Napier

A little background

Long before there was a town called Napier, Te Whanganui-a-Orotū, the great lagoon at Ahuriri, was a rich source of food and a place of deep importance to local hapū. The Ahuriri Estuary that survives, and the Māori names returning to the landscape, are reminders that Napier’s story did not begin with Europeans or with Art Deco.

The modern town was made at 10.47am on 3 February 1931. The Hawke’s Bay earthquake, magnitude 7.8, killed 256 people across the region, 161 of them in Napier, and fire then burned almost eleven blocks of the centre. The ground rose by up to 2.7 metres, draining much of the lagoon: that new land now holds farms, houses and the airport.

Napier rebuilt at speed, in reinforced concrete and in the fashions of the moment: Art Deco above all, with Spanish Mission, Stripped Classical and Māori pattern alongside. By January 1933 it could call itself the newest city on the globe. Because so much went up so quickly, the centre hangs together as few towns anywhere do, and that is the reason to come. Our guide to Art Deco Napier tells the story building by building.

How the place fits together

Central Napier is a narrow, walkable strip between the Pacific and Mataruahou, the headland usually called Bluff Hill. Emerson Street is the pedestrian heart of the Art Deco centre, and Marine Parade runs along the sea just beyond it. Over the hill lie the port and Ahuriri, and across the estuary Westshore and the airport. Taradale, where the oldest wineries are, is about fifteen minutes south-west; Hastings and Havelock North, about twenty-three minutes south, open onto the rest of the wine country.

Places you don’t want to miss

Six things earn their place, and two of them have guides of their own.

Art Deco Napier

A whole town centre rebuilt in two years after 1931, in the style of its moment, with Māori pattern in the ornament. Walk it with an Art Deco Trust guide and look above the verandahs. Read the guide →

Hawke’s Bay wine country

New Zealand’s oldest wine region, and one of the twelve Great Wine Capitals of the world, starts at Taradale on Napier’s edge. Red blends, syrah and chardonnay, tasted at the cellar door. Read the guide →

Hawke’s Bay Museum

Free to enter and open every day, where Tennyson Street meets Marine Parade. Its Shockwave exhibition tells the 1931 earthquake through the people who lived it: see it first and the town means more.

Marine Parade

Napier’s long front room: Norfolk pines, gardens, the Sound Shell and colonnade, the statue of Pania of the Reef and the National Aquarium, with the whole Pacific on the other side.

Ahuriri and the Tobacco building

The old port holds Louis Hay’s National Tobacco Company entrance of 1933, framed in raupō and roses. Walk the quays after it and stay on for dinner by the water.

The trails by bike

Hawke’s Bay Trails runs to more than 200 kilometres of wide, smooth and mostly flat paths. From Napier the Water Ride follows the seafront, harbour and estuary; the Wineries Ride runs out to the cellar doors.

Getting there and around

By air. Hawke’s Bay Airport, which Air New Zealand calls Napier/Hastings, is about ten minutes by road from the centre, with domestic flights to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. From a cruise ship, the port shuttle drops passengers at the i-SITE on Marine Parade, a short walk from everything in the centre.

Planning estimates in normal conditions. The road from Taupō and Rotorua, State Highway 5, is the one most likely to close after bad weather, so check the NZ Transport Agency’s journey planner before you set off.

In town. The Art Deco centre, the museum and Marine Parade are best on foot. Ahuriri is easy by bike, bus or a short taxi ride; you can walk, but the hill and the port roads make it longer than it looks. Regional buses link Napier with Taradale, Hastings and Havelock North.

For the wineries, take a tour, a bike or a driver who is not tasting: our wine country guide compares the four ways to spend the day.

When to go and practical notes

Napier works all year. Summer brings warm, settled days and the most pressure on rooms; spring and autumn are best for walking and cycling, and autumn is harvest in the vineyards. The town is busiest for the Art Deco Festival, next held from 18 to 21 February 2027, when vintage cars and period costume fill the streets: a joy if you want the spectacle, a problem if you hoped for a spontaneous room.

The Napier DiscoverPass. If you have children, or a spare day, the i-SITE sells a pass to five of the town’s attractions: the National Aquarium, Ocean Spa, Bay Skate, the Faraday Museum of Technology and Par2 MiniGolf, with a bonus second visit to your favourite.

As at 28 September 2026 it costs $65 for an adult, $40 for a child and $180 for a family, against $82, $50 and $265 at full price. It is sold as a 2026 pass and collected from the i-SITE at 100 Marine Parade, so if you are travelling in 2027, ask the i-SITE whether it continues.

Two further things. New Zealand’s sun is fierce even when the sea breeze makes a day feel mild, so carry water and sunscreen on long rides. And if the ground ever shakes long or strong on the coast, move inland or to higher ground at once, without waiting for a warning: Civil Defence puts it as Long or Strong, Get Gone.

Where to stay and eat

Sleep in the Art Deco centre on a first visit, especially without a car: you can walk to the museum, the seafront and the start of every Art Deco walk. Choose Havelock North if the wineries are the point of the trip, and Westshore for an early flight. Bluff Hill has the views and the bed and breakfasts, if you do not mind the climb home.

Our guide to where to stay in Napier compares six areas on a map, with what a night costs in each.

Eat in Ahuriri for dinner by the water, and give one day to a long vineyard lunch around Havelock North or Taradale. Our guide to where to eat in Napier covers the quay, the winery restaurants and the farmers’ markets, and shows how to build good food into a single day.

Nearby and day trips

Hawke’s Bay wine country

This is the reason many people give Napier more than a night. Hawke’s Bay has made wine since 1851, and in 2023 it joined Bordeaux, Napa and Porto among the twelve Great Wine Capitals of the world.

Its warmth sits between Burgundy’s and Bordeaux’s; critics set its best syrah, from the stony Gimblett Gravels, beside the Rhône and its chardonnay beside white Burgundy; and more than thirty cellar doors will pour you a tasting. Our guide to Hawke’s Bay wine country covers what to taste, eight cellar doors to start with and how to spend the day.

Hastings, Havelock North and Te Mata Peak

These go together. Hastings is the working centre of the Heretaunga Plains, with its own 1930s buildings and the Sunday farmers’ market; Havelock North is smaller, leafier and well supplied with places to eat. Above it, Te Mata Peak gives the wide view over vineyards, orchards and the bay. The summit road is narrow near the top, so take care.

Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui

The long headland at the south-eastern end of the bay, with pale cliffs and a large mainland gannet colony. It is a fine trip while the birds are nesting, but not one to improvise: the shore route depends on the tide and is affected by rockfall and closures. Check the Department of Conservation’s advice; the i-SITE books guided overland trips to the colony.