Wellington 3-day itinerary

Begin at Te Papa Tongarewa on the waterfront — New Zealand's national museum and one of the finest free museums in the Southern Hemisphere. The Māori collection is extraordinary: the carved meeting house Te Hau ki Tūranga dates to the 1840s and is one of the oldest surviving wharenui. The natural environment galleries house the Colossal Squid specimen and an earthquake simulator. The Gallipoli exhibition uses giant-scale figures created by Weta Workshop to tell the story of the 1915 campaign with visceral emotional impact. Allow a full morning to do the museum justice.

Walk up Lambton Quay to the Cable Car terminus and ride the iconic red funicular 120 metres up to Kelburn. The views from the top sweep across the harbour, the Beehive parliament building, and Oriental Bay. From Kelburn, walk downhill through the Wellington Botanic Garden — 25 hectares of native bush, formal rose gardens, the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, and a duck pond. The path passes the Carter Observatory and winds through Bolton Street Memorial Park, one of Wellington's oldest cemeteries, before depositing you back in the city centre near the Parliamentary precinct.

Head to Cuba Street for Wellington's best evening atmosphere. The pedestrianised strip is the creative heart of the city — buskers, vintage shops, the famous bucket fountain, and a density of independent bars and restaurants unmatched in New Zealand. Wellington's craft beer scene rivals much larger cities: Golding's Free Dive offers a rotating list of 18 local taps, Fortune Favours brews on-site, and Garage Project's taproom on Aro Street is a 10-minute walk away. For dinner, try Loretta for modern New Zealand cuisine or Fidel's for a Cuba Street institution.

Take the free Zealandia shuttle from the i-SITE visitor centre to New Zealand's groundbreaking urban ecosanctuary — a 225-hectare valley enclosed by a predator-proof fence where native wildlife has been reintroduced. Walk the 2-hour loop trail through regenerating forest to spot tuatara (the last surviving reptile from the age of dinosaurs), takahē (a flightless bird once thought extinct), kākā parrots, and hihi (stitchbirds). The dam loop and the upper reservoir trail give the best chances of wildlife encounters. Zealandia is the reason native birdsong has returned to suburban Wellington.

Drive, bus, or walk (30 minutes from Oriental Bay) to the summit of Mount Victoria — the best 360-degree panorama in Wellington. At 196 metres, the lookout offers views of the entire harbour, the CBD skyline, the airport runway extending into the sea, the Hutt Valley, and the Rimutaka Range. On clear days you can see the South Island across Cook Strait. The area around the lookout was used as a filming location for the Shire in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings — a plaque marks the spot. Descend via the town belt trails through native bush back to Oriental Bay.

Walk to the Parliamentary precinct on Molesworth Street for a free guided tour of New Zealand's Parliament — one of the most accessible parliaments in the world. The Beehive (Executive Wing) is an iconic brutalist building designed by Sir Basil Spence, and the adjacent Parliament House is a neo-classical marble building where the House of Representatives sits. Tours run hourly and are free — you'll see the debating chamber, the Māori Affairs Select Committee room, and the underground Beehive bunker. Afterwards, walk to Thorndon for dinner — the neighbourhood has excellent restaurants including Ortega Fish Shack for seafood.

If visiting on a Sunday, start at the Harbourside Market on the waterfront near Te Papa — Wellington's best weekly market with fresh produce, artisan bread, coffee roasters, and street food from around the world. Try the dumplings, fresh oysters, or a flat white from one of the specialty coffee stalls. On other days, walk the waterfront from Queens Wharf past the Rowing Club and along Oriental Parade — Wellington's most popular seaside walk. The 3km path runs from the CBD to Oriental Bay beach, passing public art installations and harbour views.

Visit the Wellington Museum in the restored Bond Store on Queens Wharf — a thoughtful museum telling the story of Wellington through Māori and European settler perspectives, maritime history, and the 1968 Wahine disaster. The building itself is a beautifully preserved 1892 brick warehouse. Walk across Civic Square to the City Gallery Wellington for contemporary New Zealand and international art — the gallery is free and hosts rotating exhibitions that range from video art to large-scale installations. The adjacent Wellington Central Library is a striking postmodern building worth seeing inside.

End your Wellington stay at Oriental Bay — the city's closest beach to downtown, a 10-minute walk from Cuba Street. The sandy crescent faces north-west and catches the evening light beautifully. In summer, locals swim, paddleboard, and picnic on the grass above the beach until late. For a final dinner, walk up to Mount Victoria's Majoribanks Street strip — Husk is excellent for cocktails, and Capitol for a relaxed dinner. Wellington's compact size means you're never more than 15 minutes' walk from anywhere.