More than 2,500 animals from 250 species live at the zoo. Free keeper talks run through the day, and the list includes the giant pandas. It opens 9.30am to 5pm every day; a child ticket was $27 in October 2026 and under-4s are free.

Popeye's 45-minute sightseeing cruise leaves from Elder Park Landing, with live commentary as it passes the Festival Centre. Fares start at $18. Captain Jolley's paddleboats open from 11am on weekends, school holidays and public holidays, weather permitting.

Five floors on North Terrace cover whales and dolphins, fossils, minerals and Aboriginal cultures. In the Discovery Centre, kids can handle a real fossil, use a microscope and watch a working beehive. The museum opens 10am to 5pm daily; the Discovery Centre opens 10.30am to 2.30pm Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Entry is free, and the garden opens every day, from 9am on weekends and public holidays. Wander through the Palm House, the Bicentennial Conservatory and the Amazon Waterlily Pavilion. The Botanic Gardens tram stop is about 100 metres from the North Terrace gate.

General entry to the Art Gallery of South Australia is free, 10am to 5pm every day except Christmas. On school-term weekdays, The Studio runs a free hands-on drawing session with all materials supplied. Backpacks and large bags go in the free cloakroom.

Families head to Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka for its playground and the ducks on the lake. On the lake's eastern side, the fully fenced Quentin Kenihan Inclusive Playspace has water play, an accessible swing and BMX tracks. Barbecues, public toilets and a Changing Places room are part of the playspace.

More than 50,000 grey-headed flying-foxes roost in the park's big trees by day. At sunset they leave the trees to feed, so time a visit for dusk. The park sits between the Botanic Garden and the zoo, and Plane Tree Drive parking is free on Sundays and public holidays.

Paripardu, the all-inclusive playground beside Thorndon Park's old reservoir, has a flying fox, trampolines, a carousel and water play. A sealed 1.45km path loops the reservoir, and swimming, bikes and dogs are not allowed. The Rotary-run kiosk and small museum usually open on summer weekends and winter Sundays.

A 300-metre sealed path climbs from the Waterfall Gully car park to the pool below First Falls. It is steep in parts, so prams may need a push. Toilets, a picnic shelter and lookout platforms are at the bottom, and the park closes on catastrophic fire danger days.

Kids can try on handcuffs and leg irons in the gaol museum, then test how hard the old locks are to pick. The gaol held prisoners for 147 years until 1988, and the self-guided visit takes up to two hours. It opens 10am to 4pm daily, with entry through Bonython Park; a family ticket was $49 in October 2026.