Palmerston North

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manawatu

Manawatū

Highlights

  • New Zealand Rugby Museum
  • Gardens and parks
  • Manawatu Gorge

Proximity

  • by car:

    2 hours from Wellington

  • by plane:

    1 hour 10 mins from Auckland

Packed with rural charm, Manawatū is an ideal place to immerse yourself in the New Zealand culture. Palmerston North is a bustling centre just waiting to be explored.

Manawatū
Whatonga sculpture, Manawatū

Heritage collections, art galleries and urban street art are prominent in Palmerston North, and go hand in hand with the colourful array of cafes and dinning options that will take your taste buds on a tour of the world.

A year-round calendar of events keeps the city alive and humming, from motorsport mayhem, to urban festivals of creativity and music that bring the streets alive with their colour and sounds. Visit the New Zealand Rugby Museum and go on a journey to discover the story behind the sport that shaped New Zealand. See some of the world’s rarest rugby artefacts, and learn about our rugby greats.

An internationally recognized theatre scene provides entertainment for all genres, while the local music scene thrives with a mixture of mainstream and ‘underground’ venues that cater to wide and varied tastes. The city of Palmerston North is bordered by the Tararua and Ruahine mountain ranges, spectacularly divided by the Te Apiti – Manawatu Gorge making a unique landscape that offers mountains to sea, city to countryside, all in the same day.

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