Wellington: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Wellington, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, became the capital of New Zealand in 1865, chosen because it lay in the middle of the country; it sits on an active fault, between hills and a harbour, in one of the windiest places of any city in the world. Half a day on foot; hold on to your hat.
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A short history of Wellington
The Māori called the natural harbour Te Whanganui-a-Tara. In 1840 the ships of the New Zealand Company arrived with the first British settlers. In 1855 a strong earthquake raised the shoreline, and the land that rose from the sea was later used for building. In 1865 the capital was moved from Auckland to Wellington, because it lies in the centre of the country, between the two islands. The round government office building, the "Beehive", was built between 1969 and 1981. Wellington is known as the windiest capital in the world, because of Cook Strait, which runs past it.
The ten best sights in Wellington
1Te PapaThe national museum; free
2WaterfrontA walk from Te Papa to Oriental Bay
3The BeehiveFree tours of Parliament
4Parliament HouseBuilt on earthquake rollers
5National LibraryThe Treaty of Waitangi on display
6Old St Paul’sA wooden Gothic church
7Bolton Street CemeteryThe settlers’ graves
8Jewish Community CentreThe synagogue of Wellington
9Holocaust Centre of New ZealandSurvivors’ stories; check opening hours
10Botanic GardenWalk down from the cable car
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Wellington →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Wellington:
Free walking tours in Wellington
The capital on the fault
Wellington, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, became the capital of New Zealand in 1865, chosen because it lay in the middle of the country; it sits on an active fault, between hills and a harbour, in one of the windiest places of any city in the world. Half a day on foot; hold on to your hat.
- The Beehive · The round executive wing of Parliament, designed by the Scottish architect Basil Spence and built between 1969 and 1981, is said to have begun as a sketch on a napkin; it holds the offices of the prime minister and the cabinet.
- Parliament House · In the 1990s the stone Parliament building was lifted and set on base isolators of rubber and lead, so that in an earthquake the ground can move beneath it while the building sways gently; the free tour goes down to see them.
- National Library · In a darkened room are the founding documents of the country: the sheets of the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840, and the petition of 1893 by which New Zealand became the first self-governing country to give women the vote.
- Old St Paul’s · A Gothic church of 1866 built entirely of native New Zealand timbers — rimu, tōtara, mataī — by a colonial architect, with a ceiling like the hull of an upturned ship.
- Bolton Street Cemetery · The town’s first cemetery, opened in 1840, with separate grounds for the Church of England, the public and the Jewish community; a motorway was cut through it in the 1960s and thousands of graves were moved.
- Cable Car · A red funicular that has climbed from Lambton Quay to Kelburn since 1902, built so that a new suburb on the hill could be sold; from the top the Botanic Garden leads back down to the city.
The waterfront and the Jewish quarter of Te Aro
From the national museum on the harbour, the walk goes up into Te Aro, the bohemian quarter of Cuba Street, where the Jewish community has its centre, and then over Mount Victoria. Half a day on foot.
- Te Papa · The national museum, opened in 1998 and free, whose name means our place; it holds a colossal squid of nearly five hundred kilograms caught in Antarctic waters in 2007, and a house where visitors can feel a simulated earthquake.
- Jewish Community Centre · The home of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation, founded in 1843, three years after the city — among the oldest in the country. New Zealand had a Jewish premier, Julius Vogel, as early as the 1870s.
- Holocaust Centre of New Zealand · In the same building, the country’s Holocaust centre tells the stories of the refugees and survivors who reached New Zealand — from the 1930s onward the country admitted only a small number of Jewish refugees, and those who came rebuilt their lives here.
- Cuba Street · The street of cafés, record shops and vintage stores, with the bucket fountain of 1969, whose tipping buckets regularly splash passers-by who walk too close.
- Oriental Bay · The city’s beach of imported sand under the slopes of Mount Victoria, where Wellington swims on the few still, warm days of summer.
- Mount Victoria Lookout · A view of the whole harbour, the city and the airport; on the wooded slopes below, Peter Jackson filmed the scene of the hobbits hiding from a black rider in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Wild Wellington
Beyond the centre, Wellington has a fenced valley where native birds have returned, a coast of seals, and Miramar, the peninsula of the film studios. A full day by car or bus.
- Zealandia · A valley enclosed in 1999 by a predator-proof fence of almost nine kilometres, from which rats, stoats and possums were removed; birds that had vanished from the mainland, like the takahē, now live a few minutes from the city, under a plan set for five hundred years.
- Wellington Zoo · The oldest zoo in New Zealand, opened in 1906, with a nocturnal house where kiwi can be seen awake in the dark.
- Ōwhiro Bay · The start of the walk along the wild south coast, facing Cook Strait; on a clear day the snowy mountains of the South Island show across the water.
- Red Rocks · Pillow lava coloured red by iron oxide; Māori tradition tells that the navigator Kupe cut his hand here on a pāua shell, staining the rocks. From May to October, male fur seals haul out at the colony beyond.
- Wētā Workshop · In Miramar, the workshop that made the armour, weapons and creatures for The Lord of the Rings and many other films, with tours of the props and the craft.
- Matiu / Somes Island · An island in the harbour that served as a quarantine station and, in both world wars, as an internment camp for residents of German, Italian and other enemy origin; it is now a predator-free reserve reached by ferry.
Getting to Wellington and getting around
- Wellington Airport · Windy landings
- Wellington Station · Trains to the Hutt and Kāpiti
- Interislander Terminal · The ferry to the South Island
- Cable Car · From Lambton Quay to Kelburn
Cheap eats in Wellington
Wellington claims more cafés per head than New York and takes its coffee very seriously — the flat white is a point of national pride. At the counter: a mince-and-cheese pie, the New Zealand classic; and at the weekend harbourside market, dumplings and fish. A pie costs about six to nine New Zealand dollars, a flat white about five.
- Cuba Street · Coffee and pies
- Waterfront · Weekend market food
- Petone Beach · Fish and chips on the beach
Museums in Wellington
The national museum, the founding documents and a film workshop.
- Te Papa · Our place
- National Library · The Treaty
- Wētā Workshop · Film craft
Holy places in Wellington
A wooden cathedral of the colony and a Jewish community as old as the city.
- Jewish Community Centre · The synagogue
- Old St Paul’s · The timber church
- Bolton Street Cemetery · The Jewish section
Nature and day trips near Wellington
Native birds back in the city, seals on the south coast and the harbour.
- Zealandia · The fenced valley
- Red Rocks · The seals
- Matiu / Somes Island · The island reserve
Things to do in Wellington with kids
With children: a cable car, a simulated earthquake and kiwi at night.
- Cable Car · The red car
- Te Papa · The earthquake house
- Wellington Zoo · The kiwi house
Frequently asked questions about Wellington
What is there to see in Wellington?
The top sights in Wellington are Te Papa, Waterfront and The Beehive. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Wellington?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Wellington without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Wellington?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Wellington, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The capital on the fault.
How do you get to Wellington and get around?
The main ways are Wellington Airport, Wellington Station and Interislander Terminal. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Wellington, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Wellington that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Wellington for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.