3 Incredible Days in Wellington for New Visitors

The capital of New Zealand! Also known as Windy Wellington or Wellywood. It’s literally the windiest city in the world and has a massive film industry. This is the first city I’ve visited on the North Island, and I also did it during winter. The lower tourism was really nice, but I do think next time I’d prefer to visit in the warmer months.

The Wellington Waterfront is lovely! I especially love how you can take it all the way to the Te Papa museum and beyond. This was something we did just to get out of the hotel and fill time. But we actually came back again and again.

There’s also the Wellington Museum and lots of restaurants in the area if you want to spend extra time there.

Taking a city tour is a great way to get a crash course on what’s around! I thoroughly enjoyed the minibus tour around Wellington! Our guide picked us up from the hotel and gave us great information. Since we were a smaller group, it felt almost private and more personal.

What I loved while going through Miramar, Wellington’s film district, was that our driver even drove past Stone Street Studios. This is where the new The Hunt for Golem movie is being shot (July 2026)! My inner film geek was over the moon.

We also got to visit spots like Mount Victoria Lookout, Wahine Memorial, and pass by Old Saint Paul’s. Things I would have otherwise missed. This tour also included a ride up the Wellington Cable Car, which was quick but a fun little experience!

A vibrant, pedestrian-friendly street filled with tons of shops, from vintage clothing to tattoo parlours. You’ll also find plenty of good places to eat. We got Thai food at Yor Yak.

Most of the street is cut off to cars. So it’s a great place to walk around freely. Many of the retail shops seemed to close around 5 pm. So just keep that in mind if you are trying to visit some.

The Library is known as a “locals’ secret”. But it’s definitely becoming better known to visitors. This bar has almost a speakeasy feel. It has a very subtle, small storefront that leads you up a set of stairs.

If you’re visiting on Thursday, Friday, or Sunday, there’s live jazz in the evening. I’m not even a jazz fan. However, sitting on a nice couch, cocktail in hand, on a beautiful night in Wellington is pretty darn swell. Most cocktails run about $20 NZD each, but they also have wine, beer, and non-alcoholic options. Personally, I got The Secret Life of Bees and loved it! It even had cocktail art, which was wild.

There is also a section away from the music if you’d rather not be right by the performance.

If you’re an art or movie fan, or just like wacky things, Weta Workshops is amazing! The tour is 90 minutes. You’re not allowed to film or take photos during the first half due to copyright restrictions. This is their actual workshop! There are windows into it, and you can see the artists actually making things for movies. It’s seriously SO DAMN COOL!

You are told once photos and filming are permitted. So worry not if you want to get a few snaps.

Part of what I really loved about this tour is that you get decent breakdowns of how these things come into existence. Everything starts with concept drawings and back-and-forth notes before you finally get approvals to start making models. The hours, weeks, and months that go into pieces are staggering. They heavily encourage you to ask questions! My guide worked between giving tours and being in the shop as a modeller. So she lives and breathes this stuff.

You get up close and personal with a lot of props, even getting to touch and hold some. They also show you how to model with aluminium foil. At the end, you get a souvenir photo that comes with two free backgrounds. You can purchase more, but I was happy with the free ones.

Weta might have gotten their big break from The Lord of the Rings films. But they have worked on FAR, FAR more than that. Many you might not even have expected.

“If you’re going to go to only one museum in New Zealand, go to Te Papa”. It’s New Zealand’s national museum. And I understand now why I was told this!

The first exhibit is all about the Battle of Gallipoli, which, funny enough, has massive models made by Weta Workshops. It’s a pretty heavy exhibit, but it is very important to New Zealand and Australian history. Thankfully, the topics get lighter afterwards. The section on the country’s native species was very cool, as were earthquakes, the Māori, the Treaty of Waitangi, and so much more.

This museum is pretty massive, so I would allot about 3 hours to see it. Thankfully, your ticket does allow for next-day entry if you can’t finish it and would like to.

The cafe on the first floor is quite nice. It features a rotating menu of Māori-inspired dishes in addition to regular cafe items. Great spot for lunch!

If you know anything about New Zealand’s history, you should know it was a land where birds ruled. There were no mammals on the islands (with the exception of a few native bats) until the first group of people arrived. Since the birds didn’t have mammal predators to fear, many adapted to be flightless. This has led to the near-extinction and full extinction of many species. One of the most notable is the Moa. They were hunted for food and were last seen about 500 years ago. Today, they’re also losing native birds such as the Takahe (only 500 remain) and the famous Kiwi.

Zealandia is a massive sanctuary working to bring back the remaining species to their original populations. I was told they expect it will take 500 years to repair the damage. The area is designed to mimic what the island looked like before humans arrived. Except for the walking paths and bridges.

They offer day tours and self-guided general admission, but the coolest thing, I think, is the night tour! During this two-hour tour, you can see amazing animals that only come out after the sun goes down. Animal sightings are NOT guaranteed. I did, however, get very fortunate to see two takahes, three kiwis, and a few wetas (the bug Weta Workshops is named after).

The tour starts with a brief film showing the land before humans, the arrival of the Māori, the arrival of European settlers, and then modern New Zealand. It’s pretty sad how much was lost in one of the most unique countries for animals in the world.

Zealandia is doing amazing work and I 1000000% recommend doing this tour! Make sure to wear good walking shoes.

If you’re up for seeing the city from a different angle, an E-Bike tour is a cool way to do it! This was actually something my friend I was travelling with wanted to do, and not my original idea. The big thing I want to note is Wellington is very hilly. Hence the beauty of the E-Bike. And it’s not called Windy Wellington for no reason.

There were a few times by the water when the wind got really intense. I had my bike on the highest setting while trying not to be blown over. Still fun, though-good times.

This tour had some of the same stops as our bus tour. But it covered many things we couldn’t have stopped to see by car. We also got to check out a nice cafe, and a drink was included! Nice sights, a bit of exercise, so win-win!

This was actually a recommendation from our city tour guide! The shop itself is small. You can absolutely just go in, buy some chocolate, have a hot cocoa, and go. However, the really cool thing to do here is attend a workshop to make your own chocolate bars.

The class covers: how chocolate moves from plant to bar, how the Wellington Chocolate Factory sources its beans, how tempering chocolate works and why it’s important, and more. You then get to pick and mix what toppings you want on your bars. Pick either 70% dark or 40% milk chocolate (you can only choose one, and the only correct answer is dark). Temper your chocolate, fill your molds, place your toppings, and then put them in the fridge to set.

While your bars set, you get a cup of their dark hot cocoa (it’s seriously soooo good!). Then you get to write out the labels for your bars. You can come up with fun names and write the ingredients (I’d recommend so you know what’s what). Once the bars are cool, you’re taught how to wrap and seal them, and get a bag to take them home! They’re then good for up to a year!

After the class, you get a discount on any other products in the store. But I was totally happy with my creations!

The Wellington Botanical Gardens are lovely! This would be a great daytime activity. But they are open 24/7, so getting there before sunset is a nice thing to do before grabbing dinner. Do be careful. The darker it gets, the more you wind up almost just walking in a dark forest, which can be eerie. Unless that’s your vibe, then go for it.

Pub culture is one of my favourite things! Great drinks, food, and happy people! There are tons to choose from. I specifically went to D4 on Featherson, an Irish Pub. Had a Guinness and their fish and chips. The fish was great!

We also got lucky that the All Blacks were playing a game down in Christchurch. So that was on TV, and the place was popping!

Wellington is a lovely city! I really enjoyed all the history, seeing incredible animals, experiencing some movie magic, and meeting so many incredible people. People say “big cities are all the same”, and that’s just simply not true. Wellington is its own thing. It’s full of life, and has unique things to see and do that you can’t do anywhere else in the world. Not sure I could ever live there with how windy it gets (and I wasn’t even there during its windy season). But I absolutely hope to be back!