Lonely Planet, the popular travel guide, rate Wellington as the 4th best city in the world to visit. The best city was New York, followed by Tangier in Morocco, Tel Aviv in Israel then Wellington.
Wellington seems little because you can walk around the central city quite easily. Many people live near the centre of the city or a 20 minute bus ride from the centre. The population of the city is only 180,000 but if you include the whole region, it is closer to half a million people.
Wellington has an attractive harbour. Some of the central business district – CBD – is flat with the harbour on one side and hills on the other. A cable car runs up the hill from the CBD to the university and the suburb of Karori – the only cable car in New Zealand today. People who live on the hills often have a wonderful view of the harbour or of native bush. People who live around the coast can enjoy the beaches. There are many natural attractions in Wellington, including parks with native bush and a bird sanctuary.
It is also the cultural capital of New Zealand – the home of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, drama school, New Zealand Ballet, museums including Te Papa – the National museum, art galleries and several professional theatres. It’s the place where Sir Peter Jackson has his film studios and Sir Richard Taylor has Weta Workshops. People like to call this “Wellywood” i.e. Wellington’s Hollywood.
Perhaps the most important feature of the city is that the CBD is alive with people. Victoria University has some departments downtown so students live and work in the city. Many people work in Parliament or in government departments. Because there are not many shopping malls in the suburbs people come to the city to shop.
While people make jokes about windy Wellington, it does have a lot to offer visitors.
Questions
Have you ever visited Wellington or do you live in Wellington? What do you think of the city?
What makes an attractive city to visit?