Akaroa, NZ

Cafe and wine bar in a 100-year-old villa on Rue Lavaud, with a fresh local-seasonal menu built around Akaroa mussels and a lush garden courtyard. Live music and daytime dining; no dinner service in winter.

Waterfront restaurant on Beach Road with a casual all-day menu and the village's busiest deck. Family-friendly, generous portions, and the right answer for a group.

A French-leaning bistro on Rue Balguerie with bouillabaisse, escargot and the kind of menu that matches the village's French history. The most authentically French dinner.

Counter-style fish-and-chips on Rue Lavaud with the village's best fresh-fish takeaway. Eat them on the waterfront five minutes away.

A sit-down seafood restaurant on Rue Lavaud with a tight chef-driven menu and the village's most reliable seafood dinner. Walk-in friendly midweek.

Thai and Asian-fusion restaurant with a strong seafood list, in the historic Trading Rooms building on the Beach Road waterfront. Open daily for lunch and dinner, dine-in or takeaway.

Modern European waterfront restaurant at The Wharf Akaroa (formerly L'Hotel) on Beach Road, with French Bay views and a strong local-seafood list. Open all day, breakfast through dinner.

The cafe and bar inside Ethel's Cinema on the corner of Rue Jolie and Selwyn Avenue, with wood-fired Italian pizza, baked treats, and vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Casual and family-friendly.

Village bakery with the best croissants in the peninsula and a strong country-pie cabinet. The morning stop before a dolphin tour.

Family-run fish-and-chips and seafood takeaway on the corner of Rue Lavaud and Church Street, serving their own fresh-caught fish plus burgers and grilled-fish sandwiches. Casual and quick.

A small cooking-school cafe on Rue Lavaud with a chef-driven cabinet and a tight brunch menu. The under-the-radar morning room.

A flat 20-minute walk from the village along the waterfront to the 1880 wooden lighthouse, with views back over the harbour. Pram-friendly.

A 90-minute return walk from the village up into the bush behind town to a panoramic harbour lookout. The local Sunday walk.

A 35km multi-day private-land track around the eastern Banks Peninsula, with overnight lodges and water-taxi sections. Two or four days; the country's most distinctive small-scale multi-day walk.

A 90-minute return walk on a small peninsula in the harbour, with native bush and views back to Akaroa. Tide-dependent; the lower access is cut off at high tide.

A network of bush and ridge walks on the southern slopes of Banks Peninsula, ranging from 90 minutes to a full day. The Misty Peaks summit is the destination, with views across the eastern bays.

A 1200ha privately-managed nature reserve on the southeastern Banks Peninsula, with rare native birdlife and a network of bush walks from 30 minutes to a full day. The country's most ambitious private rewilding project.

Network of walking tracks within the Pohatu Penguin colony reserve, ranging from a short coastal walk to a longer ridge walk. The tracks are guided in penguin season but open to walk-ins otherwise.

Two-hour wildlife cruise from Akaroa wharf, focused on Hector's dolphins (the world's smallest and rarest) and Banks Peninsula wildlife. DOC-accredited, family-friendly.

Swim-with-dolphins tour from Akaroa wharf, with Hector's dolphins in the harbour. Small group, wetsuits provided. The signature wildlife immersion.

Saturday morning market on Rue Balguerie with local produce, baking and craft. The village's social hub on a Saturday morning.

Sunset penguin-viewing tour at the country's largest mainland Little Blue Penguin colony, with a 4WD shuttle in over the peninsula. Conservation-funded; booking essential.

The mosaic-and-sculpture garden by artist Josie Martin at a 1903 villa on Rue Balguerie. Two hours minimum, distinctive and slightly surreal. The single most distinctive private garden in the country.

The village's boutique twin-screen cinema (renamed from the Akaroa Cinema) on the corner of Rue Jolie and Selwyn Avenue, showing blockbuster, foreign and arthouse films, with a cafe and bar attached. The local rainy-day plan.

Half-day guided sea-kayak tours from the village wharf, with the chance to see Hector's dolphins and seals from the water. Family-friendly, beginner classes available.

A self-guided heritage walk through the village with markers at the 1840s French-settler buildings and the bilingual streetscape. Free map at the iSite.

Hands-on cooking classes on Beach Road, French-leaning and built around fresh seasonal local produce. The under-the-radar foodie experience.

The drowned volcanic crater that forms the largest body of water on Banks Peninsula, with the French-settler village on the western shore and steep bush hills around all sides. Home to the world's rarest dolphin (Hector's) and the country's signature mainland penguin colony. The village's reason for being.

Founded by French settlers in 1840, Akaroa retains French street names (Rue Lavaud, Rue Jolie), French-leaning bistros and bakeries, and the bicultural feel that explains the tricolor flag flying alongside the New Zealand one. The orientation point.

The 1880 wooden lighthouse on the harbour shore, restored as a heritage site with a small open-air interpretation area. Free, the photo-with-the-flag of every Akaroa visit.

A 1903 villa with an extraordinary mosaic-and-sculpture garden by artist Josie Martin, with shaped hedges, mosaic stairs, and dozens of sculpted figures. A small entry fee gives a full afternoon's worth of wandering. The most distinctive private garden in the country.

The country's largest mainland colony of Little Blue Penguins, on the eastern side of Banks Peninsula. Reached by guided tour or self-drive. Sunset penguin viewing is the experience; conservation-funded.

The Summit Road that loops around the rim of the Banks Peninsula volcanic crater, with viewpoints down into Akaroa, Lyttelton and the bays. A half-day drive with multiple stops. The defining route of the peninsula.

The historic Maori marae 5km south of Akaroa, with the country's first Maori-led signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (May 1840). Open to visitors with respect; the church and the carvings are the photographable elements.

The waterfront wharf at the southern end of the village, the launch point for dolphin and harbour cruises. The orientation point for any water-based day.

A remote sheltered bay 40 minutes drive south, with a small bushwalk to the beach and the chance to see seals and seabirds. The off-the-beaten-track stop for visitors who want to escape Akaroa village.