Wellington Waterfront & Oriental Bay
Wellington Waterfront
A 3 km harbourside promenade from the railway station to Oriental Bay, with diving platform, Frank Kitts Park, restaurants and bars in converted old wharf sheds, and an artificial beach. It is Wellingtonians' outdoor living room.
Wellington's waterfront runs along Lambton Harbour from Queens Wharf, south of the railway station, all the way to Oriental Bay, a total of about 3 km. It is New Zealand's most successful urban waterfront redevelopment. Highlights include the restaurants in old warehouses on Queens Wharf (Shed 5, Crab Shack, Dockside) and Mac's Brewery in Shed 22. Frank Kitts Park has a children's playground and the Chinese Garden 'Ci Yuan', newly built in 2023. On Taranaki Wharf is the diving platform, where local young people queue in summer to leap from the 8-metre platform into the harbour, a signature Wellington sight. Along the way you'll find the Wellington Writers Walk text sculptures, Solace in the Wind (a bronze statue of a naked man leaning into the gale), and the Wahine shipwreck memorial. On Sunday mornings the Harbourside farmers' market runs in the car park beside Te Papa, with fresh produce, bread and hot food. Nearby are Te Papa and the Circa Theatre, and Waitangi Park has a skate park and lawns. Further east is Oriental Bay, Wellington's 'city beach'. Its sand was brought in from Nelson, and in summer you can swim and sunbathe here. The seafront road has Freyberg Pool, the Carter Fountain (a music fountain) and a famous ice-cream shop. Behind it, on the hillside, colonial-era wooden houses make up the city's most expensive residential area. You can rent a bike or e-scooter to ride the seafront to Evans Bay. Free. Getting around: walk from the city centre. Tips: there are wooden piles underwater near the diving platform, so only jump in marked areas; in strong wind, waves can splash over the promenade, so protect your camera; summer weekend outdoor music festivals close roads; and parking at Oriental Bay is hard to find, so walk.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Wellington Museum
- City Gallery Wellington
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- Cuba Street
- Harbourside Market
- Embassy Theatre
- The Beehive & Parliament Buildings
- Old St Paul's