The great Wellington weekend, summer 2026/27 edition

With a spate of new openings and a revitalised central square, the capital is primed for the summer ahead. Here's how to spend a great 48 hours there.

It’s always a good time to visit Wellington, but summer is when that spectacular harbour setting really comes into its own – and the famously changeable weather is at its most forgiving. This summer, there are yet more reasons to make the trip: a flurry of new openings and long-awaited returns, many clustered around Te Ngākau Civic Square, is giving the capital’s cultural heart a new lease on life. If you’re visiting for a weekend – or just a Wellingtonian planning a staycation – here’s a 48-hour itinerary with a focus on what’s new.

Friday

Evening

Celebrate your arrival with a cocktail at Octo in Aro Street, a record store by day and Japanese-inspired yakitori and cocktail bar by night. Settle in for a drink – The Spinoff’s Jean Teng recommends the seri muka made with rum, pandan and coconut – and perhaps a charcoal-grilled skewer or two.

Then head to Jano Bistro, the intimate French restaurant in a heritage cottage on Willis Street. Granted, Jano is no new kid on the block – it’s been around since 2014 and has been recognised as one of Wellington’s standout dining experiences almost ever since. The difference is that it now has international bonafides too, having earned a star at New Zealand’s inaugural MICHELIN awards earlier this year. 

Saturday

Morning

Have breakfast at Gravel & Grace at the very bottom of Cuba Street, a new cafe from the family behind the much-missed Spruce Goose in Lyall Bay. Then make for the newly reopened City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, where a giant exhibition by British artist Cornelia Parker has taken over the entire building. Parker is known for transforming familiar objects through explosive, destructive and often gloriously unexpected processes. Case in point: Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View, in which the contents of a garden shed, blown up by the British Army at the artist’s request, hang suspended around a light bulb. 

Late morning

Swap modern art for the great outdoors with a bike ride around the harbour. Hire an e-bike from Switched On Bikes on the waterfront and head north along the cycle path on Hutt Road to reach the start of the new Ngā Ūranga ki Pito One section of the Te Ara o Tupua Hororangi pedestrian and bike trail between Wellington and Lower Hutt. The new section, hugging the harbour between the Ngauranga interchange and Petone, features six ūranga, landings that jut out into the harbour – ideal places to stop, rest and take in the view.  

Reward yourself with lunch in Petone. Seashore Cabaret, upstairs in the historic Petone Rowing Club, offers sea views, good food and a riot of retro decor. Another great choice is Comes & Goes, known for excellent cabinet food, Instagram-worthy plating and a menu that goes well beyond the usual brunch suspects (Thai milk-tea waffle anyone?).

Afternoon

Back in town, make time for Game Worlds at Te Papa, opening on December 12. Developed by Melbourne’s ACMI, the exhibition celebrates more than 50 years of videogames, with over 30 titles and 44 playable experiences. We’re promised everything from early computer classics to Minecraft, The Sims and Stardew Valley, alongside original design materials, game prototypes and even a 1990s LAN party. It’s set to be a must-visit, whether you’re a lifelong gamer or simply curious about how these digital worlds are made. 

Stop for a between-exhibition cold bevvy at Contra, the new all-day bistro in the former Leuven premises on Featherston Street, then head back out for round 2: LEGO® Star Wars™: The Exhibition, across the road from Te Papa at Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre. Painstakingly made from over 8 million bricks, the exhibit recreates iconic scenes and characters from across the Star Wars universe and has just extended its season through to February 9.

Evening

For dinner, try Supra, which has just moved from its tiny Dixon St room to spacious new premises on Tory St. Named New Zealand’s best new restaurant at the 2025 Cuisine Good Food Awards, Supra’s menu is both adventurous and accessible, with chef Thom Millot incorporating influences from as far afield as Japan and Spain – and as close to home as Kiwi onion dip, which inspired the “whip” he serves with his famously good sourdough. If you get there early, have a drink at Maru, the restaurant’s in-house bar.

With dinner taken care of, the night is yours. Live music, theatre, comedy, cinema – it’s all here, and if you’re arriving later in summer, the newly reopened Te Whare Whakarauika Wellington Town Hall will be another reason to stay out. Closed since 2013, the heritage venue has undergone extensive strengthening and refurbishment. Its return to the city’s cultural life begins with a reopening-night concert on February 20 featuring Drax Project and Bret McKenzie, followed by a fresh programme of concerts and performances in one of Wellington’s most beloved music venues.

Sunday

Morning

Start with coffee and breakfast at Central Ground, the cafe inside Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, Wellington’s central library. Like the Town Hall, the library had an extended stint out of action – a comparatively meagre seven years – before reopening in March with its familiar architecture reworked as a contemporary civic space. If it’s your first time back, be sure to take a look around after breakfast: with its renewed interiors and views over Te Ngākau Civic Square, it’s no wonder so many Wellingtonians want to hang out here to work or read.

After breakfast, join the Sunday ritual at Harbourside Market. It’s a prime spot for people-watching, with the harbour providing a spectacular backdrop to the stalls selling fresh produce, seafood and baked goods. Then head into town to shop. Moore Wilsons is an essential visit for locally made comestibles, while Wellington Apothecary on Cuba Street has aromatherapy oils, botanical skincare and herbal teas that make excellent gifts.

Afternoon

For lunch, head to Kisa, where the superb Middle Eastern cooking has turned this into one of the city’s favourite places to gather. Start with hummus – theirs comes with zhug, a herbaceous Yemeni hot sauce – and freshly baked flatbread, then order from the mangal grill. If you’re short on time, the $24 lunch-plate special is the way to go.

Finish at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, the extraordinary predator-fenced sanctuary in the hills above the city centre. Even repeat visitors will find something new in the forest, where kākā, kiwi, tūī, takahē and tuatara continue to thrive. Once this landscape was stripped to build the Karori reservoir; now it’s a flourishing wildlife sanctuary – a story of regeneration and reinvention that is being replayed across Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

This content was created in paid partnership with WellingtonNZ. Discover more in Wellington this summer.