New Zealand's national museum is hard to miss, taking up a sizeable chunk of the Wellington waterfront. 鈥楾e Papa Tongarewa鈥 loosely translates as 鈥榯reasure box鈥: the riches inside include an amazing collection of M膩ori artefacts and the museum鈥檚 own colourful marae (meeting house); natural history and environment exhibitions; Pacific and NZ history galleries; themed hands-on 鈥榙iscovery centres鈥 for children; and Toi Art, a revitalised home for the National Art Collection. And don't miss the colossal squid!
Introductory and M膩ori Highlights tours (adult/child $20/10) depart from the information desk on level two; book ahead.