Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre

This multimedia museum opened just three weeks before the 2008 death of the man regarded by many as the greatest New Zealander of all time, explorer and mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary. The main attraction is a cinema and domed digital planetarium that screens films all day, including the Mt Cook Magic 3D movie and a fascinating 75-minute documentary about Sir Ed's conquest of Everest. The foyer houses memorabilia both from St Ed's various expeditions and from the 1884-built Hermitage hotel itself.