The best ways to stay cool in Adelaide this summer.
Adelaide’s Mediterranean climate shines during the warmer months when long, hot days are alleviated by cooling sea breezes.
Add in some lazy beach days at limestone-ringed coves, long lunches fuelled by eminently quaffable wines and cultural festivals that continue long into the night and you have the perfect antidote to any lingering Euro summer envy.
Taste an Adelaide summer at these restaurants and bars…
The temperature drops a few degrees in the Adelaide Hills, but the region’s dining options are red hot right now. Hyperseasonal small plates meet small-batch spirits at Ondeen, and Vinteloper’s new cellar door is as sophisticated and pretension-free as the wines on pour.
Small plates and spirits at Ondeen.
The exquisitely presented long lunches at LVN Restaurant shine even brighter with a stay at the luxe onsite accommodation.
LVN Restaurant at Bird in Hand winery.
Hit snooze at these Adelaide stays…
Book a room at Hotel Alba on the CBD’s southern fringe and you might not make it beyond the dangerously seductive pool (or the breezy Mediterranean diner next door).
If you prefer to be in the heart of the city, the chic Mayfair Hotel marries a prime location with a sophisticated rooftop bar.
Cool off at Hotel Alba’s chic pool. (Image: Terence Chin Photography)
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Adelaide’s summer to-do list…
Watch the morning sun refracted through Dale Chihuly’s kaleidoscopic glass sculptures in the Botanic Garden before stopping in at Bloom for a breezy brunch overlooking the River Torrens.
Sip sundowners at beachside Henley House. (Image: Jack Fenby)
Our hot tip: Instead of ending with the school holidays, Adelaide summer ramps up over February and March when dozens of pop-up venues magically sprout from the grassy Park Lands.
More than 8000 artists help turn the month-long Adelaide Fringe into a city-wide party while WOMADelaide concentrates that energy into an ecstatic four-day celebration of music and dance from across the world.
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Alexis Buxton-Collins spent his twenties working as a music journalist and beer taster before somehow landing an even dreamier job as a freelance travel writer. Now he travels the world from his base in Adelaide and contributes to publications including Qantas, Escape, The Guardian and Lonely Planet. Alexis has never seen a hill he didn't want to climb and specialises in outdoor adventures (he won the 2022 ASTW award for best nature/wildlife story for a feature on Kangaroo Island). When he's not scouring South Australia for the newest wineries and hikes, he's looking for excuses to get back to spots like Karijini and Ningaloo.
The Southern Highlands earns its title as Australia’s top country town in the cooler months, and it’s worth every minute of the 90-minute drive from Sydney.
Many Sydneysiders head to the Southern Highlands in spring for the tulips. It’s one of the most stunning spring carnivals in Australia. But the ones in the know come to Bowral in winter.
The first thing you notice at this time of year is the quality of the light. It catches the tangled limbs of the gums and tints the fields, farms and forests a pretty shade of Granny Smith green. And then, a world-class art museum, an impressive network of walking trails, great shops, cosy restaurants and bars and luxury accommodation take centre stage, making Bowral a place you want to linger as the mercury drops.
Just 90 minutes south of Sydney, a Bowral winter getaway is the coolcation city folk desperately need. Here are eight reasons to pack a good coat and head for the Southern Highlands.
1. Check in
Check in to the gorgeous Ardour Milton Park Bowral. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Ardour Milton Park Bowral rises like a hologram in the hazy green light as you turn onto Horderns Road. A $10 million refurbishment of the grand 1910 estate was completed in early 2026, and the beautifully restored hotel now includes 44 guest rooms washed in sage green, cobalt blue and dusty blush. The dining room at Horderns Restaurant continues with a botanical theme – earthy banquettes, floral touches throughout – and a menu that moves with the seasons.
After enjoying slow-braised Cowra lamb and a second glass of red, move to the Polo Bar, which has a fireplace and views across the estate gardens. Build a grazing board from the dedicated Charcuterie Room and take it outside while the light lasts. If the sky clouds over, use this as your cue to enjoy a next-level spa experience at Èliva.
2. Hunt for treasure
Find vintage treasures in Dirty Janes. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Winter is the perfect season to lose an afternoon inside Dirty Janes Bowral. Over 1600 square metres of covered space houses 90 individual sellers of everything from mid-century furniture to industrial lighting, antique silverware, vintage clothing and objects whose previous lives you can only imagine. Enjoy a bit of off-the-cuff banter with your fellow fossickers in between searching for that must-have military jacket or vintage silk scarf.
Around the corner, find the Instagram-famous front door of FoundAntiques, though the real finds are deeper inside. Bring cash, wear comfortable shoes and leave some room in the boot.
3. Slow down in a beautiful gallery
Learn about an Aussie legend at The Bradman Museum. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Ngununggula – meaning ’belonging’ in the language of the Gundungurra First Nations people – is the region’s first dedicated regional gallery, housed inside the sustainably transformed old dairy building at historic Retford Park. The onsite White Cottage Gallery and restored grounds of the former Fairfax estate reward a slow wander. Find a spot to sit in the courtyard filled with rivulets of winter light and enjoy the plaintive call of a currawong carrying across the heritage-listed grounds. It’s one of the best things to do in Bowral.
Add Bowral Honey Farm for a hands-on harvest experience, then continue into town to the Milk Factory Gallery to admire eclectic works by local artists in a converted industrial space. The Bradman Museum also knocks it out of the park. Australia’s largest dedicated cricket museum sits beside the heritage-listed Bradman Oval, where a young Sir Donald Bradman first picked up a bat.
4. A taste of France
Enjoy a taste of France at Lucette.
For a taste of France without the airfare, husband-and-wife team Julien and Romy Besnard – of long-loved Franquette Crêperie – have opened Lucette, a French cafe-bistro with Paris-born chef Guillaume Dubois at the helm. Dubois brings serious pedigree from Michelin-starred kitchens in France and Sydney’s former two-hatted Monopole, and it shows. Start your day with pastries for breakfast and bookend it with boeuf bourguignon for dinner. The chocolate mousse, freckled with Guerande Salt, is the kind of dish that will make you feel smug about the decision to drive south. Join the Sydneysiders dressed in charcoal coats, boots and black tights who’ve already worked this out; the whole scene is worthy of splicing it into an Instagram reel.
Francophiles should also be across Julien’s Bowral Brasserie – led by Frenchman Julien Viel, who also found his way to the Southern Highlands and stayed.
5. Indulge in a tipple
Spend time amongst the local vines. (Credit: Destination NSW)
The drive to Centennial Vineyards passes through a beautiful woodland idyll, the countryside a fuzz of green all around. Inside the Barrel Room, a tasting flight of cool-climate pinot noir, chardonnay and reserve shiraz viognier flaunts how well the Southern Highlands does winter.
This is a region that takes its cool-climate wines seriously, and the pinot noir is one of the stars – a gentle, easy-drinking style with red cherry aromas. Follow your tutored cellar door tasting with another glass of wine in the Terrace Bar, which overlooks the vineyard and manicured grounds.
6. Blend your own gin
Pop into Millsheds Distillery & Bar. (Credit: Mattia Panunzio)
Millsheds Distillery & Bar is somewhat of a local secret. The award-winning small-batch operation produces gin, vodka and liqueurs using Australian botanicals and has picked up silver medals at both the London Spirits Competition and International Wine & Spirit Competition. Beyond the tasting paddle, the hands-on blending masterclass – where you design and leave with two bottles of your own custom gin – is the experience to book, while the terrace bar that wraps around the courtyard is a fine place to settle in afterwards.
7. Go for a walk at dawn
Switch your phone off sleep mode and set your alarm to early. Mt Gibraltar rises to 864 metres just east of Bowral’s main street and offers the best views in town. You will pass a raggle-taggle bunch of hikers on the way up to the summit, all making the same quiet pilgrimage into the crisp high-altitude air. On a clear morning, the bony ridges of the ranges come into sharp relief against the light. The return loop takes roughly 90 minutes. A flat white in Bowral tastes considerably better after completing one of the scenic walking trails.
8. Cosy up by the fireplace
Get cosy in the Berida Hotel’s whiskey bar.
A cosy bar is the perfect complement to winter in Bowral, and there are a few worth committing to. Aspinalls Whisky Bar & Lounge at the Berida Hotel is built for long, languorous evenings. Take a seat beside the fireplace laden with gnarled logs and work your way through a few whiskies and bar bites like Rangers Valley beef tartare, or salt cod and potato croquettes.
At Hickory’s within Peppers Craigieburn, well-dressed waiters in denim and leather move quietly between tables, and the cosy fireplace in the adjoining guest lounge attracts an Escape to the Country crowd.
