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View of Adelaide city center from Torrens River

When you're looking to explore the beautiful Southern Ocean, you can choose to hop on a cruise to Australia or New Zealand with Norwegian. When you start planning your unforgettable adventure, you may choose a cruise with a stop in Adelaide, Australia. This beautiful capital of South Australia has a rich cultural heritage, bustling city life, and mesmerizing natural scenery that you'll want to see for yourself. Below, you can explore some of the top things to do in Adelaide so you can make the most of your cruise vacation.

Ready to start planning? Explore all Australia cruises.

Norwegian Spirit near the Sydney Opera House
Norwegian Spirit near the Sydney Opera House.

Visit the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute

When you start planning your cruise to Adelaide, you can get excited about visiting the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. This multi-arts center features cultural and art exhibitions that you'll want to marvel at all day. This museum that sits on Kaurna land can help you learn more about the history of the Aboriginal people who originally inhabited the area. Depending on when you visit, you may be able to catch a viewing of a cultural performance by one of many visiting artists from around Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Be sure to stop by the gift shop during your visit. Here, you can purchase artwork, apparel, and household goods with unique Aboriginal-inspired designs.

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Go Shopping at Rundle Mall

When you're embarking on your Australia cruise, you can plan to visit Rundle Mall. Rundle Mall is a large street mall with more than 1,000 retail stores. The street on which Rundle Mall resides dates back to the mid-1800s, so it has some fascinating history to it. This mall actually became Australia's first pedestrian-only mall when it closed off access to cars in 1976. Today, visitors can safely walk around and shop to their heart's desire.

When you go on a cruise, you may want to take home some souvenirs. For instance, you can pick up some new jewelry for yourself or a partner from high-end retailers. You can also shop for clothes and shoes to treat yourself. Still, you may choose to spend the day getting your hair or nails done by expert beauticians in one of the mall's beauty shops.

While Rundle Mall is a great spot to go shopping for items to take home with you and enjoy a day of relaxation, you may want to skip the restaurants and do all of your dining on the cruise ship. Norwegian offers an excellent dining experience, giving you access to a 24-hour eatery, buffet tables, and main dining rooms. Whether you're in the mood for a fancy meal or a quick snack, Norwegian will have you covered. You'll even have access to various cuisines, including American, Mexican, Japanese, Italian, and French.

Botanical garden in Adelaide, Australia
Botanical garden in Adelaide, Australia.

Immerse Yourself in Nature at Cobbler Creek Recreation Park

Cobbler Creek Recreation Park is home to more than 600 acres of natural scenery to explore. You'll find this park in Adelaide's northern suburbs, which means its grassland habitats and woodlands remain largely untouched for your viewing pleasure. There are dedicated trails for mountain biking, so you can easily explore every inch the park has to offer. If you don't want to rent a bike and prefer to explore at a more relaxed pace, you can also walk through this beautiful landscape on the shared-use trails.

Once you get back from a day of exercising, you can come back to the cruise ship and unwind with various activities. Whether you decide to try your luck at the casino or kick back by the pool, you'll find an inviting sanctuary when you return.

Admire the Flora at the Adelaide Botanic Garden

The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a 126-acre garden that's home to beautiful flora and fauna. Its design draws inspiration from the Royal Gardens in Versailles, France, so you can see some cultural influences from a different part of the world while viewing Australia's natural beauty. One of the can't-miss attractions of the Adelaide Botanic Garden is the National Rose Trial Garden. This area is where the garden's growers attempt to nurture international rose species to determine which ones are most suitable for growth in Australia's climate.

There's also a bicentennial conservatory, which is where the employees take care of endangered or otherwise at-risk plant species. The conservatory is home to plants from all over, including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and various regions of Australia.

National wine centre, Adelaide, Australia
National Wine Centre in Adelaide, Australia.

Visit the National Wine Centre of Australia

If you want to pack multiple activities into a single day, you may consider visiting the National Wine Centre of Australia right after your trip to the Adelaide Botanic Garden. The two destinations are only a five-minute walk from one another, so visiting them on the same day makes perfect sense. At the National Wine Centre, you can sit in one of Australia's largest wine-tasting rooms to take your pick of more than 100 wine samples. You can join a group tour and tasting session or explore the site's expansive vineyard and mesmerizing architecture.

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