The best of Wellington

You can see why many refer to Wellington as "the Melbourne of New Zealand". It's a city of great bars, great cafés and great fashion. It's also home to the Colossal Squid. This 4.5 metre, 495kg kraken resides in a vat of pickling solution at the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) and promises to puts you off calamari forever.

Shopping

You could easily spend an entire day on Cuba Street, there are so many holes-in-the-wall to discover. For design necessities (Lego USB drives, deer horn coat racks, specimen cabinets, bowler hats) make for Artikel– the jewel of Wakefield Street. (126 Wakefield St, 04 499 7787). And nobody does vintage like Wellington where they comb the world for one-off items of pre-loved value.Ziggurat have amazing cufflinks (full stop sized sand crabs captured in electric blue Perspex, say), original 50s twinsets, furs and heels as well as countless baskets of silk scarves and cocktail jewellery.(144 Cuba St, 04 385 1077) There's also Hunters and Collectors a few doors down – a better collection of menswear including Oxfords, hats and safari suits. (134 Cuba St, 04 384 8948) But these two are the priciest.Missy's Room often has $10 racks of frocks, plus plenty of belts and scarves. (175 Cuba St, 04 802 4434). If you're really driven to snag a bargain, get yourself to Recycled Reloved Repaid – it's a massive store where the racks are absolutely spilling with stuff. (211 Cuba St, 04 916 2020).

Bars

But really, we're here for the bars. And there are bars aplenty in Wellington. So many, in fact, that it's impossible to get to them all in one night. Our picks? The classic, atmospheric Hawthorne Lounge – a proper bar with lots of deeply polished wood, fat seats at the bar and a cavalcade of booze. (82 Tory St, 04 890 3724) Motel Bar does all the classics and has incredibly friendly bar staff. And they're the maker of ‘Man O War' – a navy-strength rum with more than a little kick thanks to the addition of a measure of gun powder in every bottle. (Level 1/4 Forresters Lne, 04 384 9084) Wander down the rabbit hole to Alice - the bar directly behind Boogie Wonderland - the club with an honest-to-god, light-up dance floor, just like Saturday Night Fever. You'll find Alice by the little diving fluorescent bunnies as the signage. (End of Forresters Lne, 04 385 2242) Of course, the crowning glory is the Matterhorn. It's the biggest, the brightest, most pumping venue, with the longest bar in Wellington. Their liquor selection is staggering, and the super-nice bartenders shaking the cans make drinking here a real pleasure. (106 Cuba St, 04 384 3359).

Café

There's an embarrassment of fantastic cafés, but try the likes of Mojo for a big brekkie and a ristretto (1 Willis St) or the very popular Fidels on Cuba Street for pancakes. (234 Cuba St, 04 801 6868) Floriditas is good for dinner, with a classic bistro setting but the one place you need to hotfoot it to, no excuses, is Sweet Mother's Kitchen - a southern/Creole joint where pies of all kinds rule. Oh, and did we mention they also serve po' boys (oyster sandwiches)? (5 Courtenay Pl, 04 385 4444).

Where to Stay

Wellington is abuzz with beautiful hotels but our pic is the Wellington Travelodge smack-bang in the city within easy ambling distance of the harbour and shops. The rooms are spacious and there's a great gym plus they're offering a NZD$129 deal with breakfast and late check-in between April 28-May 26 2010. (2-6 Gilmer Tce, Wellington, 04 499 9911). 

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