Wellington

New Zealand's capital, a compact and windblown city wrapped tight around a great harbour between the hills and the sea, on the land of Te Āti Awa and the wider iwi of Te Whanganui-a-Tara. The seat of government sits on reclaimed land at the head of the harbour: the modern Beehive and the parliament beside it, the huge timber pile of the old government buildings, and Lambton Quay, the shopping street that still follows the original shoreline before the land was raised. Inland runs Cuba Street, the bohemian heart of the city, all Victorian shopfronts, cafes and a famous dribbling fountain, and above it all a heritage cable car climbs to a botanic garden and a lookout over the roofs to the water. Read the little capital on its harbour at your own pace.