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Dunedin, New Zealand

Dunedin is the seat of the Otago region and the second-largest city on the South Island of New Zealand. The city was originally and predominantly settled by Scots, and its name is an anglicized version of Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh.

Dunedin is a university town, a cultural hub, and a city with a strong historic streak. It is a small city with a compact walkable city center surrounded by hilly suburbs. It has easy access to beaches, wildlife attractions and areas of native forest.
Known as the Edinburgh of the South, it has a proud Scots heritage. It has as its heart a statue of the poet Robbie Burns and many of its streets carry the same name as streets in Edinburgh. Due to the gold rush in central Otago, Dunedin was the biggest and most prosperous city in New Zealand from 1865 to 1900, and many of its old buildings and character stem from that period. Because... Read more
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Dunedin, New Zealand

Destination:
Australia & New Zealand

Dunedin is the seat of the Otago region and the second-largest city on the South Island of New Zealand. The city was originally and predominantly settled by Scots, and its name is an anglicized version of Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh.

Dunedin is a university town, a cultural hub, and a city with a strong historic streak. It is a small city with a compact walkable city center surrounded by hilly suburbs. It has easy access to beaches, wildlife attractions and areas of native forest.
Known as the Edinburgh of the South, it has a proud Scots heritage. It has as its heart a statue of the poet Robbie Burns and many of its streets carry the same name as streets in Edinburgh. Due to the gold rush in central Otago, Dunedin was the biggest and most prosperous city in New Zealand from 1865 to 1900, and many of its old buildings and character stem from that period. Because of history and geography, Dunedin is usually considered New Zealand's fourth major center behind Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, despite being seventh in the population ranks.
Dunedin sits in a natural harbor, with the center of the city on a relatively small area of flat land surrounded by suburbs on the steep hillsides. Some of its streets are very steep: Baldwin Street is claimed as being the steepest street in the world, a claim which is celebrated during the annual chocolate festival by rolling more than 40,000 Jaffas down it. (Jaffas are small, round sweets consisting of a soft chocolate center with a hard covering of orange flavored, red-colored confectionery and made at the local Cadbury factory and also exported to Australia).
It does get cold: many of the streets are iced over in winter, and every two or three years the city gets a snowfall.
These days, Dunedin is most well known for its

University of Otago

, the oldest and one of the best universities in New Zealand, and its 'scarfie' student culture. The university is the South Island's second largest employer and by far the biggest contributor to the Dunedin economy. Dunedin is a university town rather than just a town with a university since the student population of around 27,000 is nearly 23% of the 120,000 residents. A consequence of this is that the city is significantly quieter during the university summer holiday period (approx November to February).
Dunedinites (the Dunedin people) are generally friendly, seemingly more friendly than in the bigger cities of NZ (and the bigger cities anywhere else in the world).

Visitor Information

i-SITE Dunedin Visitor Centre, 50 The Octagon, ☎ +64 3 474-3300, e-mail: [email protected]. Daily 08:45-17:00. Open 365 days a year, it provides extensive local and national information as well as a booking service for visitors and residents.


Source:
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/
Dunedin

Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
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Dunedin, New Zealand: Port Information


Small ships dock almost at the city center.
As for larger cruise liners, they dock at Port Chalmers (7 miles from Dunedin). 
Taxis are available at the pier. There is also shuttle bus service (it is about a 20-30 minutes ride to the city center).
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Get around Dunedin, New Zealand


By foot

The city layout is focused on

The Octagon

, an eight-sided 'plaza' with a central carriageway. It hosts a few significant buildings and a couple of bars and cafes, but for all intents and purposes, it is a large bus stop and a roundabout.
The main retail area lies further north up George Street toward Dunedin North, and this could arguably be considered the city center. Here you will find a larger range of shopping, some malls, cafes, etc. To a lesser, there is some retail south along Princes Street and east along Lower Stuart Street from the Octagon. At the end of Lower Stuart Street, 400 meters from the Octagon, lies Anzac Square (actually a triangular area of public gardens) and Dunedin Railway Station and Toitū Otago Settlers Museum. Beyond that are an industrial area and the Otago harbor.
The street blocks in Dunedin are quite long, and walking from the Octagon past the university to the Botanic Gardens can take the best part of an hour. Always remember that Dunedin has a flatter area by the water, and then climbs steeply. So, the shorter route may not be the easiest one if you are going over the hills. Check the contours before setting out.

By bus

The Otago Regional Council's bus service is affordable: ☎ 0800 474 082. All buses are wheelchair friendly, about half are newish modern buses and half are cast-off from other cities. The regional council contracts several bus companies to operate the routes. Most drivers from any company will tell you where to find the right bus if you ask nicely, or you can call the council on 0800 474 082 (also free from cell phones), but only during office hours.

  • The mainline service, Normanby-City-St Clair, (GoBus 8,9, 28,29) runs every 15 minutes and is handy to about a dozen of the City's attractions: St Clair beach, the University, Dunedin Botanic Garden and Baldwin St.
  • Most other routes are every 30-40 min.
  • The Peninsula bus route from the Museum is a good way to see the Peninsula unless you're terrified by oncoming traffic: in places, the full-sized buses are wider than the lanes they travel in. The traffic is generally used to this and travels very cautiously.
  • The Brockville/Halfway Bush bus is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride through the city's near-alpine outskirts, especially fun when snow has fallen.
  • Bus services are reduced on Sundays and New Zealand public holidays; on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, there are no services but the local bus museum operates classic vehicles (not wheelchair friendly) on two main routes.

By bicycle

There is a recycling center down by the north-east end of the docks (in Wickliffe Street) which generally has one or two reasonable-condition bicycles. Carefully add air (there's a service station due west back over the bridge) and oil and you're set to go. You will also need a skid-lid/stack-hat/helmet, which is generally unavailable second-hand for liability reasons.
Dunedin's hills are extremely steep but the town center is reasonably flat. There is an excellent flat ride out along the western shore of the Otago Peninsula to Harington Point, although it's a narrow road shared by lots of tour buses. A cycle track runs along of the industrial eastern shore of the harbor, about halfway to Port Chalmers (busy highway the rest of the way).
If you like a bit of a hill-climb, ride out along North Road to the Organ Pipes, a collection of rapidly-cooled volcanic lava formed into vertical columnar basalt. The walk along a bush track up to the Pipes themselves is very scenic and well attended by small, harmless wildlife. The ride up along the ridge of the Peninsula to

Larnach Castle

is also good high-energy exercise.
If you like pushing a bike up a hill because it's too steep, dive off North Road onto Norwood Street, or cross to the east side of the Peninsula, or head straight up the hill behind The Octagon past the Beverly-Begg Observatory to suburbs with a view like Roslyn.
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What to see in Dunedin, New Zealand


Free sights

  • Dunedin Railway Station. Described as "the outstanding monument of Edwardian architecture in New Zealand," this is the best-known building in Dunedin (apart, perhaps, from Forsyth Barr Stadium). Opened in 1906, it has an atmosphere and character unique to any public building in New Zealand.
  • Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Garden, ☎ +64 3 477-5052, fax: +64 3 474-2727, e-mail: [email protected]. Daily except for 25 Dec. Oct-Mar 10:00–17:00, Apr-Sep 10:00–16:00, open Th until 20:00. First opened in 1908, this newly refurbished museum housed in the stunning, original Edwardian galleries and Dunedin's former art deco New Zealand Railways Road Services bus station next to the railway station, focuses on the people and history of the region. The museum is a short walk from the Octagon and is between the Chinese Garden and the historic Railway Station, in the cultural heritage precinct. Wi-Fi is free throughout the museum and a free bag and coat check is available in the Josephine Foyer. A cafe is available in the entrance foyer. Free.
  • The Octagon. in the city center has an octagonal shape instead of the standard square and features a statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns. This statue was unveiled in 1887 and was recently restored. It was cast by sculptor Sir John Steell of Edinburgh, Scotland, who made four other, nearly identical, statues, one of which stands in Central Park, New York. Several significant buildings are adjacent to the Octagon, including the Public Art Gallery, St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral, the Town Hall and the Regent Theatre.
  • Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 30 the Octagon, ☎ +64 3 474-3240, fax: +64 3 474-3250, e-mail: [email protected]. Daily 10:00–17:00 except 25 Dec. This gallery displays both local and international work in a modern building. Established in 1884, the Gallery was New Zealand’s first Art Gallery and is renowned today for the richness of its historic collection. Historical works by renowned artists such as Turner, Gainsborough, Claude, and Machiavelli feature alongside the only Monet in a New Zealand collection and masterworks by Derain, Tissot, Burne-Jones, and internationally acclaimed Dunedin artist Frances Hodgkins. Free.
  • Otago University. Has some great old buildings to wander about and see; when classes are on it's a good place to sit, people-watch and take it all in, some good food/cafes/bars are nearby too.
  • Otago Museum, 419 Great King Street. was founded in 1868 and has a collection of over two million artifacts and specimens from the fields of natural history and ethnography. There is also a (paid entry) "Discovery World Tropical Forest". This features a variety of flora and fauna from around the globe, as well as many species of butterfly from Asia and South America. There are around 1,000 butterflies flying at any one time, and the Forest also has tarantulas, birds, fish, turtles, and geckos.
  • Forsyth Barr Stadium. A futuristic rugby and soccer stadium, opened in 2011 for the Rugby World Cup, it is fully enclosed with a grass surface — the only such stadium in the world. (The roof is transparent, allowing grass to grow.) Some are already starting to call the stadium the "Greenhouse of Pain" — a play on "House of Pain", the nickname of Carisbrook, the stadium it replaced.
  • Dunedin Botanical Gardens. occupying over 50 hectares (123 acres) in the north end of the city; an excellent place to stroll for several hours. Has an aviary along with many themed garden areas such as Rhododendron, Azalea and Rose Gardens.
  • North Dunedin. not your traditional attraction but a stroll through the student accommodation filled streets around the university can give you a real insight into Dunedin student life. Many of the often run down flats have their own names, and on the right sunny day, the area comes to life as couches are dragged out onto the streets so the students can enjoy the sun and a few beverages. Castle St and Hyde St are two of the most famous flatting streets. The area does often get a bit rowdier in the evenings.
  • First Church, 415 Moray Place. Services Sun 10:00, (12:00 Cook Islands Service, 14:00 Samoan Service) open most other days for viewing - enquire locally. One of the most impressive churches in New Zealand, looking like an English cathedral. Dunedin's primary Presbyterian church, built of Oamaru stone 1868-73 to a Spire is 56m high, making it the tallest building in Dunedin. Free, donations welcome.
  • St. Paul's Cathedral, 228 Stuart St (The Octagon). 10:00-16:00. Anglican cathedral with the main construction being between 1915 and 1919, but this did not finish the original plans, and the building was finish with a modernist chancel built 1969-71.
  • Knox Church, George Street. Services Sun 10:00 and 19:00, viewing on most other days. The largest church in Dunedin, used by a Presbyterian congregation. Built of bluestone and Oamaru stone, with a wooden ceiling between 1872-76 to design by Robert Lawson.
  • St. Joseph's Cathedral, 300 Rattray Street. Catholic Cathedral built 1878-86, but the original design was never completed.

Attractions

  • Cadbury World, 280 Cumberland St, e-mail: [email protected]. Daily tours running every half hour from 09:00-15:30, with hours extended to 19:00 during the summer. Closed 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan and New Year's Holiday. Take a guided tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, a factory that accounts for more than 75% of New Zealand's chocolate production. 
  • Speights Brewery, 200 Rattray St, e-mail: [email protected]. Shop hours: M-Th 09:30-19:00, F-Su 09:30-17:00. Tours daily at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00. Closed Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday, and shortened hours on ANZAC day. Children under 15 require adult supervision. The brewery has been a Dunedin landmark since its founding in 1876. The guided tour takes you through the Speight's brewery, sharing the heritage and culture of beer, from the Babylonians to today. The tour's finale is a 25-minute beer tasting. You must be 18 years old to join in on the tasting.
  • Fortune Theatre, 231 Stuart St. corner of Stuart St and Moray Pl. Housed in a converted stone church, the Fortune Theatre provides professional live performances to the citizens of Otago.
  • Rialto Cinema, Moray Place. Nice movie cinema in a converted old theater.
  • Olveston, 42 Royal Terrace, ☎ +64 3 477-3320. 09:30-16:00. Olveston homestead provided the Theomin family with the perfect setting to entertain both professional and personal friends. Seven servants were employed to service the 35 rooms of the home and to manicure the acre of beautiful garden. The home is sited in the inner city and is within walking distance of the city center.
  • Dunedin Chinese Garden, Corner of Rattray and Cumberland Streets, next to the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (Two minutes walk from the Railway Station and five minutes from the Octagon.), ☎ +64 3 474-3594. Daily 10:00-17:00. A piece of serenity in the city. The Dunedin Chinese Garden is an example of a late Ming, early Ching Dynasty scholar's garden. The only traditional Chinese garden in the Southern Hemisphere. Try some amazing dumplings and Chinese tea. An opportunity not to be missed! 

Out of town

  • Otago Peninsula - much scenic coastline including rugged points and headlands, wildfowl-laden mud flats and beautiful Allans Beach (plus several smaller beaches) on the south/east coast, and picturesque hamlets on the north/west coast (including a pretty and peaceful cemetery on a little spit of land called Dunoon, many boat-houses and a minuscule beach). Seals, sea-lions and other interesting fauna turn up at all of the southern/eastern beaches. Ask nicely, and the locals may even tell you where the good spots are for gathering shellfish, catching blue cod, and viewing the wildlife without having to pay for the privilege.
  • The Royal Albatross colony, at Taiaroa Head, is the only mainland albatross nesting site in the world. It is an hour's drive along the western coast of Otago Peninsula on a road that skirts the water for most of its length without any guardrail. In places, the city buses which frequent the road are wider than the lanes (the local traffic is used to this, and drives very carefully), so if you don't trust your driving reflexes, take a coach instead. Albatrosses may be seen during the summer months, as well as other wildlife at all times of the year. Guided tours of the colony and the old fortifications on and under the headland are conducted daily.
  • Armstrong Disappearing Gun, End of the peninsula near the Albatross colony. All hours. This Armstrong Disappearing Gun was installed in May 1889 and was recommissioned during World War II. It is still in its original gun pit. Coastal fortifications were constructed in New Zealand in two main waves. The first wave occurred around 1885 and was a response to fears of an attack by Russia. The second wave occurred during World War II and was due to fears of invasion by the Japanese. The fortifications were built from British designs adapted to New Zealand conditions. Free.
  • Larnach Castle. Also on the peninsula, billed as "the only castle" in New Zealand, it's very pretty but technically only a manor house. There is another (ruined, but being restored) building in the same predicament called Cargill's Castle in the southern suburbs of Dunedin. Larnach Castle has a rich and interesting but rather unhappy history.
  • Tunnel beach. Closed for lambing 1 Aug – 31 Oct. The story goes that crazy old Cargill had a steep tunnel cut through the stone cliff, so his daughter could go to the beach. Some stories say she later drowned, but it's a lovely beach all the same, and the tunnel is very spooky. You need to walk over farmland to get there, so access is banned during lambing. See the visitor's center in the Octagon for further information.
  • The Organ Pipes - small columnar rock formation set in a hillside with splendid views. Pleasant hike up a steep bush track from a car park about 5 km (3 mi) out of town along North Road. The track continues up from the Organ Pipes to the peak of Mount Cargill (676 m; 2,218 ft) which gives panoramic views across the city, Otago Harbour and Peninsula, and the surrounding countryside.
  • Otakou Marae - a Maori church and meeting-house, which gave the Otago Peninsula its name. Find it on a side-road near Harington Point, at the outer (north-east) end of the Peninsula.
  • Orokonui EcoSanctuary, Blueskin Rd (on the scenic route between Port Chalmers and Waitati), ☎ +64 3 482-1755. Daily 09:30-16:30. Home to some of New Zealand's most fascinating and rare wildlife and providing visitors with exceptional experiences while allowing native flora and fauna to live naturally in a safe haven. A 307 ha enclosure inside an 8.7 km pest proof fence, it provides a chance to see Kaka, Tui, Bellbirds, Tuatara, Kiwi and more in a native setting. Offers daily guided tours and night tours twice a week. The visitor center has free entry, but passengers on identified cruise ship tours are charged for a mandatory tour.
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What to do in Dunedin, New Zealand


  • Baldwin Street. Located in Dunedin's North East Valley suburb. According to the Guinness Book of Recordsб it is the steepest street in the world. Take the ten-minute walk to the top or drive up to enjoy the view looking down! There is a drinking fountain at the top. Some people have tried, and a few have succeeded, cycling all the way up Baldwin Street - try it if you're a keen cyclist. That said, you will need to be careful coming back down - chances are the cycle's brakes will do little to slow a descent at such an incline!
  • Baldwin Street Gutbuster. Take part in a run-up and back on the world's steepest street during the city's summer festival.
  • Swim or surf the beaches. Much more fun if you wear a wetsuit to combat the ocean's chill. Saint Clair beach is the most popular, closest to the city and (along with the adjoining St Kilda) is regularly visited by a wide array of wildlife, such as seals, blue penguins, and sea lions and the very occasional shark. St Clair beach also features an esplanade with cafes/bars/restaurants, together with a salt-water swimming pool at its western end, and a surf school with a wetsuit and board rental which operates in the summer. There are also a number of other less populated local beaches a short drive away from the city, including Aramoana, Long Beach, Warrington Beach, Tunnel Beach, Brighton, and Sandfly Bay. St Calir, St Kilda, Warrington, and Brighton beaches are patrolled by lifeguards on summer weekends and daily at the height of summer.
  • Go to a rugby game. A huge part of Otago culture. From February until August the Highlanders and then the Otago NPC team play games at the roofed Forsyth Barr Stadium. Otherwise, there are local club games that you can watch for free at parks around town on Saturday mornings.
  • Watch a cricket game. Cricket replaces rugby as the national sporting pastime when summer arrives (although the national cricket team, the Black Caps, enjoys considerably less success than the All Blacks). National level cricket games are played at the University Oval throughout the summer, along with the occasional international match, and on a sunny day, it's a great way to spend your time. Otherwise, as with rugby, local club games can be watched around the town at weekends.
  • Taieri Gorge Railway, ☎ +64 3 477-4449. A sightseeing train trip traveling through spectacular scenery. It departs from the historic Dunedin Railway Station in central Dunedin and ends at the small village of Middlemarch. Departing daily it takes you on a journey through the rugged and spectacular Taieri River Gorge, across wrought iron viaducts and through tunnels carved by hand more than 100 years ago. Take your camera and lots of memory. The same company runs trips on the Christchurch line as far as Palmerston, about 2 hours away. These go about twice a week in the summer.
  • Tramping. Dunedin has some of the most easily-accessible tracks of any city in NZ. In less than half an hour you can be in the pristine bush far from the worries of the world. Ask about Green Hut Track, Carey's Creek, Possum Hut, Rosella Ridge, Yellow Ridge, Rocky Ridge, Rongamai, Honeycomb, Powder Creek, Long Ridge, Swampy Ridge, Leith Saddle, Burns, Rustlers, Nichols Creek, Nichols Falls, to name just some of the fabulous tramping tracks around this city. Ask at the Visitor Centre or get "The Ultimate Tramping Guide for around Dunedin" at DoC and cut loose.
  • Moana Pool is a public pool with water slide and spa and is a 5-minute walk up Stuart Street from the Octagon.
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What to eat and drink in Dunedin, New Zealand


Eat

For the freshest local organic produce, including fruit, vegetables, eggs, bread, cheese, check out the Farmer's Market. Held at the railway station Sa 08:00–12:30, it is a Dunedin institution and one of the best places to try local food. It has delicious delicacies such as crepes (including gluten-free), the deservedly famous "bacon buttie" (far corner from the Railway Station, look for the crowd), whitebait fritters, and baking as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. It's rated as one of the best farmers markets in New Zealand.
One Dunedin favorite is the cheese roll - a mixture of grated cheese, onion and soup mix in a toasted rolled slice of bread, a specialty of the southern part of the South Island, available in cafes.
Lower Stuart Street, around the Octagon and the northern part of central George Street (including the side streets), have the majority of Dunedin's restaurants. There are also a few interesting places on Albany Street, which runs across the south of the University of Otago. There is a full range of ethnic cuisine available, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Turkish, Malaysian, Thai, Filipino and Indian.

Budget

Fish and chips are the classic cheap eats. Best Cafe on Lower Stuart Street is often rated as one of the best in town. Being a student town, you can expect to find some very cheap takeaway food near the university campus.
Hot kumara chips are made from a sweet-potato variant and are typically priced at about double the cost of potato chips.

Cones of ice cream sell for reasonable prices at many places, including little delis and general stores at places like MacAndrew Bay.

McDonald's is at 232 George Street, with an internet cafe is attached. A second McDonald's and a variety of fast food outlets can be found in North Dunedin near the end of the one-way going north (Great King Street - "Fatty Alley"), and even more, fast food places are located on the way to South Dunedin on Anderson's Bay Road.

The Friday bakery in Roslyn village is recommended; it is open only on Friday mornings, and hungry, in-the-know locals tend to clear it out of its stock of delicious baked pastries and meat pies rather quickly.
  • Best Cafe, Lower Stuart St, is a well known 'old fashioned' fish and chip shop.
  • Countdown Supermarket, Moray Place (about a 2 min walk from the Octagon) standard supermarket fare, open 24 hours.
  • Circadian Rhythm Vegan Cafe, 72 St Andrew St, ☎ +64 3 474-9994. And they are gluten and dairy free. 
  • Good Oil on George St has premium ALLPRESS espresso coffee, fantastic edibles from the cabinet made fresh daily, and a full à la carte brunch menu available, also on Fridays from 18:00 they host some of Dunedin's top acoustic musical talent with fantastic Central Otago wines and locally brewed ales available.
  • Modaks is a popular cafe on the north of central George St.
  • Pasha Cafe and Bar, 31 St. Andrew St, ☎ +64 3 477 7181. Offers doner kebabs. Popular with locals lunch spot 12:00-14:00, prices are higher for dinner. 
  • Rhubarb, 299 Highgate, Roslyn, ☎ +64 3 477-2555. M–Th 07:00-18:00, F 07:00-19:00, Sa 08:00-18:00, Su 08:30-16:30. Licensed cafe and wine shop with a strong focus on homemade quality baking.
  • Satay Noodle House, Hanover St (Opposite the Hannah's Meridian entrance) has good Cambodian and Thai food at cheap prices.
  • Savoury Japan, 324 George St, ☎ +64 3 479-2079. M-Th 10:30-20:00, F-Su 10:30-20:30. Cheap sushi and Asian dishes.

Mid-range

  • Jizo, 56 Princes St, ☎ +64 3 479-2692. Japanese restaurant. If you want to be impressed, then order one of the Katsu dishes. Deluxe Katsu is good as is the Chicken Katsu. Damn good sushi to boot. 
  • Zucchini Bros, 286 Princes St. (+64 3 477-9373). Fantastic pizza & pasta from the Bros. Lovely staff and the menu is tried and true. Get a no.20 pizza, and the Chicken & Mushroom pasta is hard to beat. Serving Emersons and Green Man beer. These guys deliver also.
  • Etrusco at the Savoy, 8 Moray Pl, ☎ +64 3 477-3737. Great Italian meals. This restaurant has its fair share of longtime returning locals and will definitely satisfy your need for a decent meal without having to stroll too far from the center of town.

Splurge

  • Plato Cafe, 2 Birch St, ☎ +64 3 477-4235. One of the best places for fresh seafood 
  • Bacchus Wine Bar, ☎ +64 3 474-0824. Level 1/12 The Octagon, - Great place for food and wine, pre- or after dinner show. 
  • Scotia, 199 Upper Stuart St, ☎ +64 3 477-7704. Scottish influenced New Zealand food including a whiskey bar 
  • Number 7 Balmac, 7 Balmacewen Rd, ☎ +64 3 464-0064. Maori Hill, - Neighborhood restaurant specializing in Modern NZ Cuisine 
  • Pier 24, 24 Esplanade St, ☎ +64 3 456-0555. Clair, Dunedin 9012, - This classy, semi-formal, glasshouse like restaurant with waterfront views.

Drink

Dunedin is home to some well-known beer breweries, Speights, Emersons and to a lesser extent Green Man. There is also a strong coffee culture with a number of good cafes.

Coffee

  • Strictly Coffee has been on the Dunedin coffee scene for 15 years and roasts its own coffee locally. One of its 3 cafes is on Bath St (off Lower Stuart).
  • Modaks on George street is a long-serving popular Dunedin cafe.
  • Nova in the Octagon next to the art gallery has won best cafe in Dunedin for a number of years.
  • Mazagran Espresso on Moray place also roasts its own coffee and is thought of by many as the best coffee in Dunedin.

Local Beer

Speights was founded in Dunedin in 1876 and is now a national brand associated with Dunedin and the southern region of New Zealand. It is still brewed at the Dunedin location and brewery tours are available. The Speights brewery also makes Speight's Old Dark and the Speights Craft Range of beer.
Emerson's Brewery Limited is a microbrewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand established in 1993. It has won numerous Australian and New Zealand awards and it is well appreciated by locals. Good places to find it on tap include Albar on Lower Stuart street and Tonic on Princess street. Riggers (plastic 1.25 L bottles) of Emersons can also be bought at Castle McAdams on Lower Stuart Street.
Green Man Brewery founded in 2006 specializes in batch-brewed organic beers brewed according to the Bavarian Beer Purity Law of 1516.

Bars

The majority of the bars are located in and around the Octagon and Lower Stuart street, with a few popular student bars in North Dunedin. There is a strip of bars along the east side of the Octagon with tables outside, which all fill up when the weather allows. 

  • Albar, beer bar on Lower Stuart street with a great ambiance and selection of craft beers.
  • Bacchus, nice wine bar and restaurant in the octagon above Macs Brew Bar.
  • Caurosel, the upmarket bar upstairs on Lower Stuart St near the Octagon, with a great deck.
  • Di Lusso, nice lounge bar on Lower Stuart Street.
  • Mou Very, 357 George St. Self-proclaimed as the smallest bar in New Zealand. Measuring up to 1.5 meters wide by 8 meters long, with room for only six bar stools and an oversized coffee roaster.
  • Pequeno, hard to find an upmarket lounge bar, down the alley next to Del Sol on Moray Place.
  • Pop, an underground cocktail bar in the Octagon next to Macs Brew Bar, often with DJ's.
  • Robert Burns Pub, 374 George Street. Nice pub on George street with live jazz on Thursday nights.
  • Speights Ale House, restaurant/bar attached to the brewery.
  • Stuart Street Brew Bar, popular Dunedin representative of a chain of bars on the corner in the Octagon.
  • Tonic, another craft beer bar on Princes St.
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Shopping in Dunedin, New Zealand


Most Dunedin shopping is on George Street north of the Octagon, centered around the Meridian/Golden Centre/Wall Street mall complex. There are also a number of souvenir shops near the octagon.

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Safety in Dunedin, New Zealand


The city is quite safe. Exercise the same caution and common sense that you would in any other western city. The police station is in Great King Street, next to Countdown, the supermarket.
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Language spoken in Dunedin, New Zealand


English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages of New Zealand. English is universal and is officially written with Commonwealth (British) spelling.

LOCAL TIME

11:44 pm
January 18, 2022
Pacific/Auckland

CURRENT WEATHER

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light rain
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heavy intensity rain		 Thu

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light rain		 Fri

15.13 °C/59 °F
light rain		 Sat

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LOCAL CURRENCY

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Dunedin Botanic Garden, New Zealand
Average: 9.4 (10 votes)

The Dunedin Botanic Garden (often incorrectly referred to as the Botanic or Botanical Gardens) is located at the northern end of central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. The garden is close to the University of Otago and one of the city's most historic cemeteries, the Northern Cemetery, on a spur of Signal Hill and on the river plain...
Larnach Castle, Dunedin, New Zealand
Average: 9.9 (10 votes)

Larnach Castle (also referred to as "Larnach's Castle"), is a castle on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki. It is one of a few houses of this scale in New Zealand. The house was built by prominent entrepreneur and politician, William Larnach. The Castle...
Olveston (house), Dunedin, New Zealand
Average: 9.4 (11 votes)

Olveston Historic Home is a substantial house in an inner suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand. Construction and layout Built for David Theomin in the Jacobean style to plans prepared by the London architect Sir Ernest George, (1839-1922) the house was fitted with all the latest conveniences: central heating, an internal telephone system, a service...
Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand
Average: 9.7 (10 votes)

The Toitū Otago Settlers Museum is a regional history museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its brief covers the territory of the old Otago Province, that is, New Zealand from the Waitaki River south, though less emphasis is given to the area which later became the Southland Region. It is New Zealand's oldest and most extensive history museum. It is...
First Church of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Average: 9.3 (10 votes)

First Church is a prominent church in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the heart of the city on Moray Place, 100 metres to the south of the city centre. The church is the city's primary Presbyterian church. The building is regarded as the most impressive of New Zealand's nineteenth-century churches, and is listed by the New...
Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand
Average: 9.6 (10 votes)

The Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions, with over 480,000 visitors each year, and has one of the largest collections in New Zealand. Natural science specimens and...
Orokonui Ecosanctuary, Dunedin, New Zealand
Average: 9.2 (10 votes)

Orokonui Ecosanctuary, called Te Korowai o Mihiwaka in Māori, is an ecological island wildlife reserve being developed by the Otago Natural History Trust in the Orokonui Valley near Waitati, New Zealand, 20 km to the north of central Dunedin. History and planning Formation of the trust The idea of a sanctuary near Dunedin was first discussed...
Dunedin Railway Station, New Zealand
Average: 9.5 (10 votes)

Dunedin Railway Station in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island, designed by George Troup, is the city's fourth station. It earned its architect the nickname of "Gingerbread George". Early rail in Dunedin Dunedin was linked to Christchurch by rail in 1878, with a link south to Invercargill completed the following year, and the first railway...
Signal Hill (New Zealand), New Zealand
Average: 9.1 (10 votes)

Signal Hill is a prominent landform in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located close to, and due north of, the head of the Otago Harbour and reaches an elevation of 393 m (1289 ft). The suburbs Ravensbourne, St. Leonards, and Opoho lie on its southern, eastern, and northwestern flanks, respectively. To the northwest is North East Valley,...
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Latest travel blogs about Dunedin, New Zealand




New Zealand. Dunedin, Living Memory


The road in Dunedin - the New Zealand's gem - went along a quiet beautiful landscape - the blue sea, green grass and grazing sheep and cows all around. Maybe, this life is "gray, dull and tasteless" for someone, but for me it is "quiet, comfortable and safe".  There's a lot of...

Larnach Castle is situated not far from Dunedin. I recommend to visit it. First of all, because it is the only castle throughout New Zealand. In 1967, a young couple from Wellington - Margaret and Barry Barker - came here to spend their honeymoon and found this castle for sale....
This was the end of our walk around  Dunedin - buses and shuttles to Port Chalmers go every ten minutes from  Octagon  and on one of them I came to the ship with the other passengers. Here's "Volendam": And this is a magnificent panorama of the timber on a nearby...
Dunedin  has close historical connections to the Scottish city of Edinburgh. In fact, Dunedin is an old Gaelic name for Edinburgh, and many streets in this New Zealand city have Scottish titles. Some Scottish traditions have also remained here since the first Presbyterians...
We're passing coniferous forests: Travel on the footboard? Why not! We are moving along the valley of the Taieri River. Ahead there is one of the many bridges built at the beginning of the 20th century. We left the bridge behind: We had a 15-minute stop at Hindon station. This...
The Auckland - Sydney cruise can be divided into three parts - intensive New Zealand part (3 ports, one day at sea and one day in the fjords), then a two-day passage to Tasmania, and, finally, the Australian part - two ports, Hobart and Melbourne, separated by days at sea. I...
The  cruise ship Diamond Princess departs from the port of Lyttelton, New Zealand. Below is the well-known Timeball Station: From the upper deck of the  Princess ship you can see the beautiful landscape of the bay: On-board the  Diamond Princess: Similar to...
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