Explore Wellington

Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā covers 25 hectares of a valley between Thorndon and Kelburn and was established in 1868 on land where Ngāti Te Whiti of Te Āti Awa once grew food. Paths lead through protected native forest, conifers, the Lady Norwood Rose Garden and the duck pond; the top of the Cable Car is one of its entrances.

The New Zealand Parliament Buildings stand at the northern end of Lambton Quay: the Gothic Revival Parliamentary Library of 1899, the neoclassical Parliament House completed in 1922, and the circular executive wing known as the Beehive, opened in 1977. Visitors can walk the grounds, and guided tours start from the visitor centre in Parliament House.

The Wellington Cathedral of St Paul is the Anglican cathedral of the Diocese of Wellington, on Molesworth Street near Parliament. Designed by Cecil Wood in the 1930s, it was built in reinforced concrete between 1954 and 1998 because of the earthquake risk, and has been in use as the cathedral since 1964. It is a working church with daily services.

Old St Paul's is a timber Gothic Revival church in Thorndon, designed by the Reverend Frederick Thatcher and consecrated in 1866; it served as Wellington's Anglican pro-cathedral until 1964. Built from native timbers, it has curved rimu roof trusses and stained-glass windows, and is now cared for by Heritage New Zealand.

Mount Victoria, or Matairangi, is a 196-metre hill rising directly east of central Wellington, its slopes covered by the pine forest and walking tracks of the Town Belt. A road and paths lead to the summit lookout, which looks out over the city, Wellington Harbour, Evans Bay and the Miramar Peninsula, and holds a memorial to the polar explorer Richard E. Byrd.