Experience the best of Adelaide with budget-friendly fun for all the family.
Adelaide is packed with family-friendly attractions for kids big and small. Here are some of our favourites, that also happen to be absolutely free!
Art Gallery of South Australia.
Start with art
The Art Gallery of South Australia offers free admission for the whole family, so everyone can fill up on their favourite artworks. For little kids who aren't quite into Impressionism just yet, there's START at the Gallery. Held on the first Sunday of the month, START offers a free introduction to visual art for children and families. It's a super-fun event with art activities, tours, live performance and entertainment. Check the gallery's event calendar for dates and times.
South Australia Tourism Commission
Haigh's chocolates.
Eat free chocolate!
Yes, you read that right. Heritage-listed, historic Melba's Chocolate Factory is a 'working' tourism factory that uses 1940s-era chocolate and confectionery-making equipment to recreate yummy, old-school treats. There are six rooms in the complex that showcase six different processes in the manufacturing and packing of chocolate. You can see up close how they’re made and handled, and you'll get yummy samples too!
Want more chocolate? (Who doesn't?) You can also tour South Australia's famous Haigh's chocolate factory, where you can watch chocolatiers hand-craft Haigh's gorgeous chocolates and truffles. There are samples along the way and free tea and coffee at the end.
South Australia Tourism Commission
MOD. at the University of South Australia
Supersize your science
If you've got slightly older kids who love their tech, bring them along to MOD. at the University of South Australia. With a focus on science, technology and futuristic innovations, MOD. is a brilliant attraction, with intriguing, creative and interactive exhibitions, activities and events across its seven different gallery spaces. It's off the planet!
Hire a free bike for a family bike ride.
Go free-wheeling
Adelaide's a scenic city and it's easy to get around, so why not hire free bikes for the whole family and see it on two wheels? Adelaide FREE Bikes is a council initiative offering free bike hire, including a helmet and bike lock, so you can cycle around town at your leisure and take in the sights. Good option for tiring kids out too! You can hire the bikes from multiple locations, so ride on!
The playground at Hart's Mill.
Play to your Hart’s content
Head to Port Adelaide for a playground with a difference. Hart's Mill is a lively new precinct rejuvenating an industrial port with pop-up events, the Wonderwall outdoor art pieces, Folklore Cafe and, using the area's industrial history as inspiration, the Hart's Mill Playground. This enormous, interactive playground's design riffs on the area's milling history and is loaded with swings, slides, hamster wheels, flying foxes, climbing frames and sand pits. There is also a walking track that loops around the port for a scenic walk or bike ride.
