This is one of the most beautiful green spaces I've ever seen in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed…read morewandering through the grounds of the domain. Especially the greenhouses. I wanted to stay in those spaces, smell all the flowers, touch all the plants, and pick some of the very ripe fruits and vegetables. I admit to smelling some flowers and touching a few plants, but no fruits or veggies were at risk. Highly recommend the Auckland Domain if you are in Auckland. It's free, beautiful, and walking it is great exercise. It's made of win.

Green lawns, ball fields, gazebos with live music, clean public restrooms, unique trees & shrubs,…read moreendless trails with lots of benches & a very nice day. I loved the trees, I expected to see a Hobbit crawl out. We were walking to the museum & then back to our hotel. We passed pristine rolling hills, a bowling center, tennis center, Olympic aquatic center .... Many were biking, walking, jogging and enjoying the green space. There is a botanic garden near the museum.

Town hall opened in 1911 This 5 story building was specially designed to fit a triangular shaped…read moreplot of land. It resemblances Lambeth Town Hall in London. This was Auckland's first permanent seat of both administration & entertainment in the city. The Great Hall seats 1,673 people, modeled on the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, considered having among the best acoustics in the world. The exterior of the Edwardian building is constructed of 2 types of stone. The ground floor is made of a dark volcanic basalt, heavily rusticated, contrasting with pale stonework above. Oamaru limestone from the south island was used for the upper part of the building. The lower part is often assumed to be Auckland basalt but was actually sourced from Melbourne. . The five-storey building was specially designed to fit the wedge-shaped piece of land that had been acquired for it in the 1870s at the junction of Queen Street and Grey Street. It bears a striking resemblance to the Lambeth Town Hall at Brixton, London, built at around the same time. The Town Hall formed Auckland's first permanent seat of both administration and entertainment in the city's history, with its Great Hall (seating 1,673 people) modelled on the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and considered as having among the finest acoustics in the world. The exterior is constructed of two types of stone; the ground floor is made of a dark volcanic basalt, heavily rusticated, which contrasts with the pale stonework of the upper storeys. Oamaru limestone from the south island was used for the upper part of the building. The lower part was from Melbourne, in Australia.

The Town Hall bisects Queen St along with Aotea Square and looks down toward the water with it's…read morebig, old clock tower. With the re-branding of The Big Little City is nice to have this cultural icon sitting in place. I have enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment here including thumping house music, silent discos and classical music. The wooden floor flexing under the beat of jumping ravers or the walls echoing with Wagner's Valkyries- each special in their own way. Sometimes you can catch a talented organist playing the hall's grand organ. Everyone should visit this venue at some stage, to enjoy the entertainment, the acoustics and the heritage of Auckland.

Nice and easy. Tap on/off (remember the off part...that wasn't explained to me) and quick ride to…read moreDavenport. Also did the Waiheke ferry which was a bit chaotic on Thursday midday. The line for the 11 am was sooo long, I missed that ferry and had to wait another hour. Thankfully the peeps I was around engaged in conversation which made the time fly by.

Our hotel was a walking distance from the ferry terminal. Really nice to stroll around. We boarded…read morethe Fullers 360 to Waiheke Island. The information and ticket offices was just in front of the terminal. Very easy to find.

The Westhaven Marina adds a lot of beauty and interest to the Auckland waterfront, and helps us…read moreclaim it as a true "city of sails". The marina has a surprising number of services for yachties as well, even clothes washing machines are hidden in some of the shower/toilet blocks for the full-time residents. For those with smaller boats Pier Z has a launching ramp, as well as a busy café and a whole bunche of charter boats (mainly fishing) that go in and out all day. There is also a spiffing new shower block available for public use. If you're not a boatie, the marina still makes an excellent location for a flat, scenic walk or run close to the CBD.

If I was just rating this building on looks alone, I would have given it 5 stars. It's a beautiful…read moreold heritage type building that was constructed in 1930 and has been called " one of the most self- consciously monumental public buildings erected in early twentieth century New Zealand". True to its name it was the former main railway station of New Zealand before services were moved to the Britomart station. The inside lower floor is just as visually stunning as the outside, with mural like floors and grand staircases. However all this just belies the sham it houses now. It is now used as housing for Auckland University students and shoddy housing it is too. Tiny kitchenettes that lead off to even tinier bedrooms, the most basic bathrooms ever, and a communal cooking and eating area. It's not even that well priced, it should be at clearance level rent. Honestly I feel sorry for anyone who has to live here voluntarily, but the apartment market in Auckland is so tight at the moment it really is needs must. It's such a shame that such a wonderful, historic building is really going to waste.

I'm not 100 percent sure that you can just walk on into this place if you don't live here, but I…read moredid anyway because the building is truly amazing. Actually I am pretty sure you can walk into the main entrance part because there are no security doors here, but the next part is where it has been converted into small apartments, so don't go getting yourself into trouble. Anyway this is the old railway building, and I can remember using it when it was still operational many years back. It is architecturally a fantastic place to visit, both outside and inside, and such an iconic building that it should be used as something worthwhile, like a museum. But alas it is being wasted as budget accommodation, and pretty dodgy accommodation at that. It makes me sad. And now I'm confused as to how to distribute my rating stars.

This little square at the end of the viaduct seems to be a bit of wasted space, however it does…read morehave a few seats in the viaduct for those who don't want to pay for a restaurant meal, and adds a bit of interest for those people watching in O'Hagans. It's also a handy meeting spot for those social activities, dragon boating, group runs etc. Nothing special to go out of your way for though, just a bit of local colour. The name is also a bit misleading. This space would be ideal for some actual markets, and would certainly have the ready-made crowds on its doorstep.

Interesting to stroll through the Victoria Park Market…read more From 1905 to 1918 a series of brick buildings were constructed to...deal with the removal of rubbish in Auckland. At the turn of the century in the early 1900s, rubbish was moved by horses. Due to fears about the rats spreading the bubonic plague via the garbage, the Auckland city council approved an incinerator to be built to intentionally burn the city's rubbish. The power generator used coal initially, however steam generators were later added to keep up with the demand for rubbish removal. Now the Victoria Park Market is repurposed from the original waste depot and incinerator complex. Check out the Celebrity Walk which features prominent New Zealanders like Sir Edmund Hillary and other famous athletes, authors and politicians. An interesting slice of Auckland history.

The re-opening of this Auckland icon was heralded for the weekend of 15-16 November 2015. We went…read morealong for a nosey and had high expectations. Previous attempts at rejuvenating VPM have been pretty abysmal so this had to be better. All we can say is "ho hum". The design is nice except they have failed to allow for crowds of dawdling people. Bi-fold doors open out on to the walkways, restricting access for people, and large pot plants add to the already narrow access. The shops/stalls are not really anything new. There are still empty shop spaces. The stall holders were all looking desperately at the meandering crowds who had little use for their handmade wares. I predict that many will not return. There was not enough food for sale - we arrived at about lunchtime - and unbelievably the sushi shop had a practically empty cabinet and hungry people were walking in and out again. The remaining food outlets: a couple of cafes, were ill-equipped to cope, slow and struggling to serve the throngs of people! This, on the opening day of a market that had so much promise but seriously failed to deliver. Such a shame. Someone with a mobile coffee caravan could do a roaring trade down at VPM - coffee can soothe the savage breast and much can be forgiven when you have a good hot coffee fix in your hand! Good luck to them for the future - I really hope they succeed...

I won't say much but second the great reviews. This is a great library and as a backpacker i spent…read moremany days in here using the wifi, getting info, etc. Not many backpackers here, mostly locals. Quiet. clean. very nice :)

Alberton was definitely in the running when I was choosing a wedding venue as it is just so…read morebeautiful. It's one of those places that is constantly used for fashion, film and even music video shoots because its historic character is so well preserved. It is grand, old and beautiful but there are some rules and regulations that apply to keeping it that way so keep that in mind if you are thinking of using it for an event. The great thing is that it's open to the public so all you have to do is wander on in and explore all its nooks and crannies at your leisure. You will have to pay for the pleasure but that's as it should be in order to keep preserve places like this for future generations. The grounds are stunning as well and a visit here can take you back in time for some romantic day-dreaming. Great for kids too - history is so much more interesting when it's tangible.

Auckland's got a bad track record of hanging on to our historic buildings. Noteworthy architecture?…read moreImportant cultural heritage? Nah, let's tear it down and put up a featureless grey box full of leaky apartments. Sigh. At least we've got it right here though. Alberton House is from the mid 1800s, and it's a pretty neat place. It's a good venue for events (I was here for a wedding), but even without that it's cool just to have a wander around looking at the building itself, with its rabbit-warren servants' quarters and wooden everything. Also if you go upstairs (I say stairs, it's more like a ladder built for elves), they've got a few rooms set up with period furniture, and some of the creepiest dolls I've seen in a long time. This place is worth a visit, especially if the weather is good.