Alexia Santamaria

Before diving into the best things to do in Christchurch, a short history lesson. This city was once synonymous with gardens, green parks and a meandering easy pace – but that all changed in February 2011, when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake took the lives of nearly 200 people and destroyed over half the buildings in the city centre. The city is still green and beautiful but a steely resilience, resourcefulness and creativity has emerged in those who chose to stay in Christchurch. While there are still empty spaces where buildings used to be, the rebuild is vibrant – just take a look at the restaurant scene – and there’s a palpable feeling of excitement and adventure as new pockets of creativity continue to pop up. RECOMMENDED:🍴 The best restaurants in Christchurch⛰ The ultimate guide to New Zealand  

When a city has the nickname ‘the City of Sails’, you know you are in for a treat. The best things to do in Auckland celebrate its gorgeous setting on two large harbours, offering countless waterside walks and more view-laden stops than should be possible. Auckland is a city of inner-city beaches, galleries, restaurants and bars, a thriving town with character and personality in spades. New Zealand at its finest? You better believe it. Auckland is a great place to be outdoors or in, ambling along the water’s edge or exploring the fascinating history of the place. Fancy yourself as something of an oenophile? You’re in luck. Auckland is where visitors can go from sea to city to bush and back again in the blink of an eye. Okay, not literally, but you get the point.

Charm is the name of the game in Christchurch. The South Island stunner is as languid as New Zealand gets, a pretty impressive achievement in its own right, and the city’s culinary scene is fast becoming one of the best in the country. The best restaurants in Christchurch tick plenty of boxes, from innovative modern techniques to contemporary Italian and good old fashioned home cooking. There are plenty of tremendous things to do in Christchurch, and satisfying a rabid appetite is very much at the top of that list. Get your fill of sightseeing in the darling city before settling down for a lunch to remember. 

The best things to do in New Zealand are incredibly diverse; the country is often associated with the All Blacks, lamb and Hobbits, but there’s so much more to this South Pacific paradise. Aotearoa (as it’s known in the Māori language) offers strong Māori and Pacific Island culture, glorious natural beauty and endless ways to take your adrenaline levels from 0 to 100 in under 30 seconds. Mother Nature really shows her swagger here with multicoloured geothermal terrain, majestic mountain ranges, gobsmacking glaciers, breathtaking beaches and picturesque lakes of every hue. But don’t think that means a lack of urban fun; despite being the last populated country before Antarctica, New Zealand is no cultural backwater; it has a culinary, art, theatre, wine and craft beer scene to rival much bigger countries. Done something on this list and loved it? Share it with the hashtag #TimeOutDoList and tag @TimeOutEverywhere. Find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things to do all over the world.

The best restaurants in Auckland make up a scene that reminds of an excited twentysomething who has just entered the prime of their life. A huge wave of immigration—primarily from Asia—has blown the culinary scene wide open, meaning $10 Sichuan spicy dumpling joints cosy up next to innovative high-end, ten-course tasting-menu joints. The inner-city neighbourhood of Ponsonby has some real gems if you're looking for things to do to satsisy your inner foodie; there’s a concentration of first-rate restaurants in Britomart and around the base of the Sky Tower and, if you want good authentic Asian food, the enclaves of Dominion Road (largely Chinese) and Sandringham (Indian) can’t be beaten. Start perusing our round-up of fab eateries immediately.