Wellington

Pukeahu National War Memorial Park

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.

Park always open; National War Memorial interior daily 10AM-5PM · Free

Nairn Street Cottage

Preserved cottage built in 1858 and kept in the same family until it became a museum, with an exhibition on its history. The small garden is open every day..

daily tours at noon, 2PM, and 3PM · $8

Frank Kitts Park

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

Beach Babylon

A retro, beach-paradise inspired cafe and restaurant with Wellington's best outdoor dining area. Serves good, retro New Zealand cuisine.

8AM-late · $10-30 · Limited wheelchair access · Takeaway · Outdoor seating

Maranui

In the surf life-saving club buildings at Lyall Bay (near the airport). Relax in front of a panorama of the beach and the Cook Strait.

Mo-Su 07:00-17:00 · Outdoor seating · Vegan options

Otari-Wilton's Bush

100 hectare botanic garden of native forest.

visitor centre daily 8AM - 4PM, gardens dawn - dusk

Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park

It has 50 km of bike tracks through native bush.

Bolton Street Memorial Park

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.

Battle Hill Farm Forest Park

Historic battle site and regional park. See the farm animals and feed the eels. Yep, feed eels. You can view the site of one of the "Hutt Valley Campaign" battles of 1846. Picnicking, camping, and trails. No dogs, no cell coverage.

Apr-Sep 6AM-6PM; Oct-Mar 6AM-8PM

Cathedral of St Paul

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.

Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM, Sat 10AM-4PM, Sun 8AM-4PM; services Sun 8AM, 10AM, 4PM

Pataka Art + Museum

A museum and art gallery. There is a Japanese Garden (contributed by sister city Nishio) and at the adjacent public library you can see one of the North Island's best genealogical collections.

Daily 10AM-5PM · Free

Wellington Cable Car

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.

Mon–Fri 7AM-10PM, shorter hours at weekends & around Christmas & New Year · Adult $4 one way, $7.50 return. Concession prices are available for children, students and senior citizens over 65

Pariwhero/Red Rocks Seal Colony

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).

Colonial Knob

It may get snow in winter but at other times is a rewarding few hours' walk for great views of Cook Strait and beyond.

Mount Victoria

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'.

Plimmerton Beach

Maybe watch yet another future world champion windsurfer or boardsailor beating the breezes. The area near the beach is one of the Porirua's oldest settlements, dating from the nineteenth century when Plimmer and others pushed the Wellington and Manawatu Railway through.

Adrenalin Forest

Outdoor aerial adventure park. Go in the trees up to 31m. 3 hours with plenty to try. Book ahead.

10AM–2.00PM (last entry) · $52 adults, $37 under 18 (height restriction)

The Southern Cross

Rated by Metro as one of the best 5 garden bars in the world.

c. 8AM-late

Art Deco Heritage Trail

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.

Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā

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.

Wellington Botanic Garden

Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā is a botanical garden close to central Wellington in New Zealand. It covers 25 ha (62 acres) of land in a valley between Thorndon and Kelburn, with Glenmore Street as a boundary along the valley floor. One of the access points is from the top of the Wellington Cable Car.

Free entry

Oriental 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".

Mount Victoria

Mount Victoria, also known as Matairangi and colloquially as Mt Vic, is a prominent 196-metre (643 ft) hill immediately to the east of central Wellington, New Zealand. Mount Victoria gives its name to the suburb of Mount Victoria on its west. The suburbs of Oriental Bay to the north, Roseneath and Hataitai to the east and Newtown to the south border Mount Victoria and climb its slopes.

196 m high

Skyline Walkway

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

Newtown Park

Newtown Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, owned and managed by Wellington City Council. It is used for football (soccer) matches in winter, and track and field athletics in summer. Newtown Park is the main venue for track and field athletics in the Wellington region.

Waitangi Park

Waitangi Park is a remodelled recreational space in Te Aro, Wellington, New Zealand, that was opened in 2006. It lies near Te Papa (the National Museum of New Zealand), Former Post and Telegraph Building and Courtenay Place. The facility includes a waka-launching area, a children's playground, a skateboard zone, and a large grassy space.

Kaukau

Mount Kaukau (Māori: [kaʉkaʉ]) is a large hill in the northern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand near Johnsonville, Khandallah and Ngaio. The summit is 445 m (1,460 ft) above sea level and is the most visible high point in the Wellington landscape further accentuated by Wellington's main television transmitter mast, which stands 122 m (400 ft) from the summit. The city, harbour and the Remutaka and Tararua Ranges can be seen from the summit.

445 m high

Martin Luckie Park

Martin Luckie Park, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Berhampore in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for football matches and is the occasional home stadium of Wellington Olympic including OFC Champions League games. The fields have also been used for volleyball, ultimate frisbee and touch rugby.

Mount Crawford

Mount Crawford is the highest point of the Miramar Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. Mount Crawford was first purchased by James Coutts Crawford. In the 1880s the peninsula was used by the military who built fortifications on Mount Crawford.

163 m high

Te Ahumairangi Hill

Te Ahumairangi Hill (formerly known as Tinakori Hill) is a hill running for over 100 hectares through the Town Belt of Wellington, New Zealand. It was renamed Te Ahumairangi Hill as part of the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o te Ika) Claims Settlement Act 2009. The suburb of Wadestown lies to the north, with Wilton, and Northland to the west and south-west.

303 m high