Auckland Overview

A visit to Auckland (pop. 1.2 million), New Zealand’s largest and most cosmopolitan city, grants travelers a glimpse into an adolescent metropolis grappling with maturity. Multiculturalism continually plants its seeds, as the world’s largest Polynesian population interacts with the products of 150 years of European settlement, and the recent arrival of large Asian communities. With the advent of widescale tourism and immigration—not to mention the fleeting 2000 America’s Cup growth spurt—urban planners have not quite discovered the most effective way to allow the city to flourish.

Auckland is home to several distinctive neighborhoods. Central Auckland’s downtown thrives on the energy of the corporate future. Parnell’s Victorian boutiques and vast estates stand as a self-conscious testament to years of British colonization. Mt. Eden plays host to artists and heavenly culinary delights, while hipster Ponsonby, home to Auckland’s vibrant gay and lesbian community, jolts visitors to life with late-night caffeine fixes. The islands of the Waitemata Harbour, which dazzle with their unique serenity and beauty, are a short ferry ride away. Most visitors use Auckland as a launching pad to visit the rest of the country, but this city is on the rise as a destination in of itself. With droves of tourists and cash flowing in at an increasingly high level, Auckland is already moving out of adolescence and coming of age.