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Albert Park
The giant trees planted here over a century ago have seen it all: student protests, lantern festivals and rock concerts, as well as lots of people lolling in its neat hill-top surrounds. The park was originally a defended pa (fortified Maori village), then a barracks, now a cherished city park.
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Alberton House
The original decorative wallpapers of Alberton House have seen a number of grand balls and music recitals. Sophia Kerr Taylor (widow, mother of 10, singer, gardener and women's-vote advocate) and three of her daughters ran this white timber mansion for 80 years. More recently, Alberton served as the set for scenes in Jane Campion's film The Piano .
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Artspace
The plain white walls and concrete floors of this public gallery come to life with an open field of art practices, including sculpture, photography, the moving image and sound art. Artspace exhibits many of New Zealand's leading contemporary artists and promotes a cultural dialogue, both locally and internationally, through speaking programmes and publications.
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Artstation
The public gallery of this community arts centre provides a professional space for emerging artists to exhibit their work. Shows turn over every three weeks, and might include contemporary Polynesian themes or those of the modern Goth. If you find the gallery locked, ask the office downstairs for the key.
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Auckland Domain
The gorgeous Domain emanates out from a long-dead volcano: its terraced remains creating a natural amphitheatre and a literal level playing field for numerous sporting grounds. Stroll through pockets of formal gardens or fringes of bush (on the Parnell side of Domain Dr), and experience perpetual winter at the Wintergarden cool house. The Domain is home to the Auckland Museum , a sculpture walk, and lots of glorious green space.
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Coast to Coast Walkway
This 16km trail links Viaduct Harbour and Manukau Harbour, cutting a path through a bunch of sights and attractions such as Auckland Museum and Cornwall Park. Walk one way, then bus back. Pick up a printed copy from visitors centres or download it from the government's website.
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Ewelme Cottage
The storybook-cottage metaphor of this 1863-built home resonates even stronger when you learn the original owners' names: Vicesimus Lush and his wife Blanche. Walking from room to room, filled with books and period pieces, is like turning to another page of polite 19th-century life.
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Harbour Bridge Bungy & Climb
Auckland is synonymous with superhero-type stunts. Be part of a human chain strung out atop the Harbour Bridge (those strung out by heights need not apply). Or, swan dive off and dip your nose in the water.
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Highwic
The good china is always out at Highwic, which is finely furnished to reflect the lifestyle of Alfred and Elizabeth Buckland who called it home from around 1862 to 1978. They lived here along with their 21 children (and, no, the house is not shoe shaped).
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Howick Historical Village
This fascinating 'living' museum will split visitors along 'Isn't it tacky/fascinating' lines, with its costumed staff evoking the atmosphere of Auckland in the turbulent pioneering era from the 1840s to the 1880s. There are over 30 buildings, many relocated here from other parts of the region.
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John Leech Gallery
At over 150 years old, John Leech Gallery was among the city's first commercial galleries. Considering its own historical standing, it's little surprise that historic works comprise part of its collection, representing NZ's most influential, controversial and coveted artists (the likes of Charles Goldie and Theo Schoon).
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Kinder House
The low gabled ceiling of Kinder House shelters a collection of watercolours rendered by the stone cottage's original inhabitant, the Reverend John Kinder. The headmaster of the Church of England grammar school by day and amateur artist by night, Kinder's documentary-style paintings are sensitively observed.
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Motat
The 19ha (48ac) Museum of Transport and Technology is near the zoo. It's in two parts: Motat I has exhibits on transport, communications and energy, including vintage cars, a display about pioneer aviator Richard Pearse and the infotainment Science Centre, with hands-on displays.
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Mt Eden
The grassy slopes of Auckland's highest volcanic cone are a popular vantage from which to watch the city and look into the gaping mouth of its crater. Come at dawn when it's just you and the lowing cattle watching the sun and the city rise.
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National Maritime Museum
Sea vessels of all shapes, sizes and stages of history are pertinent lessons of the city's connection to the sea. Maori canoes, immigrant ships, jet boats and the old steamboat SS Puke will have nautical buffs in knots. Harbour cruises also operate from here.
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NZ Film Archives
This fabulous film resource has over a thousand Kiwi feature films and documentaries (dating from 1905) that you can view on a large telly. There's no better way to catch up on all those stellar Kiwi classics you may have missed. Perhaps the beautifully rendered tale of a family's '70s summer in Rain . Or the never-a-dry-eye Maori tale of Whale Rider, or a Peter Jackson classic such as Heavenly Creatures .
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Oedipus Rex Gallery
Familiar names in the contemporary art world grace this upstairs city space, as do emerging artists working in a variety of forms, including painting, print and photography.
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One Tree Hill & Cornwall Park
Now dual parks, this huge area was once the largest volcanic-cone fortress in the southern hemisphere, said to have supported up to 5000 Maori; terracing and food-store pits are still visible. The city's European 'father', John Logan Campbell, is buried beneath the big, bald hill alongside the commemorative obelisk. His original house, Acacia Cottage, is in the adjacent Cornwall Park. The area's historical significance is explained in the Huia Lodge info centre.
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Parnell Baths
Water babies squeal with delight at the sight of the partly submerged playground here. Then there's the toddlers' pool with fountains of water squirting from the surrounding wall and the bigger kids' pool. And, there's a café to keep the adults quiet.
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Parnell Rose Gardens
Watch boats skate across the harbour from this pretty pozzie where you'll be in a bed of blooming roses between November and March. Big old trees, including the oldest manuka in Auckland, watch over the quaint cottagey gardens, which sweep down to the superb saltwater Parnell Baths.
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Rainbow's End
Ride a giant plastic log through a river rapid, lose your stomach in the rocking Pirate Ship or plummet to the ground on the Fear Fall. Kids reckon this is better than the promised pot of gold at the end of every rainbow.
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Sheepworld
NZ's answer to Disneyland, Sheepworld showcases all things sheepish. Watch working dogs round 'em up on this small farm before feeding the eels in the lake and visiting the gift shop: beauty creme infused with sheep's placenta and 23-carat gold flakes anyone?
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Snowplanet
Every day is a white one at this winter wonderland, with indoor skiing, tobogganing and airboarding. It's five-below in this human-sized snow dome, so rug up.
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St Mary's Church
The stunning burnished wooden interior and ornate stained-glass windows of the Gothic St Mary's would inspire even atheist aesthetes to attend church. The original commission for a stone church proved too costly, resulting in a wooden St Mary's completed in 1898. In 1982 it was moved across the road to its present position and rotated 90 degrees.
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Stevenson Discovery Centres
The museum's dedicated children's galleries are hands down the best hands-on learning centres. The Weird & Wonderful gallery has drawers full of spiders, jars full of fish and atriums of scurrying cockroaches, plus microscopes and dress ups a plenty. Treasures & Tales provides insights into everything from woodwork to music.
