Christchurch Sights

  1. Arts Centre

    The enclave of wonderful Gothic Revival buildings has been transformed into the excellent Arts Centre, where arts and craft outlets share the premises with theatres, restaurants and cafés. The visitors centre ( - ), found inside the clock tower on Worcester St, provides details of free guided tours of the complex.

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  2. Canterbury Museum

    The absorbing Canterbury Museum has amassed a wonderful collection of natural and manmade items of significance to NZ. Highlights include the Maori gallery, with some stunning pounamu (greenstone or jade) pieces; the coracle in the Antarctic Hall used by a group shipwrecked on Disappointment Island in 1907; and the child-oriented Discovery (admission NZ$2 ), with interactive displays and living exhibits such as docile tarantulas.

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  3. Christchurch Art Gallery

    Set in an eye-catching metal-and-glass collage built in 2003, the city's Christchurch Art Gallery has an engrossing permanent collection divided into historical, 20th-century and contemporary galleries, plus temporary exhibitions featuring NZ artists. Guided tours are held at . Stop in at the spacious café-wine bar on-site, and browse the high-quality gift shop.

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  4. Science Alive!

    Inside the city's old train station, Science Alive! is crammed with ever-changing interactive exhibits - stuff with a scientific bent, from optical illusions to things that kiddies can push, pull and climb. There's even a glow-in-the-dark minigolf course, the Black Hole (entry plus minigolf adult/child/family NZ$15 / NZ$10 / NZ$45 ). The city's free yellow shuttle bus runs along Moorhouse Ave.

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