posted by Traveller on Jan 11

Auckland Discount Tickets : Auckland is a wonderful city and is home to a third of the population of New Zealand. It is a great place to experience city life. There are many interesting places to visit in Auckland. Four of the popular highlights, the Sky Tower, Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery and Viaduct Harbour are described below.

The Sky Tower is Auckland city’s most distinctive landmark. Being a popular tourist attraction, the tower has about one million visitors a year. The Sky Tower is part of Sky City complex, which is a large complex with two casinos, restaurants and a five-star hotel. The Tower, with a height of 328m, has four observation levels: the lower observation level, main observation level, outdoor observation level and sky deck. At these observation levels, visitors can see stunning views of the city of Auckland to about 80km. The entry to the lifts is via an underground gallery. The lower observation level has a café, known as the Sky Lounge cafe. At the Main Observation level, there are free multilingual audio guides, live weather forecasts and touch-screen computers. The sky deck is the country’s highest public viewing area. The Tower’s Sky Jump is a 192m cable controlled base jump. At night, the Sky Tower is even more visible, being lighted up with different coloured lights. With these bright lights, its observation pod looks very much like a flying saucer!

The Auckland Museum was built in 1929 to commemorate the end of World War I. It has a stunning façade that resembles the Greek temples. The Auckland Museum has a wide range of collections, interactive displays and performances. The museum’s collection is housed on three levels. There are displays on the people of New Zealand, both the Maori and European descent, and the Pacific region. Visitors can learn about New Zealand’s history and see a good collection of Maori treasures and Pacific artefacts. The galleries have displays on social histories, ethnology and arts. The museum has interactive activities for kids to create more excitement for them. The museum has a natural history gallery, with about 1.5 million specimens. These specimens are freeze-dried, pickled, stuffed and skewered. The War Memorial, located at the top floor, serves as a museum with displays on New Zealand’s war history, and a site of commemoration. From the exhibits, visitors can learn how the historical war events have forged the country’s identity. The museum also holds Maori’s cultural performances. There is a shop selling books, jewellery and music items.

The Auckland Art Gallery is New Zealand’s largest art institution with a collection of about 12,500 exhibits. It showcases both international and national art pieces. It also holds exhibitions on a regular basis. The Auckland Art Gallery occupies two neighbouring buildings. The Main Gallery has displays on European collection as well as New Zealand art. The New Zealand’s collection includes works from many of the country’s most prominent artists. The New Gallery housed contemporary art pieces and holds exhibitions.

The Auckland Viaduct Harbour, built around late ‘90s, has a combination of shopping plazas, residential apartments, cafes and restaurants. All these were built overlooking the waters which are filled with bobbing boats. The Maritime Museum is located in the Auckland Harbour. The Maritime Trail is a paved walkway around the rim of the harbour’s basin. Along this path, there are historical plaques and beautiful sculptures, highlighting key aspects of Auckland’s sea adventures. Visitors can enjoy a pleasant stroll here. During summer, there are outdoor performances such as singing, playing or acting. Outdoor cinema shows are held here as well.

In Auckland, the Sky Tower, Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery and Viaduct Harbour are truly interesting places to visit. If you plan to go for a tour in Auckland, you should not give these places a miss. These places offer you different activities to do. Indeed, you will have an exciting time with a variety of things to do.