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The Essentials

Fishing on Wellington waterfront

This is your one-stop shop for all the essentials you need to know about visiting Wellington, New Zealand. Here you’ll find an online copy of our visitor guide, city and regional maps, our itinerary suggestions to make the most of your stay, what the weather will be like when you visit and most importantly, those things you must tick off once you’re here!

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About Wellington  

What: New Zealand's capital city - home to Parliament, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa, a thriving film industry, and heaps of other cool stuff.

The earliest Maori name for Wellington is Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui - which means ‘the head of Maui's fish’ - stemming from the Maori legend that polynesian navigator Maui fished up the North Island. You can find out more about Wellington's early Maori and European history on Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

Find out how great our wonderful city is - watch our Wellington promotional video.

Where: Southern most city on New Zealand's North Island, gateway to get to the South Island.  Latitude: 41 17 S  Longitude: 174 47 E

How many: Population is 180,000 in Wellington City and 440,000 in the region. 

Wellington maps and guides

Use these handy maps and guides to get more details about downtown Wellington and the surrounding regions.

Itineraries

Okay, so we know there is loads to do and you probably can’t do it all, so we’ve made it a little easier and put together some fun and informative itineraries that will help make the most of your time here.

Must do’s

There's so much to see and do in Wellington, but if you're short on time here's our picks for the top 10 things to do in Wellington.

Weather

You may have heard Wellington called by its nickname Windy Wellington - and it's true, it can be windy here - being the only capital city in the world located in the 'Roaring Forties' will do that.  Wellington's beautiful setting has been carved out by nature, and we wan't you to enjoy it, so this weather information will help you decide when to come.

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Wellington Film Map

They don't call us Wellywood for nothing. Navigate nearby film locations with our star-studded online guide.

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