Hotels in Adelaide, Australia

A little about Adelaide...

Adelaide is the fifth most populous city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million in 2006, and is the capital and most populous city of the state of South Australia. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern side of Gulf St. Vincent on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, and west of the Mount Lofty Ranges, which rise to around 700 metres (2,300 ft).

Prior to British settlement, the area now known as the Adelaide plains was home to the Kaurna Aboriginal peoples. Named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, is said to have designed the city and to have chosen its location close to the River Torrens. Inspired by William Penn, Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland.

Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom, hence its moniker "The City of Churches,". Today Adelaide is known for its many festivals as well as for its wine, arts and sports. As South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area.

Education:
The higher education system in Adelaide is extensive, with five out of eight centres of TAFE South Australia in the city itself. They specialise in non-university higher education offering a viable alternative. Adelaide is home to campuses of all three of South Australia's universities. The University of Adelaide is a member of the Group of Eight and is the third-oldest university in Australia. It has five campuses in the Adelaide area; one being its primary campus on North Terrace and another being the National Wine Centre. The University of South Australia was formed in 1991 from a merger between the South Australian Institute of Technology and the South Australian Colleges of Advanced Education. Four of its five campuses are located in Adelaide, with two in the city-centre itself. Flinders University, located in Bedford Park, is named after British navigator and explorer Matthew Flinders and was founded in 1966. It is a mid-sized institution with a medical school at the adjacent Flinders Medical Centre. Leading US private university Carnegie Mellon established two Adelaide campuses in 2006 offering both Australian and US degrees. The Heinz School Australia specialises in IT and government management and is based in Victoria Square, while another campus at Light Square specialises in new media and entertainment. These institutions attract students from across Australia and around the world, contributing to Adelaide’s international recognition as a ‘City of Education’.