Wellington waterfront

Getting there

It’s an easy walk from Wellington Railway Station or the central business district. Or if you’re coming by car, there’s plenty of parking close to the Waterfront.

Waterfront car park areas

Sights and activities

Popular activities along the waterfront include skating, biking, powering the pedal boats, or taking a kayak out onto the harbour. There are numerous artworks and sculptures to admire and heritage trails to walk along. Frank Kitts Park has a very popular playground, with the now iconic lighthouse and Waitangi Park has a great skate park for all ages.

Places to eat and drink

There’s a variety of places along the waterfront to eat and drink − from cafes to restaurants, bars and fine dining: Eat and drink – WellingtonNZ.com 

Heritage trails

• Maritime Trail (942KB PDF)
• Old Shoreline Trail (1.37MB PDF)
• Waterfront - From Post Office Square to Te Papa (357KB PDF)

History of the area

Find out more about the history of the waterfront, including early settlement and reclamation work: History of the Waterfront Area

Events on the waterfront

Traditionally, the waterfront area is host to many annual Summer City events including Waitangi Day celebrations, the Pasifika festival, Homegrown, The Dragonboating Festival, Chinese New Year and Ahi Kaa as well as the Matariki Skyshow fireworks. 

If you’re wanting to hold an event on the waterfront, you’ll need to get in touch with us – we can help with organising an event. 

Management of the waterfront area

Wellington City Council manages the waterfront area including:

• managing daily activity on the waterfront, including property management, parking, cleaning, security and general maintenance
• promoting and restoring its heritage buildings
• supporting commercial development of the area
• managing the TSB Bank Arena 
• staging public events and conferences in the area
• providing information about waterfront development to the public.

Wellington Waterfront Limited

Wellington Waterfront Limited (originally Lambton Harbour Management Limited) was set up by the Wellington Harbour Board and Wellington City Council in September 1987 to develop and manage 20ha of waterfront land extending from Waterloo on Quay Apartments (Shed 21) along the waterfront to include Clyde Quay Wharf. 

Wellington Waterfront Limited is a Council-controlled organisation. In July 2014 it transitioned into Wellington City Council as a business unit (Parks, Sport & Recreation) with a changed brief to extend beyond the waterfront and include a wider responsibility in other parts of the city with a focus on place making and City Parks.

More information

• Shane Binnie, Waterfront & City Parks Manager
• Elizabeth Webley, Waterfront & City Parks Specialist
• Helen Kirlew Smith, Waterfront & City Parks Place Manager
• Fraser Ebbett, Waterfront Activations Specialist
• Trevor Gardner, Waterfront Operations