Adelaide Rainy Day Experiences

Rainy day activities in Adelaide mostly involve food, wine and a good story: a tour through the covered Central Market, a night in a 150-year-old gaol, a cheese-making class in the Adelaide Hills or a tasting in the Barossa. Most of them happen under a roof. For more ideas across the city, start from things to do in Adelaide, or see rainy day activities across Australia if you're travelling on.

Rainy day tours in the city

The Adelaide Central Market sits under a single roof, which is why the Adelaide Central Market Lunch Tour works whatever the sky is doing. It's a 3-hour small-group walk with a local guide, who introduces stallholders and producers, many of whom have traded in the market for generations. You taste produce as you go and finish with lunch at a market cafe. Tours run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9.30am, meeting in front of SiSea at Stall 76 in the north-west corner.

After dark, the Adelaide Gaol Ghosts, Dark Secrets and Paranormal Hunt is a 2-hour tour of Australia's longest continuously operating gaol, with paranormal investigation tools to try. The venue is mainly indoors, with moderate walking and some steps. It runs on selected Friday and Saturday nights, and you meet at the gaol on Gaol Road in Thebarton at 7.30pm.

The Adelaide East End Walking Wine Bar Tour is a 2.5-hour guided walk between three venues, with a glass of wine at each and a shared grazing platter. You do move between bars on foot, so bring an umbrella and rain jacket if it's wet. It runs Wednesday to Saturday at 4pm from the National Wine Centre's Wined Bar.

Food and wine classes outside the city

A wet day suits a long lunch or a class in the hills. The Hahndorf Cheese Making Class is a hands-on masterclass at a craft brewery near Hahndorf, where you learn to make feta and camembert, turn the whey into ricotta and take your feta home. It has up to 20 students and runs on selected Saturdays from 10am, with coffee and cake included.

In the Barossa, the Maggie Beer's Pheasant Farm Wines and Cheese Board Experience is a 1-hour guided tasting of the Pheasant Farm wine range with a cheese board and a glass of wine, overlooking the dam at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop in Nuriootpa. It runs daily at 10am and 2pm, and there's time afterwards to look through the farm shop and studio kitchen. It's self-drive, so you need to get yourself to the property.

Picking a wet-weather plan

Match the plan to the time you have. The Maggie Beer tasting fits in about an hour and the East End wine walk in an afternoon. The Central Market tour and the Gaol tour sit at either end of the day, so they pair well with each other. The cheese class and the Barossa tasting both mean leaving the city, so keep those for a day when you have a car.

There is more on the Adelaide food and drinks page, including more tastings and classes. For history and heritage, the Adelaide cultural experiences page is a good next stop. If the rain clears, Adelaide attractions and things to do in Adelaide with kids are worth a look.

Frequently asked questions

What can you do in Adelaide on a rainy day?

On a rainy day in Adelaide you can take the Central Market Lunch Tour under the market's roof, join the Adelaide Gaol ghost tour in a mainly indoor venue, learn cheese making in the Adelaide Hills or taste wine and cheese in the Barossa.

Is the Adelaide Gaol ghost tour indoors?

The Adelaide Gaol ghost tour is listed as mainly indoors, with moderate walking and some steps. The listing sets a minimum age of 12.

Does the Adelaide Central Market tour run in the rain?

The Adelaide Central Market Lunch Tour is held inside the market, which sits under one roof. It runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9.30am.

What should you wear to the East End wine walk when it's raining?

The Adelaide East End Walking Wine Bar Tour moves between three venues on foot, so the operator suggests an umbrella, a rain jacket and comfortable, sensible walking shoes.

Are there rainy day things to do with kids in Adelaide?

Most rainy day experiences here suit adults and older children better than young ones, and the Adelaide Gaol ghost tour has a minimum age of 12. The Adelaide with kids page lists family-focused options.

How long is the Adelaide Central Market Lunch Tour?

The Adelaide Central Market Lunch Tour is a 3-hour walk that finishes with lunch at a cafe in the market.

Adelaide handles wet weather well, with markets, gaols, cheese cellars and wine rooms all happy to have you in out of the rain. Pick a tour or a tasting from the list above and book it for the day the rain arrives.