Napier, NZ

The most distinctive restaurant in central Napier, on Tennyson Street, with a menu of Mediterranean small plates and the now-famous syringe-injected doughnuts for dessert. Bistro by day, dinner restaurant by night. The Napier order most visitors talk about afterward.

Chef James Beck's degustation-led dining room on Hastings Street, doing the most ambitious cooking in Hawke's Bay. The five- or seven-course menu changes monthly; the wine list digs deep into local Hawke's Bay producers.

Ahuriri inner-harbour seafood restaurant with the best fish menu in Hawke's Bay, sourcing directly from the local fleet. Casual room, generous portions, and a wine list that knows what to pour with kingfish.

Two-hat Cuisine Good Food bistro in the city's old Art Deco fire station, with French-Italian-leaning seasonal cooking. The room itself is a piece of Napier; the food matches. The grown-up dinner in the centre.

Ahuriri waterfront cafe with the best brunch view in town and a kitchen that delivers. Big windows over the inner harbour, eggs benedict that locals queue for, and a daytime-only menu.

An all-day eatery on Tennyson Street with a gorgeous interior and a brunch-to-dinner menu that delivers. Locals' alternative to Milk & Honey on the rare days they want to stay in town. Coffee program is one of the strongest in town.

A cidery and tap room on Te Awanga Road, ten minutes from Napier, with a small kitchen and the deepest cider list in the country. Locals do long Sunday lunches here. Wood-fired pizzas, big platters, kids run on the lawn.

A small inner-harbour cafe and provision store with one of the best cabinets in Napier and a tight hot menu at lunch. The casual sister to the heavier Ahuriri restaurants; locals' default daytime spot.

Long-running Indian on Hastings Street with the deepest North Indian menu in town and the best tandoor. Family-run, generous portions, and the locals' takeaway choice.

A beachfront fine-diner on Marine Parade in a converted bach, with a tasting menu that leans heavily on the Pacific catch and the local foragers. Small room, big personality. A serious seafood dinner if Hunger Monger is full.

A long-running Italian deli-cafe on Munroe Street with a glassed cabinet of fresh pasta, panini, and the kind of cured meat counter you find in Italian neighbourhoods. The casual lunch room locals use weekly.

A small cafe in a converted Spanish Mission house on Marine Parade, with the city's best espresso and a tight cabinet of cakes and pastries. Coffee snobs' choice in town; tiny room, fast turnover.

Ahuriri waterfront pub and gastropub with the best inner-harbour deck for a casual long lunch. Burgers, fish and chips, mussels by the kilo. The casual answer for a big group.

Short steep walk to the 399m razor-back summit lookout over Hawke's Bay and Cape Kidnappers. Drive most of the way up and walk the last 15 minutes, or do the full 90-minute climb from the lower carpark for the earned version.

Twelve kilometres one way along the beach from Clifton to one of the world's largest mainland gannet colonies, with vertiginous mudstone cliffs on one side and the sea on the other. Five to six hours return; entirely tide-dependent.

Flat 42km cycle and walking trail from Napier along the rivers and coast, with vineyard and brewery stops along the way. The most family-friendly cycle trail in the country and a soft introduction to bike touring. Use the rental e-bikes from Napier Cycle Co.

A 90-minute climb from Marine Parade up through the gardens to the Bluff Hill Lookout, with steps and zigzags. The earned version of the lookout drive; locals' lunchtime workout.

An hour-long loop walk through one of the largest preserved Maori pa sites in the country, on a hillside between Napier and Taradale. Free, signed interpretation panels, panoramic views from the top.

A network of bush and ridge tracks below the summit lookout, ranging from 30 minutes to three hours. The Peak Trail (90 min loop) and the longer Redwoods Loop are the best for a half day in the bush rather than just the road-up summit.

A flat 5km loop around the Ahuriri estuary, the largest wetland in the region, with bird hides and salt-marsh boardwalks. Strong birding, especially at low tide. Quietly excellent, ten minutes from the city centre.

A 14km flat shared path along the Tukituki River, with picnic spots and swimming holes at intervals. Use the Black Bridge or Red Bridge start points for a 90-minute taster section. Pram-friendly.

Daily guided walking tours of Napier's Art Deco quarter run by the Art Deco Trust, the charity that has preserved the architecture for fifty years. The 1.5-hour morning walk is the easy way in; the 2.5-hour version covers more ground.

Free combined museum-theatre-gallery on Marine Parade, with the country's best 1931 earthquake exhibition. Two hours of content. The rainy-day plan and the locals' choice.

Country's largest aquarium on Marine Parade, with a walk-through ocean tunnel, a kiwi house, and a 2pm shark feed daily. Smaller than international equivalents but well-curated; the only place in NZ with tuatara and sharks in the same building.

Tractor-trailer tour from Te Awanga along the beach to the Cape Kidnappers gannet colony, in business since the 1950s. Family-friendly, tide-dependent. The easy version of the colony walk for those who do not want six hours on foot.

Self-guided or guided cycle tours along the Hawke's Bay Trails to a selection of cellar doors. Bike Hawke's Bay, FishBike and Takaro Trails run the rentals and the day plans. The best way to do the wine country without a designated driver.

The winery's annual February concert lawn brings global headliners to a single Hawke's Bay paddock. Past acts include Elton John, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton. The biggest single-night event in the central North Island.

Five-day festival every February with vintage cars, period costume, swing music and street parades all through the Art Deco quarter. The single best week to be in Napier. Accommodation books out a year ahead.

Saturday morning market in the city's old Art Deco bus depot, with the best local produce, baking and coffee carts in the region. The locals' Saturday before the lake or the wine country.

A vineyard above Havelock North known as much for the amphitheatre concert series as the wines. The cellar door is the casual stop; the summer concerts on the lawn are the destination event.

Sunday morning market at the Hastings A&P showgrounds, the original Hawke's Bay farmers market and still the country's most respected. Twenty-minute drive from Napier; worth the Sunday lie-in.

Self-guided audio tour of the 1862 hilltop prison, decommissioned in 1993 and now run as a haunting historic site. About 90 minutes and unusually substantial for a small-city prison tour.

Napier was levelled by the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and rebuilt in a four-year burst, leaving the best Art Deco streetscape outside Miami. Tennyson, Emerson and Hastings streets form a tight grid you can walk in an hour. The single reason most visitors come.

The Norfolk-pine-lined seafront promenade, with the National Aquarium, the Pania of the Reef statue, the Veronica sun bay and a long strip of grass and shingle beach. The town's living room and the orientation point for everything else.

The country's largest aquarium, set into the side of Marine Parade with a walk-through ocean tunnel, a kiwi house and shark feeds. Smaller than international equivalents but well-curated, and the only place in the country with a tuatara display alongside the sharks.

A short drive up the hill behind the port to a viewing platform looking down the wharves and out to the curve of Hawke's Bay. Free, five minutes from town, and the easiest panoramic view in Napier. Sunset is the photo.

New Zealand's oldest winery, established 1851 in a former seminary on a hill above town. Cellar door, restaurant, gardens and a summer concert series that brings international acts to a paddock here every February.

The 399m razor-edge ridge above Havelock North with a vehicle road to a near-summit lookout and a popular paragliding launch. The panoramic view spans Hawke's Bay, Cape Kidnappers, and the inland ranges. Drive up for the easy version, walk one of the many tracks for the earned one.

One of the world's largest mainland gannet colonies, on the cliffs at the southern end of Hawke's Bay. Either the long low-tide beach walk from Clifton or a tractor-trailer tour gets you within metres of the nesting birds. October to March is the window.

The reclaimed inner harbour at the western end of town, with a row of converted warehouses now housing some of the best restaurants and bars in Napier. The neighbourhood locals choose for a long evening; the boardwalk goes around the basin.

A growing outdoor mural collection of over 50 large-scale works painted across central Napier since 2017, part of the international PangeaSeed Sea Walls programme. Free, self-guided, and a slow-build alternative tour to the Art Deco walk.

The combined museum, theatre and gallery on Marine Parade, with permanent galleries on the 1931 earthquake, on Maori taonga, and on the region's settler history. Free entry, two hours of content. The best earthquake story in the country.