Things to see in Auckland

Created in 1845, Auckland Domain is the city's oldest, largest and most attractive park, with semi-formal gardens, a sculpture walk, pathways and ponds, a winter garden with cool and tropical houses, and the Fernz Fernery, with over 100 types of fern. The 81-hectare (202-acre) domain is situated on an extinct volcano, known as pukekawa or ‘hill of bitter memories'.

Within the domain is the Auckland Museum, the city's most visited attraction, combining its Greco-Roman style architecture with a contemporary take on the presentation of the displays. The ground floor is devoted to ‘The Pacific people', the middle to ‘Natural History' and the top to ‘New Zealand’s War Stories', while a small area on the middle floor is given over to the Children's Discovery Centre. The displays include various interactive and audiovisual components. The museum also houses one of New Zealand's most important collection of Maori and South Pacific artefacts and the Maori cultural performances of song, heralded by a conch blast that reverberates through the museum at 1100, 1200 and 1330.

A few minutes from downtown Auckland lies the green oasis of Eden Garden. The 2.25-hectare (5.5-acre) garden on the volcanic slopes of Mount Eden (the highest point in the area and extremely popular with tour buses) was once a quarry. This was until 1965, when a group of dedicated volunteers began to transform it into what is now, a national showcase garden of international status, which has won many awards. It has the largest collection of camellias in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as large numbers of rhododendrons and azaleas. Plants from around the world give year-round colour but it is also a good place for visitors to see a large number of native plants too. The landscaped gardens have some statues and a 13.5m (45ft) waterfall.

In 1840, Auckland only had 1,500 inhabitants. This living museum deals with the dramatic and turbulent events of the next 50 years, when the bulk of the settlers arrived from Britain, Ireland and Australia and Maori were forcibly removed from their land. The 33 period buildings have been set in a landscape of reproduction gardens, streets and even a village pond. Staff dress in period costume and on the third Sunday of each month, there are special displays relating to different aspects of this period in the city's past.

Commonly known as MOTAT, this is the country's largest transport collection. It has a working tramway that links its two sections, the main museum and the Sir Keith Park Memorial Site (free). The latter is the collection of aircraft, including vintage aircraft from the two World Wars and a replica of the Richard Pearse plane - the first successful powered aircraft, long before the Wright brothers. The main museum has displays on all other modes of transport, a reproduction Victorian village and the Science Centre, with interactive exhibits on technology and communications.

New Zealand's tallest building stands 328m (1,076ft) high in the centre of Auckland, dominating the skyline. A lift service takes 40 seconds to whizz visitors to the first observation platforms. From here, the views are breathtaking enough but even more so from the very top level, from where visitors can look out over the harbour as well as the city.

The tower is one part of the Sky City complex - a casino with cafes, bars and a restaurant. Visitors should note that anyone spending a minimum amount dining here receives a free pass to the very top of the tower. It is possible for visitors to climb even higher, to the crows nest or Sky Deck, a further 50m (164ft) up, as part of the Sky Walk experience, which involves walking around the 192m (630ft) exterior halo of the tower without rails but with safety harness.

Alternatively, there is the world's longest tower-based jump, where a harness and attached wire allow for a 25-second, 192m (630ft) arrested freefall, eye-popping descent where you reach speeds of 85kph (53mph). Adrenaline junkies can keep their suits on and repeat the experience or cross the road and do an inverted bungy, called Skyscreamer.