WellingtonSee & Do
An adult and child walk alongside a fountain at the Wellington Botanic Gardens ki Paekākā. Pink and red roses surround them.

Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā

You’ll find manicured rose gardens, winding pathways and spectacular views over more than 25 hectares.

Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā encompasses 25 hectares of specialised plant collections, colourful botanical displays, a unique landscape, a protected native forest, and views over Wellington city. It is a vast tract of land that has offered relaxation, playtime, shade, and education about flora and fauna for more than 150 years.

You’ll find the gardens sitting on the border of the city centre and only a few minutes walk from Parliament. A wonderland of winding paths, flat parklands, and hill climbs with breathtaking views awaits you. There’s a sound shell for concerts, children’s playgrounds, glow worm caves, and a sculpture walk. Children will love visiting the duck pond. You can also access the Cable Car Museum, Space Place, and Bolton Cemetery (New Zealand’s oldest European cemetery). All this while the thrum of bird and insect life serenades you. Whether it’s your first or your hundredth visit, this vast garden paradise will enchant and surprise you.

The gardens host a programme of annual events. Gardens Magic brings music and performance alongside lights and art, while the Spring Festival and Tulip Sunday celebrate the changing seasons.

An adult and two children crouch by the duckpond at the Botanic Garden in Wellington. There are green trees and a gazebo structure beside them.
Gardens Magic, an annual concert series, happening at Wellington Botanic Garden.
Looking through yellow rose bushes at the exterior of the Begonia House with a domed roof and long windows.
A blooming flowerbed with red, orange, white and yellow flowers at Wellington Botanic Garden.

The Wellington Botanic Garden is one of the oldest in Aotearoa. It contains a series of curated collections and seasonal displays. Every detail of the manicured expanse is designed and cared for by a team of dedicated staff. The international and native range includes collections of dwarf conifers, camellias, harakeke (flax), ferns, grasses, and threatened species. The Begonia House offers exotic tropical plants overlooking a vast rose garden.

The area where the garden lies has been an important site for generations. When Europeans arrived, there were already well-established pā at Pipitea and Kumutoto. The Pipitea Pā inhabitants used the area for food cultivation, building materials, food, fibre, medicine, and birds for food.

In 1844, the New Zealand Company set aside a 5-hectare strip of land to start a botanic garden reserve. At that time the area had dense podocarp forest including rimu, totara, and mataī. By 1868, it had become the Wellington Botanic Garden. Now, it’s recognised as a Garden of National Significance by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, as well as an important Heritage Area by the Historic Places Trust.

An adult and two children sit on a bench in front of a pond, surrounded by green plants, inside the greenhouse at Wellington Botanic Garden.

Looking for more?

A family with a young child play with piglets on the grass at Staglands.

Staglands Wildlife Reserve

A wildlife reserve where people can interact with rare native species.

The exterior of Te Papa Tongarewa, half glass and half concrete.

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

New Zealand’s national museum reflects the country’s identity, history, and culture.

A family walks through kapiti island with green bush and blue water surrounding them.

Kapiti Island

A dominant feature of the Kāpiti Coast, this nature reserve is home to many endangered species.

A family walking through the trees of Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre.

Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre

Explore the forest, meet native birds, and learn about the connection to the land at a unique conservation centre in Mount Bruce Reserve.

Entrance to He Tohu at The National Library of New Zealand.

He Tohu at National Library of New Zealand

Home to a declaration, a treaty, and a petition — New Zealand’s founding documents are at the National Library of New Zealand.

The teal-coloured Ika Rere electric ferry leaves its berth on the Wellington waterfront to head out into the harbour. The Wellington skyline is behind it.

East By West Ferries

Experience Wellington from the water, explore the eastern bays and an island nature reserve on the city’s only harbour ferries.

A kākā in a tree at Zealandia.

Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne

This pest-proof ‘urban island’ is the closest thing you’ll find to experiencing what New Zealand was like before humans.

The exterior of the City Gallery with 5-metre tall hand statue ‘Quasi’ standing atop.

City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi

Wellington’s contemporary art gallery is a dynamic cultural presence. You’ll find exhibitions that delight and challenge.

Exterior of the Wellington Museum, a blue building with a red door.

Wellington Museum

Experience the stories of Wellington and its people. From maritime history, early Māori settlement, and the city’s evolution since becoming the capital in 1865.

The exterior of the New Zealand Parliament building at 1 Museum Street, Pipitea in Wellington at sunset with pink-coloured clouds in the sky above.

New Zealand Parliament Tours

Walk the corridors of power and see where New Zealand laws and policies are made.