North Adelaide is separated from the CBD by the River Torrens and its belt of parkland, but it feels like a world apart: wide, tree-lined streets, Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and a village-scale commercial strip along O'Connell Street and Melbourne Street. This is where Adelaide's professional class has always lived, and it shows in the quality of the cafes, delicatessens, wine bars, and restaurants along those two strips.
O'Connell Street in particular is excellent — a relaxed succession of outdoor tables and neighbourhood eateries. The Lion Hotel is the area's most historically significant pub, a bluestone Victorian building that has been serving since the 1840s. Adelaide Oval is the neighbourhood's most famous resident, visible from most of North Adelaide's hillier streets.