Get general info about Christchurch in New Zealand, things to do, and places to go, including a map of the city center with street-level detail.

About Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand with a population of approximately 341,469 (in 2013).

Christchurch is located approximately 337 km (209 mi) from Picton on the top of the South Island, approximately 566 km (352 mi) from Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island, and approximately 241 km (150 mi) from Greymouth on the West Coast of the South Island.

How to get to Christchurch

You can get to Christchurch by road, by rail, or by air.

Christchurch has an international airport you can fly to if you live outside of New Zealand, so you do not always have to fly to Auckland and then fly on to Christchurch to be able to get to Christchurch. There are direct flights to Christchurch from for example Australia and Singapore.

Where getting to Christchurch by train is concerned, you can catch a train from Picton to Christchurch or from Greymouth to Christchurch.

And you can either self-drive or catch a bus to Christchurch if you are going by road.

Christchurch attractions and activities

The main attraction of Christchurch used to be its heritage buildings. But because of the devastating earthquakes, most of those buildings are now gone.

Christchurch is currently a city under construction, and you will see and hear this when you visit.

It is expected to look quite modern once all of the building and construction has ended.

There isn’t much you can do for free in Christchurch other than walking and visiting the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and Hagley Park. You could also visit the Canterbury Museum, which accepts donations.

Other (non-free) activities include catching the tram around the city, going up the gondola, or visiting the International Antarctic Centre.

The tram runs in the city center itself, while the gondola is located outside of the city center. You can either catch the Gondola Shuttle or a bus to get to the gondola if you do have have a car. Note that catching the bus is considerably cheaper than catching the shuttle.

The International Antarctic Centre is also located outside of the city center, near the airport, so you can easily visit it if you just got off a flight or if you are staying in a hotel near Christchurch Airport.

Activities you can do in or around Christchurch include walking, swimming and surfing, or using Christchurch as a base for skiing at Mount Hutt.

However, all these activities require you to leave Christchurch’s city center, so it is recommended to rent a car to be able to access locations for such activities.

Christchurch is a very nice place to visit in spring for blossoms, in autumn for fall foliage, and in winter for snow on the hills and mountains not too far from Christchurch.

Christchurch map

Due to a change in Google’s terms, maps have had to be removed from this website. You must now visit the Google Maps website to see the map of Christchurch.