Napier's elegant seaside avenue is lined with huge Norfolk Island pines, and dotted with motels and charming timber villas. Along its length are parks, quirky sunken gardens, a mini-golf course, a skate park, a sound shell, a swim centre and an aquarium. Near the north end of the parade is the Tom Parker Fountain, best viewed at night when it's lavishly lit. Next to it is the Pania of the Reef sculpture.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
14.72 MILES
Rising dramatically from the Heretaunga Plains 16km south of Havelock North, Te Mata Peak (399m) is part of the 1-sq-km Te Mata Trust Park. The summit…
0.14 MILES
The Daily Telegraph is one of the stars of Napier's art-deco show, with superb zigzags, fountain shapes and a symmetrically patterned facade. If the front…
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National Tobacco Company Building
1.31 MILES
Around the shore at Ahuriri, the National Tobacco Company Building (1932) is arguably the region’s deco masterpiece, combining art-deco forms with the…
0.03 MILES
The beating cultural heart of Napier is the smart-looking MTG – a gleaming-white museum-theatre-gallery space by the water. The MTG showcases live…
14.02 MILES
The gaggling gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers – Te Kauwae-a-Māui to local Māori – is best visited between early November and late February, when the…
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12.75 MILES
This hip, inventive winery has a bistro, a gallery, a popular summer Saturday morning farmers market (one of the first in NZ) and an amphitheatre for…
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9.54 MILES
There's plenty of great vineyard dining around Hawke's Bay, but copper-clad Elephant Hill in beachy Te Awanga is something special. Huge picture windows…
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National Aquarium of New Zealand
0.83 MILES
Inside this modern complex with its stingray-inspired roof are piranhas, terrapins, eels, kiwi, tuatara and a whole lotta fish. Snorkellers can swim with…
Nearby Napier attractions
0.03 MILES
The beating cultural heart of Napier is the smart-looking MTG – a gleaming-white museum-theatre-gallery space by the water. The MTG showcases live…
0.05 MILES
A bronze statue of the sea-dwelling Pania, whose tale is long and heartbreaking – ask a local to regale you with her story or read the statue's plaque.
0.06 MILES
A 1936 art-deco fountain named after a local gentlemen's outfitter of the day. Best viewed at night when it's flamboyantly lit.
0.14 MILES
The Daily Telegraph is one of the stars of Napier's art-deco show, with superb zigzags, fountain shapes and a symmetrically patterned facade. If the front…
0.21 MILES
An interesting historic curio (1969) along Napier's waterfront promenade with tidy floral arrangements set into the ground below street level. A pretty…
0.34 MILES
On the run from the law? Assuage your guilt with a tour of the grim 1862 Napier Prison (the oldest in NZ) on the hill behind the town. There's a self…
0.38 MILES
Whoa! A massive waterfall right in the middle of Napier! There may be an artificial pump system in play, but we don't mind – it's still an impressive…
0.69 MILES
The convoluted route to the top of Bluff Hill (102m) goes up and down like an elevator on speed (best to drive), but rewards intrepid mountaineers with…