🎟️Top 10 Free Things to Do in Wellington

Six floors of world-class exhibitions with complimentary general admission for New Zealanders and residents — the best free museum in the southern hemisphere.

Local tip: Special ticketed exhibitions sit alongside the free permanent galleries — you can have a full day here without paying for either.

A free guided tour behind the scenes of the Beehive and Parliament House — surprisingly good, and indoors.

Local tip: Check the schedule before you turn up — tour times shift around the sitting calendar.

Native bush, lookouts, the Begonia House and the Lady Norwood Rose Garden — around 3,200 roses across more than 300 varieties, plus a five-metre waterfall.

Local tip: Roses peak November to March. The garden is free; only the Cable Car ride up costs anything, and walking down is free either way.

The 360-degree view that defines Wellington — free, open all hours, and on WellingtonNZ's own top-ten list of things to do.

Local tip: Walk up from Oriental Bay rather than driving — the track through the town belt is the better half of the experience.

Oriental Bay to Frank Kitts Park — the city's best flat stroll, dotted with public art and the Writers Walk quotations set into the paving.

Local tip: It connects Te Papa, Wellington Museum and Queens Wharf, so it doubles as the free route between three other entries on this list.

An open park holding the National War Memorial, the Carillon and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior — quiet, free and a short walk from Cuba Street.

Local tip: Replaces City Gallery on this list while the gallery is closed for access works until 10 October 2026.

Bucket Fountain, vintage shops, vinyl and street art — Wellington's bohemian heart costs nothing to wander.

Local tip: Best in the late afternoon, when the buskers are out and the shops are still open.

Calm harbour swimming, imported sand and the best sunset seawall in the city — a short walk from the CBD.

Local tip: It faces north, so it holds the sun far later in the day than the rest of the harbour edge.

Free museum in the restored 1892 Bond Store on the waterfront — walk across a high-definition carpet map of the whole city, and see the tribute to the 1968 Wahine disaster.

Local tip: Smaller and much quieter than Te Papa — a good second indoor stop when the national museum is heaving.

New Zealand's only public botanic garden dedicated solely to native plants — around 1,200 native species, an 18-metre-high canopy walkway and a rimu thought to be about 800 years old.

Local tip: The canopy walkway is the bit people miss — it puts you level with the treetops and the birdsong.