Top Oz Tours offers a great range of Christchurch tours and experiences. You can browse the options here.
A decade-and-a-half on from the devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that claimed many lives and some 80 percent of the CBD, the rebuilding of Otautahi Christchurch is all but complete.
Gleaming retail outlets, sophisticated accommodation options, popping street art, and fabulous restaurants and cafes are all part of the reconstructed urban landscape. However, you’ll also find plenty of links with the past and a concerted upholding of the city’s best loved traditions.
Dissected from east to west by the picturesque Avon River, Christchurch remains an integral part of any visit to New Zealand’s South Island and is a great spot to base yourself to see some of the region’s most spectacular natural landscapes.
Here’s a checklist of our top ten things to do in Christchurch on a first visit.
Watch our video of ten top things to do on a South Island road trip:
Ten Amazing Things to Do on a South Island Road Trip, New Zealand – The Big Bus
Welcome to The Big Bus tour and travel guide’s YouTube channel. In this video, we bring you ten amazing things to do on a road trip around New Zealand’s stun…
1. Learn about the past
Christchurch was founded in the 1850s by the Canterbury Pilgrims from England. Canterbury Museum charts the history of the city and wider Canterbury region: from the arrival of the first inhabitants — the Tangata Whenua — some 800 years ago, right through to the present day. There are galleries dedicated to a wide range of topics, including the earliest interactions between the Māori and European settlers, the extinction of the Moa bird, and the exploration of Antarctica by New Zealanders.
As you explore Christchurch more widely, you’ll likely hear residents talking about life before and after the earthquakes that changed the face of their city forever. Quake City is a moving special exhibition by Canterbury Museum that documents the tragic events of 2010 and 11, the aftermath, and the rebuild process. You may also want to visit the emotive Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial by the Avon River and pay your respects to the 185 people who lost their lives.
2. Take a tram tour
While public tram services ended in Christchurch back in 1923, a city tour with Christchurch Attractions on a meticulously restored heritage tramcar is a fun way to step back in time. Drivers provide commentary on the city’s history and architecture, and are a wealth of knowledge on where to eat and what’s on around town.
3. See amazing art
Christchurch’s dynamic cultural scene encompasses art, music, theatre, and art house film. Culture vultures will love Christchurch Art Gallery, which is home to a wonderful collection of local and international works. Keep an eye out for Andy Warhol’s portrait of Mao Tse-tung. Fans of modern art in all its forms should make their way to the Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA). It’s been challenging artistic conventions for almost four decades. Entry to both galleries is free of charge.
4. Visit the Cardboard Cathedral
Largely reduced to rubble by the quakes, Christ Church Cathedral is currently under reconstruction and will reopen in 2028. The richly coloured Transitional Cathedral — widely known as the ‘cardboard cathedral’ — has continued to serve the city well. It was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and has a raked ceiling supported by 98 huge cardboard tubes. Guided 15-minute tours of the Transitional Cathedral operate on demand during opening hours, and a donation at the end is appreciated.
5. Explore a fantasy land
Based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was filmed at the turn of the 21st century in more than 150 locations across New Zealand. Mount Potts High Country Station at Mount Sunday — roughly two hours drive from Christchurch — served as the Rohan capital of Edoras in the second and third films. You can visit the region with Hassle Free Tours, which operates a full-day Lord of the Rings Edoras Tour by 4WD bus. A picnic lunch is included in the tour price.
6. Eat…
Every Friday, Cathedral Square hosts more than a dozen food trucks for the Friday Street Food Market. Tantalise your taste buds with Indian street food, Malaysian noodles, German bratwurst sausages, Polish goulash, Egyptian puffed donuts, and even Transylvanian chimney cake! The market has long proved to be a fantastic way to get people back into the city centre.
7. …and shop fresh at the markets
If you plan to self cater or picnic during your stay, the weekly Christchurch Farmers’ Market is another ‘must-not-miss’. Held every Saturday morning in the gracious grounds of Riccarton House and Bush, it has more than 80 stallholders and offers a wide range of artisanal foodstuffs.
8. Go to the Gardens
Christchurch is packed with green spaces to enjoy, including gorgeous Hagley Park and the adjacent Botanic Gardens. Put Hagley’s network of walking trails to good use, explore its native plantings, or simply laze away an afternoon on popular Archery Lawn. Over in the Botanic Gardens, the Central Rose Garden brims with wondrous colour from November through to March.
9. Punt on the Avon
No visit to Christchurch would be complete without doing a punting tour on the Avon. Check in at the Antigua Boat Sheds, then sit back, relax, and enjoy as a punter in Edwardian-style dress propels you along the river at a leisurely pace.
10. Do a day trip
If you want to explore further afield, the ridiculously pretty village of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula makes a great day trip from Christchurch. Visit Akaroa Museum to learn the town’s Francophile backstory (this is the only town in New Zealand originally settled by the French), and head out on the water to spot rare Hector’s dolphins.
Just under an hour’s drive from the city, the Waipara Valley wine region boasts around 40 boutique wineries, and produces top-notch rieslings and pinot noirs. Leisure Tours offers a half day wine tour to four contrasting cellar doors for tastings, including the likes of Waipara Springs, certified organic Greystone Wines, Waipara Hills, and gorgeous Pegasus Bay. It’s lovely to have someone else to do the driving, while you do the sipping!
Need a place to stay?
Crowne Plaza Christchurch
The upscale Crowne Plaza Hotel makes a superb base for exploring everything Christchurch has to offer visitors, and affords sweeping views of the city and Southern Alps from many of its 200 guest rooms. They’re stylishly appointed and come complete with key pad access, a smart TV, and handy USB charging ports. The hotel even provides a therapeutic spray that will help get you off to sleep that little bit faster.
Amenities at the Crowne Plaza include an onsite restaurant and bar, fully equipped fitness centre, and guest library. Saying in touch with family and friends is a breeze, thanks to the fast and free Wi-Fi provided throughout the hotel.
For more travel inspiration, visit www.christchurchnz.com.
Browse our range of New Zealand tours and experiences here.
Do you have any suggestions to add to our list of the top things to do in Christchurch on a first visit? We would love to hear from you. Join the conversation on our Facebook page.
Cover image: New Regent Street. Image: Christchurch NZ. Additional images: Bigstock
About the writer
Louise Reynolds made up her mind at the age of about four that she would one day travel the world — and has so far visited around 30 countries across five continents and the Pacific. A hopeless Francophile, she has a particular love for France, its language, and pretty much all things French. Louise’s favourite way to see the world is on foot and her boots have taken her walking on famous trails in Europe, South America, and New Zealand. She also has a passion for her home state of Victoria and loves exploring its diverse regions.
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