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Wellington
Capital city of New Zealand

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand.

Plan a trip to Wellington→From Christchurch

It is located at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed.

Get in

Getting to Wellington

  1. 01
    Wellington International Airport
See

Worth seeing

As the capital city, Wellington is the centre of New Zealand's government. Wellington/City is home to the residence of the Governor-General (the King's representative in New Zealand), offices of the New Zealand Government (executive), the New Zealand Parliament (legislative), the New Zealand Supreme Court and Court of Appeal (the country's highest and second-highest courts respectively) and the head offices of many…

Do

Things to do

The Wellington Botanic Garden is a nice place to go for a picnic, or just an afternoon walk (or run for a challenging fitness experience). At the top of the Gardens, there are several attractions: the Cable Car Museum, the Lookout, and the Carter Observatory. The Bolton Street Memorial Park is a great place to meander through and check out the epitaphs of early pioneers and historical figures.

Eat

Where to eat

Wellington has a lot of restaurants and cafés, in fact more cafés, bars and restaurants per head than New York City. Malaysian food is surprisingly popular and available in most areas. You can also get good Turkish kebabs anywhere in the city, or Lebanese at the Phoenician Falafel on Kent Terrace (their kebabs are better than all the Turkish places too).

How locals move

Getting around Wellington the local way

  • Get inThere are regular ferries between Wellington and Picton in the South Island operated by Interislander and Bluebridge, connecting with buses and the train to Christchurch.
  • Get inHitchhiking from central Wellington is difficult as most traffic stays within the metropolitan area, and it is illegal to hitchhike on the motorway until the Hutt Valley (about 15 km or 9 mi northeast of Wellington) or Ōtaki (about 65 km or 40 mi north).
  • Get inIf you are intending to hitchhike, you are best to catch a train to Waikanae or Upper Hutt and walk to the main highways to catch a lift from there (the best spot for Upper Hutt hitchhikers is at the Caltex petrol station about a 3 km walk north from the railway station along Fergusson Drive).
  • Get aroundWellington has an extensive and well-patronised public transport network, with buses, trains and ferries serving the city and beyond extending into the Greater Wellington region.
  • Get aroundThe Kelburn cable car is a Wellington icon.
  • Get aroundThe Wellington city terminal is at the end of Cable Car Lane, just off Lambton Quay, near the intersection with Grey Street.
  • Get aroundThe Eastbourne ferry service, which provides regular services between Queens Wharf and Days Bay in Eastbourne, also stops at Somes Island most trips.
  • Go nextThey can be reached by car, bus or ferry.

From Wikivoyage: Wellington, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.