Wellington 1-day itinerary

Start at Te Papa Tongarewa — New Zealand's national museum on the Wellington waterfront. Te Papa is one of the best free museums in the Southern Hemisphere, with interactive exhibits on Māori culture, natural history, the Gallipoli campaign, and the Colossal Squid specimen. The building itself sits on base isolators to survive earthquakes. Allow two to three hours to cover the key galleries. Afterwards, walk along the waterfront promenade past the Writers Walk sculptures and the Wharewaka Function Centre towards Frank Kitts Park.

Walk up Lambton Quay to the Wellington Cable Car terminus. The iconic red funicular climbs 120 metres up the hillside in five minutes, delivering you to the Kelburn lookout with panoramic views across the harbour, CBD, and on clear days, the snow-capped Rimutaka Range. From the top, descend on foot through the Wellington Botanic Garden — 25 hectares of native bush, rose gardens, and a begonia house. The path winds downhill past the Carter Observatory and exits on Glenmore Street near the Bolton Street Cemetery, one of the oldest European burial grounds in New Zealand.

Head to Cuba Street — Wellington's bohemian heart. The pedestrianised strip is lined with independent cafes, vintage shops, street performers, and the iconic bucket fountain. Wellington is the craft beer capital of New Zealand, and Cuba Street is the epicentre: try Golding's Free Dive for a rotating tap list of local brews, or Fortune Favours for their own-brewed lagers and ales with food trucks. For dinner, Fidel's Cafe is a Cuba Street institution, or walk two blocks to Courtenay Place for a wider choice of restaurants and late-night bars.