The beating cultural heart of Napier is the smart-looking MTG – a gleaming-white museum-theatre-gallery space by the water. The MTG showcases live performances, film screenings and regularly changing gallery and museum displays (earthquake gallery, Māori heritage, social history), along with touring and local exhibitions. Napier's rather lovely public library (www.napierlibrary.co.nz) is here too (free wi-fi).
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MTG Hawke’s Bay
Napier
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
14.69 MILES
Rising dramatically from the Heretaunga Plains 16km south of Havelock North, Te Mata Peak (399m) is part of the 1-sq-km Te Mata Trust Park. The summit…
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The Daily Telegraph is one of the stars of Napier's art-deco show, with superb zigzags, fountain shapes and a symmetrically patterned facade. If the front…
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National Tobacco Company Building
1.3 MILES
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9.52 MILES
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National Aquarium of New Zealand
0.8 MILES
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11.44 MILES
The city's neat little gallery presents contemporary NZ (including Māori) and international art in a bright, purpose-built space. Expect some wacky stuff…
Nearby Napier attractions
0.03 MILES
Napier's elegant seaside avenue is lined with huge Norfolk Island pines, and dotted with motels and charming timber villas. Along its length are parks,…
0.08 MILES
A bronze statue of the sea-dwelling Pania, whose tale is long and heartbreaking – ask a local to regale you with her story or read the statue's plaque.
0.09 MILES
A 1936 art-deco fountain named after a local gentlemen's outfitter of the day. Best viewed at night when it's flamboyantly lit.
0.11 MILES
The Daily Telegraph is one of the stars of Napier's art-deco show, with superb zigzags, fountain shapes and a symmetrically patterned facade. If the front…
0.18 MILES
An interesting historic curio (1969) along Napier's waterfront promenade with tidy floral arrangements set into the ground below street level. A pretty…
0.37 MILES
On the run from the law? Assuage your guilt with a tour of the grim 1862 Napier Prison (the oldest in NZ) on the hill behind the town. There's a self…
0.41 MILES
Whoa! A massive waterfall right in the middle of Napier! There may be an artificial pump system in play, but we don't mind – it's still an impressive…
0.72 MILES
The convoluted route to the top of Bluff Hill (102m) goes up and down like an elevator on speed (best to drive), but rewards intrepid mountaineers with…