A relaxed lunch on the Wellington waterfront outside Karaka Cafe. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford
After a three-day trip to Wellington, Rosalie Liddle Crawford confirms that, when the sun is shining and the sky is blue, there really is nowhere better to be.
“You can’t beat Wellington on a good day” is one of those phrases New Zealanders deliver with a wink – an acknowledgment that the capital’s famously volatile weather is part of the deal.
With barely a whisper of wind and the sun dazzling the harbour just right, Wellington feels unbeatable. I wondered why I had moved away, and returning feels like being home.
Over three balmy days in the city, timed with the lead-up to the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, the capital revealed itself to me as a place where art doesn’t just live in galleries and theatres – it spills into cafes, waterfront walks, and conversations with strangers.
That sense of immersion began at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, where culture is served both on the walls and on the plate.
After an Eat Your Art Out high tea at Espresso Cafe – a playful meeting point of culinary creativity and visual storytelling – an Art Narratives Guided Tour with Amanda Smith offered me fresh perspectives on the national collection.
It’s hard not to feel that at Te Papa, food is an extension of art, and art is simply feeding the soul.
That idea is taken further in Breathe | Mauri Ora, an immersive digital exhibition by Marshmallow Laser Feast, brought to NZ with support from the British Council, running until April 27.
Projected on a grand, enveloping scale, the experience invited me to slow down, reconnect, and quite literally breathe.
Guided meditations narrated by voices such as Cate Blanchett weave through awe-inspiring imagery of forests, oceans and living systems, reminding me of nature’s interconnectedness – and our place within it.
It’s meditative, emotional and timely, offering stillness in a city that hums with creative energy.
Just up the hill at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, the group exhibition Whai Wahi (on until March 29) continues this conversation around belonging, place and identity.
Set within the University of Wellington, the show brings together contemporary voices that explore whenua, memory and the act of claiming space – culturally, creatively, and personally.
It’s the kind of exhibition that rewards time and reflection, reinforcing Wellington’s reputation as a city where thoughtful, kaupapa-driven art thrives.
That ethos extends well beyond the CBD. In Porirua, I discovered Pātaka Art + Museum showcasing the depth of the region’s visual arts programme, while further afield, one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the season is set to transform The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt.
From February 21 to June 14, Christchurch-based artist and designer Steven Junil Park creates a luminous, otherworldly cosmos where sculptural garments hover, breathe and beckon. Through costume, sound, scent and choreography, Park invites audiences into a collaborative realm of creativity, connection and care – where cloth becomes alive with story.
Wellington’s arts scene is inseparable from its food culture, and happily, most of it is within walking distance.
Staying at Boulcott Suites – a centrally located, elegant apartment hotel – makes it easy to drift from gallery to cafe to theatre without a plan.
Around the corner, The Flight Coffee Hangar on the corner of Dixon and Willis Streets is a local favourite, renowned for specialty coffee and its People’s Choice-winning smashed avocado on sourdough crowned with calamansi juice, almond beet pesto, pomegranate molasses, semi-dried tomatoes, spiced whipped feta, fresh herbs, and a poached egg. It’s the kind of dish that feels distinctly Wellington: meticulous, inventive and utterly unfussy.
On Courtenay Place, the iconic Hummingbird Eatery & Bar is rejuvenating the precinct with dishes like their 12-hour whole lamb shoulder made for sharing.
Slow-cooked until yielding, finished with salsa verde and rich lamb jus, it is the kind of meal designed for unpacking what you’ve just witnessed, for extending the conversation late into the evening.
Along the waterfront, Karaka Cafe delivers comfort and connection through its famous hāngī – oven-steamed pork and chicken, root vegetables, cabbage, stuffing and rēwena bread – best enjoyed after a leisurely stroll beside the harbour.
Dockside Restaurant & Bar, perched right on the water, pairs elegant plates with unbeatable views and a sense of occasion.
Even retail feels curated. Tucked away on Willis St, Bello is a hidden gem offering designer homeware, jewellery, glassware and gifts that reflect the city’s design-led sensibility. And when the evening calls for something louder, Rosie’s Red Hot Cantina delivers colour, energy and for me - just the right amount of chaos.
Wellington’s charm also comes in the form of its people. Filipino-Kiwi visitors Mark and Ronda Tuazon, in town from Taranaki, described the capital as “very metropolitan”, praising its food scene and walkability. Blue Blubble taxi driver Raman Kumar echoed that sentiment, celebrating the ease of getting around – even as we laugh at him driving me a mere 10 minutes from my hotel. He tells stories of the city’s vibrant Indian community and the Diwali Festival that fills TSB Arena with dance, food and fireworks each November. It’s a conversation that ends with a promise to return.
As the sun sets over the harbour and bean bags fill with people soaking up the warmth, Wellington feels relaxed, creative and quietly confident.
On a good day – and I was lucky enough to catch several – it’s not just unbeatable. It’s unforgettable.
NZ Herald Travel visited courtesy of WellingtonNZ.