City

A well-presented museum of the history of Wellington, including its maritime history.

Home of New Zealand's lawmakers and leaders, the complex consists of four building: the Beehive (or Executive Wing), Parliament House, the Parliamentary Library and Bowen House. The grounds of Parliament are open to the public, and free tours of the buildings are available from the visitor centre located between the Beehive and Parliament House. Depending on parliamentary business, tours may include a visit to the House of Representatives debating chamber and the Select Committee rooms. For security reasons, you need to leave all your belongings at the visitor centre and clear a checkpoint.

This is the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere and the second-largest in the world. It is now the home of Victoria University Law School.

The library regularly holds exhibitions.

The Supreme Court was established in 2004 to replace the UK Privy Council as New Zealand's highest court, and primarily hears appeals from the Court of Appeal (New Zealand's second-highest court). The Supreme Court complex was completed in 2010, extending on and incorporating the old 1879-built High Court building. The building is open to the public, but you can only look at the courtroom through a window. If you want to see inside the courtroom, join a free tour available three times a week.

This imposing brick mansion now seems small and out of place amongst the surrounding high-rises. It is closed for renovation.

In 1883, a bank was built on top of a wrecked ship that had been built in Nova Scotia in 1848, and had been used as a market. When they renovated the building, they discovered the ship's timbers and preserved the remains in the building. Take the escalator down through the bank vault doors.

This was the Anglican centre for decades. Superseded by the new cathedral north of Parliament, this one is popular for weddings and funerals.

A tall Art Deco carillon was dedicated in 1932, the Hall of Memories opened in 1964, and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was built in 2004. There are Australian, Belgian, French, Turkish, UK and US memorials and some sculptures in the wider park, which was opened in 2015.

Large Anglican church built between 1954 and 1998. The cathedral is a relatively plain design, made of reinforced concrete, and has some fine stained glass. A farmer's market is held in the car park on Saturday mornings.

St Mary of the Angels is the Catholic parish church for Wellington Central. The church opened in 1922.

Fire station (still in use) designed by Cyril H Mitchell of Mitchell & Mitchell in 1935, which includes the clock from the old Town Hall. Fountain Court, 10-48 Oriental Parade, a three-storey block of flats, a few doors towards the sea was built in 1938.

An historic art deco apartment block.

Former hotel (now student accommodation) built in 1929-30

a real splash, for many years. The Bucket Fountain is an iconic kinetic sculpturet. It consists of a series of "buckets" that fill with water until they tip, spilling their load into the buckets and pool below. The fountain was designed by Burren and Keen and erected in 1969.

From Lambton Quay (next to the McDonald's). The easiest way to get a nice view of the city and harbour, the Cable Car runs on rails from Lambton Quay to the Botanic Garden in Kelburn every ten minutes.

196 m high, this is the best lookout in Wellington. The full 360-degree view is a great place to see the airport, the harbour, the CBD and the Town Belt with just a turn of the head. It takes about an hour to walk up from Courtenay Place. Many tourist buses go there but also a lot of the locals, especially at night to 'watch the view'.

455 m high, and easily recognisable by the 122-metre television transmitter atop it. A great lookout point, but not as close to the city as Mt Victoria.

More views, and World War II underground tunnels which are open to the public on public holidays for a small fee.

Another great place to go to get an excellent view of the city, the harbour, and Cook Strait, plus experience the wind! The current turbine was installed in 2016 and is the second on the site; the first was erected in 1993 to test the potential of turning Wellington's infamous wind into electricity.

An interesting place to go if you want to see a large memorial in the middle of nowhere, with a good view of the surrounding harbour. The memorial's namesake is William Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1912 and 1925.

A predator-proof fence encloses an old water catchment area, forming a mainland island that provides a natural haven for endangered native birds, tuatara, wētā, and other indigenous flora and fauna, safe from introduced predators. By far the most convenient place in the country to see rare New Zealand wildlife.

Out in the middle of the harbour, this island has its share of history. It was once a quarantine station for immigrants, and later (and more extensively) for animals. It was also an internment camp for "dangerous" individuals during both world wars. The island is a nature reserve managed by the DOC, bio-security bag inspections on arrival and a small exhibition. The animal quarantine station and some wartime defences can be explored, there are good harbour views, but the wildlife is the main attraction. Bring food in sealed containers and something to drink as there are no shops. There is a campsite and two bachs which need to be booked in advance.

The studio that made the hit movie trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Tours must be booked online in advance. Also features a gift shop where you can buy Lord of the Rings memorabilia.

It is a nice place to go for a picnic, or just an afternoon walk (or run for a challenging fitness experience). You can take the Cable Car from Lambton Quay for a quick 5-minute trip to the top; but it is not designed to be exciting, despite being photogenic. If you're keen on walking up, take the lifts in the James Cook Arcade (or one of several others along Lambton Quay) up to The Terrace, head south uphill until you reach Salamanca Rd. Head uphill up Salamanca Rd until you reach Victoria University. A set of stairs on the opposite side of the road to the Hunter Lawn goes uphill right to the top of the Gardens. If you already shelled out for a Busabout Daypass ticket, just catch the Mairangi bus, get off at the stop after the University, and walk back along Upland Rd until you reach the Cable Car Museum. The Cable Car Museum has two of the old cars in semi-restored and fully-restored condition and some of the original Cable Car machinery from the system that was replaced in 1978. The Lookout has a great view day or night, and the large map next to the round tree usually has a few pamphlets with maps of the Gardens. The Carter Observatory is a stones throw from here. This is the perfect place to explore the Garden from, or wander back to the city.

Watch out for the friendly black cat who haunts this hillside cemetery. If you're returning from the Botanic Gardens by foot, this is a great place to meander through and check out the epitaphs of early pioneers and historical figures. Between 1968 and 1971, over 3700 bodies were controversially exhumed to make way for motorway construction; their remains are now in an underground vault below the Early Settlers Memorial Lawn. At the Bolton Street entrance, the former mortuary chapel, reconstructed after the motorway, has information on the cemetery history and guide leaflets if you want to explore further.

An interesting picnic spot.

A great place to wander around, with walls to climb, inline skates, and jet ski rental.

100 hectare botanic garden of native forest.

Pickup a leaflet or download the guide to this walk around central Wellington looking at the outside of 30 art deco buildings. There are also quite a few other art deco buildings in the centre, so look about as you explore.

This is an interesting walk named for its distinctive red rocks (probably Jasper). The walk along this beach is pleasant but rocky and often very windy, so dress accordingly. If you walk for about an hour you'll come across a distinctive pass through the rock face. Just on the other side of this is a seal colony that is worth the walk. Please bear in mind that these are wild animals and so require a certain level of respect, so keep your distance and don't get between them and the sea, especially if you value your health! Continuing on from here, you will eventually arrive at Makara (but this is a long distance, and the seal colony is a recommended turn-around point).

A 12-km (5- to 6-hr) challenging walk.

Explore the waterfront in a crocodile-shaped quadricycle. Available in small (2 cyclists) and large (4 cyclists).

is a multi-use facility built in 1999, with a capacity of 34,500. Its usual tenants are Wellington Lions and Hurricanes rugby teams, and internationals with the All Blacks are often played here. In 2023 it staged games in the Women's World Cup for soccer, co-hosted by NZ and Australia

Established in 1868 and with a capacity of 13,000, this is New Zealand oldest cricket ground. It hosts Test matches and the Wellington Firebirds team, plus the NZ Cricket Museum.

Probably the world's most accessible dive wreck. Just a few kilometres around the coast from Wellington International Airport. Sunk on 13 November 2005 in 23-26 m of water off Island Bay on Wellington's south coast. The wreck lies about 600 m southeast of Taputeranga Island (the island of Island Bay).

Oriental Parade is Wellington's most beautiful street. Wellingtonians and visitors run, walk, cycle, rollerblade and eat at the great cafes & restaurants on this strip or sunbathe at the beach. However if you are not from somewhere really cold it is unlikely that it will be hot enough for you to be in desperate need for a swim. There is a spa pool (jacuzzi) in Freyberg Swimming Pool (on Oriental Parade) which is inexpensive if you enjoy "people soup".

It has 50 km of bike tracks through native bush.

An interesting picnic spot.

In any emergency, dial 111

Wellington's main library with free wifi and computers, printing and photocopying, and a makerspace and recording studio. On the bottom floor is the Central Ground cafe offering hot drinks and baked goods.

Part of the New Zealand Visitor Information Network the Wellington iSite provides free information and advice to travelers and can help with booking activities and transport throughout the Wellington region