60 miles off Adelaide is one of South Australia’s most picturesque destinations, The Barossa Valley. The Barossa, as it is more commonly referred to, is famous for its vineyards and quaint historic towns. Listed below are some of the major things to do and attractions, along with Barossa Valley accommodation options.

These towns are mostly either English or German, in terms of history, customs, art and architecture. Other than the wineries and natural beauty, one of the reasons why The Barossa is so popular with tourists is because it offers a peek into the life of the early settlers. Many of the towns offer history tours of restored cottages, Churches and other landmarks from the 1800’s.

The best example is Gawler, which was established in 1839 on the banks of the North Para. Tourists are offered guided walking tours of the Historic Main St and other period architecture. One of the main attractions in Gawler is the Gawler Clock Tower.

Tanunda is another historic town, which offers a snapshot of German life in the 19th century. Tanunda still has the original settler cottages and the original road built through the old town, now known as the Tanunda Heritage Trail. Even today, the town has such a strong German influence that it needs four Lutheran Churches.

Most popular among visitors and tour groups are the towns of Angaston, Williamstown and Eden Valley. Eden Valley has a breathtakingly beautiful landscape in the verdant green hills dotted with famed wine producers. It also has the historic 1866 built Eden Valley Hotel, which is not just a hotel, but a tourist attraction all by itself.

Williamstown offers a big bunch of very famous attractions, along with the usual wineries. This includes the Barossa Reservoir’s 140 meter long curved Whispering Wall that has special acoustic capabilities. There’s also the Barossa Goldfield walking trails and Mount Crawford Forest. Williamstown is also much more tourist-friendly, with lots of shops, restaurants and hotels. Cockatoo Valley also offers pretty much all the same attractions, and the Para Wirra Park to boot.

If anything, Angaston is even more tourist-friendly, with a whole lot of wine bars, cafes and retail shops selling everything from trinkets to antiques. It also has a lot of nice little B&Bs and all kinds of other facilities for visitors. These three towns of Angaston, Williamstown and Eden Valley likely add up to all the Barossa Valley accommodation that a visitor is ever going to need.

There is also the option of staying put in Adelaide and venturing out for a Barossa Valley day trip. But that would be just so unfair to almost every town and attraction, since there’s so many of them and so much to do. The whole point of a wine country holiday is to ease the pace of life and taste everything, so to speak.

These are just the most well-known towns. There are many more little hamlets and of course the biog towns linked by the Barossa Valley Way, including Nuriootpa and Lyndoch. Each one has wineries and a host of other unique attractions. The summary of it is that The Barossa Valley is well worth a visit. Correction – make that an extended visit.