collections in this gallery.

The next building to west is the Museum which is set back from North Terrace with a fountain and lawns in front of it.  The museum houses many exhibits including natural history, Egyptian relics, meteors and Pacific cultures.  The Balaena Cafe is near the front of the building past the large whale skeleton.

If you wanted a fine restaurant at which to dine at this point then you good consider Chris Jarmers@Air on the opposite side of North Terrace.

Next we head west past the State Library to the corner of North Terrace and Kintore Avenue.  We head north down Kintore Avenue until we get past the State Library where we turn off to visit the Migration Museum at 82 Kintore Avenue. Australia has been shaped by the migrants who have come here and this museum documents their history and their history.

If you wanted to spend some time outside you could head further north to the Woman's Memorial Gardens, the Parade Ground and the River Torrens.  For this tour though we will head south along Kintore Avenue, past Government House and the war memorial to the west.  Cross at the lights over to Gawler Place and keep going South until your reach Rundle Mall.

Rundle Mall is Adelaide's premier shopping precinct.  There is much here to do for the avid shopper however after you visit to the North Terrace Cultural precinct its probably time to sit down and have some good chocolate.  I suggest you go to Cocolat in Rundle Place.  Walk east along Rundle Mall and you will find the escalators from Rundle Place on your right.  Descend the escalators to the lower ground floor and walk to Cocolat booth in the food court.

ChocAdelaide Instructions

ChocAdelaide Version 2 or higher (available for download)

• Tap "Merkel's Tours" from the overflow menu.  
• Tap the "Select Locations" button under "North Terrace Cultural Precinct".

Version 1

Show all the locations within 300 metres of the South Australian Museum.  

• Ensure you are using "Closest First" order
• Tap "Menus" on the action bar, "Settings", "List Order of Locations", "Closest First"
• Search for location "South Australian Museum"
• Tap "Search" on the action bar,  Tap "Clear", Enter "Museum" under "Location Name", tap "Search"
• Set "South Australian Museum" to your reference location
• Tap "South Australian Museum", tap the "Fix Location" icon on the Action Bar, tap "Fix Selected" button
• Show locations within a 0.3 kilometre radius of the Town Hall
• Tap "Search" on the action bar, tap "Clear", Enter ".3" below "Distance from Here", tap "Search"
• Ask ChocAdelaide to show the direction and distance to these locations
• Tap the "Fix Location" icon, tap the "Unfix" button

Victoria Square

Sightseeing Highlights Adelaide Town Hall Victoria Square Chocolate Highlight Fiefy's  Argo Haighs (Central Market)

Options  Treasury on King William Blefari Town Hall Garden Cafe Funk Coffee in the SA Water building The Adelaide Hilton

This tour is to be undertaken on foot.  Victoria Square is the heart of the Adelaide Central Business district.  There are number of old buildings and plenty of Cafes.  The more intensive shopping areas are North of Victoria Square.  There are plenty of buses that take you to Victoria Square.  The Tram is also an effective way to get there.

The Town Hall to the North of the Square can be your first destination.  This has a classic old white large marble staircase.  It is a good venue for musical concerts.  There are guided tours of the building if pre-arranged and a cafe inside the building.

From the Town Hall I suggest you wander north to Pirie Street and then east along Pirie street.  You will pass BTS Cafe which provides wonderful cupcakes.  Past BTS you will find an even smaller Cafe set back from Pirie Street.  This is Fiefy's.  Fiefy does wonderful hot chocolate and the best orange flavoured hot chocolate in Adelaide.

Continue south through the hole in the building that is occupied by Fiefy's and then west back towards the rear of the Town Hall passing under a covered walkway, and then south again to get to Flinders Street.  You will pass the Town Hall Garden Cafe and the old Pilgrim Uniting Church.

Travel west to the corner of the Flinders St and King William St.  You are standing in front of the old treasury building.  You can wander inside to see the court yard of this old building which is now a deluxe hotel featuring the Treasury on King William restaurant.

Back on the corner of Flinders and King WIlliam Streets you look over to the post office building which is still a functioning post office and has a clock tower which chimes every 15 minutes.

We will now wander around the Victoria Square which has been completely renovated over the last 12 months.  Cross south over Flinders Street and go east to the front of Blefari Cafe, who do a good Belgian hot chocolate.  Travel south along the edge of the square past the old buildings which are now occupied by the Carnegie Mellon University and cross Wakefield Street.

You are now on a corner where you can see the St Francis Xavier's Cathedral to the east.  If you keep heading south you will find the very modern SA Water building.  It is a grand foyer with a Funk coffee shop inside it.

At the traffic lights head west across the square.  Victoria Square is also the aboriginal location of Tarntanyangga.  Cross at the light on the other side of the square to the Hilton Hotel.  This is another modern building with a grand foyer and a good Cafe inside but I suggest saving lunch for your last stop.

Walk south then turn west into the Market Arcade.  Haighs Chocolates is on the left as you walk into the Central Market.  The Central Market is a great place to wander and shop for fresh produce.  Retrace your steps to the Hilton Hotel and then cross Grote Sreet to the north.  Argo Cafe is your final destination on Victoria Square just past the corner with Grote Street.

ChocAdelaide Instructions
ChocAdelaide Version 2 or higher (available for download)

• Tap "Merkel's Tours" from the overflow menu.  
• Tap the "Select Locations" button under "Victoria Square".

Version 1

Show all the locations within 310 metres of Blefari.  There are many Cafes in this area so you will have a number of cafes on the list you can ignore.

• Ensure you are using "Closest First" order
• Tap "Menus" on the action bar, "Settings", "List Order of Locations", "Closest First"
• Search for location "Blefari"
• Tap "Search" on the action bar,  Tap "Clear", Enter "Blefari" under "Location Name", tap "Search"
• Set "Blefari" to your reference location
• Tap "Blefari", tap the "Fix Location" icon on the Action Bar, tap "Fix Selected" button
• Show locations within a 0.31 kilometre radius of the Town Hall
• Tap "Search" on the action bar, tap "Clear", Enter ".31" below "Distance from Here", tap "Search"
• Ask ChocAdelaide to show the direction and distance to these locations
• Tap the "Fix Location" icon, tap the "Unfix" button

The Adelaide Botanic Gardens and Surrounds

Sightseeing Highlights National Wine Centre Adelaide Botanic Gardens Chocolate Highlight Chocolateria San Churro (Rundle Street)

Options Concourse Café Fibonacci Café Ayers House Museum Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute

This is a tour that can be undertaken on foot.  If you are driving, then Plane Tree Drive surrounding Botanic Park is a picturesque place to park.  Plane Tree Drive is lined with huge plane trees and runs off Hackney Road.

The National Wine Centre should be your first destination.  This building has an unusual architecture and houses displays of wines, wine-making facilities and art exhibitions.  It also incorporates the Concourse Café

The quickest way to the Botanic Gardens is through the side entrances.  Walk north along Hackney Road and then west into the gardens.  You will be able to spend hours in the Gardens.  You will see the large glass Conservatory from where you enter the Gardens.  Admittance to the Gardens is free but there is a charge for entering the Conservatory.  The Botanic Gardens includes the Fibonacci Café with its view over some leafy archways and the Botanic Gardens Café.

When you are finished in the Gardens head south to the main entrance.  You will pass the large buildings of the Royal Adelaide Hospital which is due for replacement in a couple of years.  Head out of the entrance across North Terrace to East Terrace.  You will pass the Light Horse Monument and the Botanic Hotel at the intersection of North and East Terraces.  Heading south you will  pass the East Terrace Continental Cafe and reach Chocolateria san Churro  where you will be able indulge in chocolate delights after a healthy walk.

ChocAdelaide Instructions

ChocAdelaide Version 2 or higher (available for download)

• Tap "Merkel's Tours" from the overflow menu.  
• Tap the "Select Locations" button under "The Adelaide Botanic Gardens and Surrounds".

Version 1

Show all locations within a 300 metre radius of the Botanic Gardens as follows:

• Ensure you are using Closest First order
• Tap "Menus" on the action bar, "Settings", "List Order of Locations", "Closest First"
• Search for location "Adelaide Botanic Gardens"
• Tap "Search" on the action bar,  Enter "Adelaide Botanic" under "Location Name", tap "Search"
• Set "Adelaide Botanic Gardens" to your reference location
• Tap "Adelaide Botanic Gardens", tap the "Fix Location" icon on the Action Bar, tap "Fix Selected" button
• Show locations within 0.3 kilometre radius of the Botanic Gardens
• Tap "Search" on the action bar, tap "Clear", Enter ".3" below "Distance from Here", tap "Search"
• Ask ChocAdelaide to show the direction and distance to these locations
• Tap the "Fix Location" icon, tap the "Unfix" button

Merkel's Tours

Merkel's Tours is a new concept in chocolate tourism.  On these pages there will be a number of self-guide tours which I have chosen which take you to some of my favourite locations.  Of course there will always be some link with chocolate or hot chocolate on these tours.

Each tour will consist of a number of locations in close proximity which will enable my loyal readers to visit sites of interest.  The tours are based around Adelaide and may be walking or driving tours.  They will typically link together three or four locations and have optional deviations.  Typically each tour will take half a day to complete.

To assist the chocolate tourist there is an Android app being developed called ChocAdelaide.  The icon for the app is a rendering of the "Light's Vision" statue in chocolate (above).  This app will provide you with information about the various sites on the tour and point you in the right direction. Instructions will be provided on each tour on how to use the app to show you around.

Tours being developed include:

• The Adelaide Botanic Gardens and Surrounds
• Victoria Square
• The North Terrace Cultural Precinct
• The Adelaide Zoo and North Adelaide
• McLaren Vale
• The Barossa Valley
• Haighs Factory and Waterfall Gully