E-bike tours

Connect with others, have fun, and discover our compact city’s stories with one of our e-bike tours.

Be a cycle tourist in Wellington and experience some of our city’s unique stories, in a low-carbon way.

Alongside our growing network of cycle-safer streets, we launched our inaugural e-bike tour, of Wellington’s creative spaces, in January 2023. It was so successful that we are making e-bike tours a permanent fixture on our events calendar.

Free tours and bikes

Guided tours

Tours are guided and marshalled, and run for 3-4 hours, which includes collecting and returning bikes.

We visit various places of interest and always stop for a break.

Our e-bike tour routes are carefully designed so that they can be enjoyed at a relaxed pace, and you can get to know the other riders.

Bring your bike or borrow one

If you are bringing your own bike, please make sure it is in good mechanical condition, check your brakes and tyres, and remember to wear a helmet. We will have marshals on the route in case you run into any problems.  

If you don’t have an e-bike you can borrow a bike and helmet free of charge. Please indicate with your booking if you’d like to borrow a bike.

Upcoming tours

Check out the upcoming tours below.

Rainbow Ride e-bike tour

Āhea | When 1pm – 4pm, Friday 30 June 2023 (postponement date Friday 7 July)
Ki hea | Where Meet at 1pm at Switched on Bikes (view on Google Maps). We finish in the same place. This tour takes you through the central city (view on Google Maps) and to Newton (view on Google Maps).
Te utu | Cost Free

Join us on a free, fun, informative, guided e-bike tour of Wellington sites that are significant to our rainbow community, including the Rainbow Room at Parliament, LAGANZ in our National Library, Thistle Inn, Katherine Mansfield House, Henry Holland's grave/statue, The Peacock, Aunty Dana’s Op shop, the Wellington Zoo and more.

Stunning Street Artworks e-bike tour

Āhea | When 1pm – 4pm, Saturday 8 July 2023 
Ki hea | Where Meet at 1pm at Switched on Bikes (view on Google Maps). We finish in the same place. This tour takes you through the central city (view on Google Maps) and to Newton (view on Google Maps).
Te utu | Cost Free

Join us on a free e-bike tour to discover some of our city’s remarkable murals and meet some of the talented artists who painted them. Murals on the tour include 'Kaiota' by Ariki Brightwell (artist talk), 'Ngā Kakano' by Johnson Witehira, 'Waimapihi' by Izzy Joy (artist talk), 'Trust the Process' by Miriama Grace-Smith and Fluro, 'St James mural' by Keri Mei Zagrobelna and Tina Rae Carter (artist talk), and more.

From Parliament through Te Aro to Newtown, the locations on this tour are imbued with wairua. Each artwork tells a story about people and place – enabling us to see our city through a different lens and appreciate the heritage of our whenua, our buildings, and the people who moved through these spaces.

The route is carefully designed to be enjoyed at a relaxed pace so you can get to know the other riders, stop at 8-10 murals (depending on time) and enjoy the sights along the way.  We will have a break halfway.

Bookings

To book your place email us to arts@wcc.govt.nz and include:

  • full name
  • phone number
  • emergency contact details
  • which tour you want to take
  • whether you’d like to borrow a bike.

There is a maximum of 15 riders per tour, plus Council staff. Bookings are on a first-in-first-served basis. If you miss out, we will let you know, and if there is interest, we will run more tours.

Meet at Switched On Bikes at 1pm to collect bicycles if needed and to meet the crew and other riders.

If the ride has to be cancelled due to poor weather, we will let you know 12 hours in advance. 

Contact us

If you have a question about the above tours, please email us at arts@wcc.govt.nz

We are passionate about our city, and love sharing our stories. Whether you are a Wellingtonian or are just passing through, we hope you will join us to experience our unique city by bike.

Thank you to our e-bike tour partner, Switched on Bikes, who so generously help make these events happen.

Active Artists Creative Space e-bike tour at Te Rau Karamu Marae

Previous tours

In January 2023 we took a full tour group of riders to see some special community spaces in Wellington that are artist-friendly and bookable. It was great to connect with other riders and see some great community projects and spaces in hidden places!

We ran Central City and Eastern suburbs tours, so our riders got to see some great city and harbour views along the way.

Check out some of the images of these tours below.