Auckland - hot in the city

Now, with the crowds gone and Auckland’s facelift complete, there’s never been a better time to visit the city.

Auckland’s waterfront is more accessible than ever before, with Wynyard Quarter – formerly known as the Tank Farm – transformed into a seaside dining and entertainment precinct. The quarter’s North Wharf boasts public art, as well as nine new north-facing restaurants, all with sun-drenched outdoor tables and views of the Waitemata Harbour.

Perched on the edge of the wharf at Wynyard Quarter is the new Viaduct Events Centre, which architect Gordon Moller describes as a “elegant glass pavilion”. The environmentally-friendly building, which has already been home to Fashion Week, can hold up to 3,600 guests and will be used as a meeting, hospitality and exhibition space.

Visitors to the quarter can experience a little taste of Auckland’s history, with two fire engine-red heritage trams – last seen operating in the streets in 1956 – running on a 1.5km circuit between Jellicoe, Halsey, Gaunt and Daldy Streets.

Further uptown, the newly restored and expanded Auckland Art Gallery has been open to visitors since September.

Visit the gallery before December to see Whizz Bang Pop, which features moving images, exploding colours, and artworks which lift off walls. Other exhibitions include paintings and prints by European masters, such as Picasso, Mondrian, Derain and Gauguin, and the world’s largest permanent collection of New Zealand art.

Theatre-goers in the city should try to squeeze in a show at Auckland’s newest performing arts centre, Q Theatre, on Queen Street. The chic, mid-sized venue has two flexible performance spaces, as well as a café and cocktail bar on site. Upcoming shows at Q include The Second Test, which tells the story of the 1953 Tangiwai disaster and its effect on the New Zealand cricket team’s tour of South Africa, and Auckland Theatre Company’s rendition of Roald Dahl’s The Twits.

With so many new developments in Auckland, there couldn’t be a better time to see Auckland Museum’s new exhibition, You Are Here. The exhibition uses maps from the museum’s special collections to explore how Auckland has changed over the last 200 years – how the city was planned, conceptualised and designed by many different people over time. 

Maps include colourful geological surveys by Hochstetter, an 1842 bird’s-eye plan of Auckland, early development brochures from the 1930s, and many more that tell quirky stories about the city, the people that lived here, and the map-makers themselves.

Those with kids might enjoy the museum’s family-focused exhibition The Poisoners, which uses the Museum’s natural history collection to lead visitors through an interactive murder mystery. Families should also check out the new Seahorse Kingdom exhibition at Kelly Tarlton’s, as well as Te Wao Nui, the New Zealand themed development at Auckland Zoo.