Things to do in Wellington

Things to do in Wellington

Almost everything is within walking distance of the waterfront, and the city is small enough to see its best side in one full day. This is how we would spend it.

• Te Papa: the national museum, on the waterfront, with the best introduction in the country to Māori culture, natural history and how New Zealand came to be. Entry is free for New Zealanders; international visitors pay NZ$35, valid for 48 hours. A guided tour is on 7 of our itineraries.
• The Wellington Cable Car: the red car that has climbed from Lambton Quay to Kelburn since 1902, 120 m up in about five minutes. Get off at the top for the view, walk down through the Botanic Garden, and you arrive back in town by Parliament. 9 of our itineraries include it.
• Zealandia: a 225 hectare valley in the hills, 10 minutes from the centre, ringed by an 8.6 km fence that keeps out every introduced predator from deer to mice. By day you see tūī, kākā, takahē and tuatara. The night tour is the reason to go: little spotted kiwi, glowworms and the forest coming alive after dark.
• Parliament: free guided tours of the Beehive and the old Parliament Buildings run most days, and they are more interesting than they sound.
• Cuba Street and the waterfront: Cuba Street is the city's bohemian strip of cafes, bars and second-hand shops, and the waterfront walk from Te Papa round to Oriental Bay is where Wellington goes on a calm evening.
• Mount Victoria: a walk or short drive to the lookout above the city for the whole harbour. The pine forest on its slopes is where the hobbits hid from the Black Rider in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Our guide to things to do in Wellington has more on the food and coffee, which are half the point.

Wellington and The Lord of the Rings

Peter Jackson is from here, and the films were made here: Wētā Workshop, which made the armour, weapons and creatures, is in the suburb of Miramar, 20 minutes from the centre. The Wētā Workshop Experience takes you through how they work and is on 8 of our itineraries. Our itineraries also book a half-day private tour of the Wellington locations on 25, covering Mount Victoria, the Hutt Valley sites and the parks used for Rivendell and Isengard. Our guide to Lord of the Rings filming locations covers the rest of the country.

Is Wellington really that windy?

Yes. Cook Strait is a gap in a chain of mountains, and the westerly winds that circle the Southern Ocean funnel through it. The average wind speed in the city is about 27 km/h, which is often quoted as the highest of any major city, and gales that make it hard to stand on the waterfront happen several times a year, most often in spring. It can also be dead calm, and a fine, still day in Wellington is as good as a day gets anywhere in the country; locals will tell you so.

The wind matters for travellers in two ways. Flights in and out of Wellington Airport are bumpy and occasionally diverted, and the Cook Strait ferries are sometimes cancelled in heavy swells. If your plan has a ferry the morning after you arrive, keep the evening loose and check the sailing before you go to bed.

Getting to Wellington, and the ferry to the South Island

Most of our itineraries arrive by road from the north, 58 of them from Rotorua and 26 from Napier. Wellington Airport (WLG) is about 8 km south-east of the centre, 20 minutes by taxi or on the Airport Express bus, with flights to every main New Zealand city and to eastern Australia. The Northern Explorer train from Auckland takes a full day and runs on some days of the week only.

The Interislander sails four times a day each way and takes about three and a half hours. Its terminal is at Kaiwharawhara, a couple of kilometres north of the centre; Bluebridge leaves from opposite the railway station. The last hour, through Tory Channel into the Marlborough Sounds, is the best part, so get outside for it. Our Cook Strait ferry guide covers which crossing to book, cars and rental rules, and what happens when the weather cancels a sailing.

How long to stay in Wellington

One night is the most common choice in our itineraries, and it works if you arrive by early afternoon: Te Papa or the cable car before dinner, Zealandia by night, and the ferry in the morning. Two nights gives you a proper day for the museum, the waterfront, Wētā and the food. A third day is for the Wairarapa: Martinborough, an hour and a quarter over the hill, has the wineries within walking and cycling distance of the village square, and 15 of our itineraries come into Wellington from there.

Wellington weather and the best time to visit

Wellington is mild. Average highs are about 20°C in January and 12°C in July, and about 1,300 mm of rain falls a year, spread through the seasons with a little more in winter. Snow at sea level is very rare, though the higher suburbs get light flurries every few years. Wind, not temperature, decides whether a day is pleasant.

Late summer and early autumn, February to April, have the most settled, calmest weather. Spring, September to November, is the windiest time. Winter is cool and often grey but rarely cold, and the museums, restaurants and bars make it a good city for bad weather. Check the MetService forecast, which gives wind gusts as well as temperatures.

Where to stay in Wellington

Stay in the centre, between Lambton Quay, Courtenay Place and the waterfront. Everything above is a walk away, the ferry terminal a short taxi ride, and the hills behind the city are steeper than they look on a map. Thorndon, near Parliament, is quieter; Te Aro, around Cuba Street and Courtenay Place, is livelier and noisier at weekends.

Adina CityLife Wellington is the hotel our itineraries use most, on 50 of them. The Bolton Hotel, in Thorndon near the Botanic Garden and Parliament, is on 29, the Ibis on 21 and the Naumi Hotel on 17. QT Wellington, on the waterfront across from Te Papa, is on 3.