When we arrived after a hard uphill walk from the harbor to learn that the Maori Court and Pacific…read moreExperience exhibits were closed for a multiyear renovation, and were told that a discounted price of $27! was being charged, we felt a bit ripped off. But there were a number of fine exhibits so we felt the visit was still worthwhile -- but a more substantial discount would very much be warranted

Known as the war memorial museum, this place was much more than that. I'm used to museums with a…read morespecific theme and this was a hodge podge museum, filled with quirky collections of indigenous, historical war, science and other miscellaneous items. I am quirky, so I really enjoyed my visit here. The first floor was about indigenous Māori history and other Polynesian islands. The second floor's theme was natural history and the third floor was war history (Māori, World wars) and memorial dedicated to those who served from New Zealand. I spent about three hours looking at all the exhibits and displays. In another lifetime, I worked at an aviation museum and I was astounded to find an intact Zero plane here. With less than twenty in existence, to actually see one in person with actual World War Two history was the highlight of my visit. The museum has two eateries that's pretty decent in price with nice sitting areas to enjoy. The gift shop had original items I didn't see anywhere else on my trip. The museum is free to NZ residents but visitors have to pay admission. It's worth it to pay and visit here atleast once in your lifetime.

Gorgeous Art gallery in the heart of Auckland! My husband and I enjoyed strolling the gallery…read moreduring a recent trip. I really enjoyed their Manet and Picasso pieces. If you have a few hours to spare, there's a really nice outdoor space to sit and read a book!

We had just finished eating on Queen Street and were wandering around the area when we stumbled…read moreupon this art gallery museum. We decided to walk in and I'm glad we did. The first floor is free and features several exhibitions, so we took our time roaming around. One of the main exhibits focused on Māori art, and we spent about an hour exploring the pieces and learning more about Māori history in New Zealand. It was genuinely informative and beautifully presented. There was also a display by a Korean artist on the first floor. I don't quite remember the theme, but the design of the house-like structure had some Chinese influences, which made it visually interesting. Overall, if you have some time to spare and want to cool off from the scorching sun, this gallery is definitely worth a visit. Bonus points for clean restrooms, too!

Fascinating ! Highly recommend. I got bored of reading so I took pics to read later. There are some…read morereally cool touches I won't describe so I don't spoil it for you.

Right on the harbor, this large new Maritime Museum presented the history of New Zealand Māori &…read moreEuropeans on the water. There was a cafe and large gift shop. This museum opened in 1993 and houses the most extensive collection of naval artifacts in New Zealand. There were many exhibits, concentrating on: Maori vessels & navigation, European voyages of discovery, Settlement & immigration, Early coastal trading, Whaling & sealing, commercial shipping, piloting & coastguard services, Navigation &surveying, nautical arts & crafts,Recreation & sporting maritime activities, trades, and harbor &port history.

This museum had a good amount of stuff to keep a car loving two year old busy and a nice smaller…read morebaby play area for our nine month old to crawl around that was soft/pretty safe. The outdoor playground kept us busy for a good while. Not a huge place for kids to explore but good for a quiet morning. There's also a real tram/train that you can take with your ticket (the wait was too long for us so you might want to look ahead at the times).

I will call this facility a hidden gem . There are two locations connected by an electronic trolley…read moreline that does not cost to ride. One facility is inside a converted aircraft anger and contains a lot of older aircraft. The other area is 9 different buildings that cover a range of topics like older style communications, vintage automobiles, water pumps, and most interestingly telecommunications. My expectations were very low and I think this place is a terrific venue for people to visit.

This is one of the most beautiful green spaces I've ever seen in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed…read morewandering through the grounds of the domain. Especially the greenhouses. I wanted to stay in those spaces, smell all the flowers, touch all the plants, and pick some of the very ripe fruits and vegetables. I admit to smelling some flowers and touching a few plants, but no fruits or veggies were at risk. Highly recommend the Auckland Domain if you are in Auckland. It's free, beautiful, and walking it is great exercise. It's made of win.

Green lawns, ball fields, gazebos with live music, clean public restrooms, unique trees & shrubs,…read moreendless trails with lots of benches & a very nice day. I loved the trees, I expected to see a Hobbit crawl out. We were walking to the museum & then back to our hotel. We passed pristine rolling hills, a bowling center, tennis center, Olympic aquatic center .... Many were biking, walking, jogging and enjoying the green space. There is a botanic garden near the museum.

Loved visiting this beautiful Wintergarden in Auckland Domain…read more Wintergardens are conservatories or glasshouses that were built to enjoy flowers in the winter. They were very popular stating in the early 1900s. The Auckland Domain Wintergarden was built a century ago. It has two glasshouses that contain the most beautiful flowers, a sunken Fernery and a courtyard with a pond and sculptures. Loved the glasshouse filled with so many colorful flowers. Giant hibiscus. Sunflowers. Gladiolas. Foxgloves. Begonias. The Fernery is so interesting. Loved walking into the sunken quarry and looking at all of the native ferns. The wooden statues which represent bird native to New Zealand were a nice touch. The Wintergarden is free. Located in the Auckland Domain, it is a nice place to stop and enjoy the flowers and history.

One of the highlights of my trip to Auckland was visiting the Wintergardens. It was an especially…read morecold and gray day when I set out to explore Auckland Domain, so by the time I got here I was thankful to be heading inside. The gardens are two main greenhouses: one very warm, the other more temperate. In between the two is a fountain and pool, outdoor plants, and at the back is the entry to the fernery (a word I didn't know existed but now I want one for myself). The building on the right of the entrance is the warm one, which keeps the doors closed. Inside are many warmer weather plans including orchids, lotus, ferns, and tropical flowers. The building on the left is more temperate and has flowers galore; so many colors it's hard to know what to see first. The fernery is an amazing place - dark, damp, and quiet; you can either walk around the ring path at the top or go down the stairs to the bottom to look up. There are statues of various New Zealand birds around to show you what their silhouettes would look like if you came across them in the wild. You can't be aware how varied ferns are until coming here. This is an amazing free activity to do on your visit to Auckland, plus lots more nearby. You can easily spend a day in Auckland Domain. There were a few groups of retired people and school groups as well, worthwhile for any age.

Highwic is the Gothic colonial villa of a prominent colonial stock trader. The home was occupied by…read morethe family until the 1970s and the bought by Auckland city council and renovated as a museum. The rooms are decorated in a period style with some family belongings original to the house. When I arrived it was a quiet summer afternoon so the docent had the time to explain all about the family and life of the house. You could really imagine living here with the bustle of children (21 in total), balls in the living room and tennis on the lawn. That being said, knowing that a wealthy family in Auckland only had this kind of a home reminds you of how precious everything was in New Zealand at the time, so far from Britain. I toured the home and then strolled the gardens. I'd recommend a picnic lunch and a visit if historical houses are your thing. If in doubt come, it's a beautiful piece of history.

Highwic House is a wonderful illustration of what enrichment heritage buildings can bring to a…read morecommunity. Smack bang in the middle of the busy Newmarket shopping precinct, it seems a rather incongruous place to find such a place, but it has stood the test of time in this location, its been there since 1862! Up a steep driveway and surrounded by a lovely manicured lawn and trees, its hard to believe that you are still in one of Auckland's most bustling areas. The day I was there, I was there solely for a visit to the 'museum', the inside of the house itself has been preserved as would have been back in the day, which provides a interesting insight into this specific time period. I loved all the old antiques and things. My friend who came with me actually commented that she had been before as her cousin had his wedding/ reception at Highwic and she thought it was an amazing venue for that sort of thing. That it is.

The library is located in an enormous old building at the top of Parnell Road and houses a great…read morecollection of books from childrens to cookery and everything in between. It's not the biggest in Auckland but it has everything you really need, including wifi so I'd recommend bringing your own laptop rather than waiting for the library's own computers. With only four of them, it can often be quite hard to get online during busy times (although I have never found myself waiting more than half an hour to get a place) and they can be painfully slow at times. The staff are all really friendly and helped me out when trying to print off things and to order me in a book from another library in the city. There is ample amounts of parking at the building, which is great as the location is a bit of a climb!

I first walked in here when I was delivering pamphlets as part of a crazy get-rich scheme. Safe to…read moresay the scheme didn't work, although that may have something to do with the fact I decided not to bother keeping on walking after I came in here. There was something about the place that made me want to sit down and read a book, so I picked up Filth by Irvine Welsh off the shelf and settled down. Four hours later I was suitably traumatised and getting gently ushered out of the library into the dark night. I dumped my load of pamphlets in the rubbish bin and decided to enrol in University. So it was a fortuitous moment to walk into Parnell, and it will always hold a certain place in my heart. There is a good supply of books here, and it seems to have resisted the call to completely transform into an internet cafe , with books, that so many other Auckland libraries has.

They do have some interesting displays and a nice play area for smaller children/toddlers but…read moreoverall did not feel the admission price was worth it given all the other fun things to do in Auckland. Just down the road are some great playgrounds on the beach! They do have a lot of penguins and there is an option to swim with sharks if you plan in advance. I do think some areas were older/torn fabric etc and could use a good clean up!

A gift. Have you…read moreever gone to a place that you knew would make someone else happy, just to make that person happy? Although Kelly Tarlton is not that big or impressive of an aquarium, it made my parents so happy and that was priceless. This was the last stop on a trip to celebrate my parents' 60th wedding anniversary and to fulfill my dad's lifelong of going to Australia (with a cruise to Australia and New Zealand). My mom loves animals. Dogs. Cats. Koalas. You name it, she just loves all animals. Going to the aquarium and just watching my mom and dad watch the penguins be fed fish was....priceless. So many penguins. Gentoos and King. Happy Feet. You can't help but smile. Second favorite part. The moving tunnel aquarium. We went around and around and around. Capturing moments in time as the sharks, stingrays and fish swam overhead. Magical! Also loved the jellyfish. Mesmerizing. The octopus. So cool. The sea dragons. One of my favorites. The turtle talk. The snack shop sells a drink with a coffee cup or a cute little blue fairy penguin finger puppet for $15 NZD. Guess which one I got?? As an aquarium, maybe not so impressive and a bit overpriced at $40 NZD, but life is about experiences and this was one that was truly amazing. So happy to make my parents so happy. Note: You can borrow a wheelchair by leaving an ID card at the front desk. We used one just to get my dad down the long and winding ramp, but he was fine with his rollator otherwise. There are lifts located throughout the aquarium except at the entrance which is as quite helpful especially as we explored and exited the aquarium.

Art + Object is one of NZ's leading art auction houses. They focus predominately on contemporary NZ…read moreArt and they sell pieces from the likes of McCahon, Goldie and Frizzell as well as works from more entry level artists. The owners are all qualified art historians and do a lot of work valuing national collections and museum/gallery exhibitions, so they clearly know their stuff. I came here recently to listen to a presentation by one of the owners about the health of the New Zealand art market and although my knowledge of NZ art is lacking I found the presentation incredibly interesting and completely unpretentious. If you are in the art market, I would most definitely suggest signing up to their newsletter on their website to stay up to date with their auction dates and catalogues