Wellington Audio Tours

Wellington holds two world records that say a great deal about the city: it is the southernmost capital of a sovereign state, and it is the world's windiest capital. The wind, funneling through the Cook Strait between New Zealand's two main islands, is not a weather condition in Wellington but a permanent personality trait. It has shaped the city's architecture (low, robust, and clinging to the hillsides), its street culture (the cafe scene is extremely indoor-compatible), and its character. Wellington does not posture. It is 215,000 people on a small peninsula surrounded by harbor and hills, and it has long since decided that it will be a very good small city rather than an impressive large one.

It is, frankly, a remarkable cultural city for its size.

Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum on the waterfront, covers New Zealand's natural history, Maori culture, and colonial past in an honest and ambitious way that larger national museums often fail to achieve. The national library, the National Archives, Parliament, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and the New Zealand Film Archive are all headquartered here, making Wellington the kind of capital that punches well above its population weight. The Cuba Street neighborhood, running uphill from the waterfront through Te Aro, has an independent shops, street art, and music venues character that is more Fitzroy Melbourne than anything you expect from a city this size.