Beehive in Lower Hutt

Its only worth its weight in gold this rate is abitious. But today people because we all stand for freedom the people of aotearoa make this place rate 5+

Government tour was informative, interesting and surprised that it was free. Violetta was our guide and she was genuinely passionate about her job and was tastefully quirky - she knows a lot about our government! Thanks for showing us around! A great addition to our day’s plans.

My family and I took the childrens tour of Parliament Houses, Wellington and had a blast thanks to the tour guide! The guide was informative and entertaining. She deserves a medal🏅👍🏾

Five star rating for the brilliant idea of architecture and design. Makes our capital city (and countryunique amongst others. Beautiful paved walkways for visitors to stroll along and capture great views of the Parliamentary Buildings.

The Beehive is the common name for the Executive Wing of New Zealand Parliament Buildings, located at the corner of Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay, Wellington. It is so-called because its shape is reminiscent of that of a traditional woven form of beehive known as a "skep". It is registered as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand.Construction began in 1969 and was completed in 1981. Since 1979 the building has housed the offices of the prime minister and other ministers. Thus, the name "Beehive" is closely linked with the New Zealand Government. It is often used as a metonym for the New Zealand leadership at large.

We did the free 1 hour tour and it was really great. Janet was our guide and she did an outstanding job and was very interesting to see inside and hear the history of the buildings. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience!

It was so awesome to see the beehive in real life, the architecture was incredible and there is so much history in that building. I am so disappointed I can’t remember our tour guides name because he was incredible. He knew so much about the building and answered every question in great detail. Our tour was at 11am on 16/04/21.

It was so cool to see the Beehive in real life, compared to on tv. There’s a neat slide and you can get tours inside. I definitely recommend.

In a sentence: Democracy with a side of prime rib.While traditionally the Beehive is a shrine to social stability and balanced, if partisan, politics, these days it appears to also offer agricultural produce to the opportunistic motorist.Yesterday, while departing the capitol to visit friends and family in the sunny Hawkes Bay, I found a box full of meat in the middle of Bowen st across from the Beehive. There was about 8kg of beef rib and a couple massive roasts.Everyone went to my mate Olis place and Jimbo came round and cooked them up. They were so good. All our mates were there. Smiles all round.I cant speak to how good parliament is but keep an eye out for stray meat packs. You never know what might have fallen off the back of a truck ; )Fallsy out.

Very friendly and nice service and felt well taken care off. The tour guide knew what she was talking about and had very good knowledge and felt comfortable and happy...

I will recommend this place to anyone visiting Wellington. You will live NZ history through this trip, very well explained by the presenter.

Beautiful, grand architecture. Well maintained grounds. Nice to stroll through.

Awesome tour. Loved it. Must do for your next visit to Wellington

Awesome wee tour. Very friendly and informative guides and gives you as much or as little detail of the building and political going ons as you would like. Ive done the tour twice now with different groups and each time all have enjoyed it.

Great tour. Sounds lame but great to see first hand those images you normally see on the news. The history is also fascinating and the technology in the earthquake proofing of the buildings is incredible.

Really enjoyed seeing where the politics takes place in Wellington. Clean, smoke free and extremely historical. Publuc Parkings available. Highly recommend.

An architectural wonder for New Zealand.Worth taking a look around! 10 stories high, so appears much larger in person than what it seems on photos

Pretty good as far as Seats Of Government go. The playground outside is a wonderful addition and is far better than the tanks and soldiers and fences youll find outside of other countries Parliaments and Executive offices.I continue to be puzzled by how few folks decide to come here. Do they prefer to live in places where government offices have to be armed camps? No accounting for taste I guess.

Architectural beauty.Good park to take break from buzzing CBD.NZ Parliament building.

Lovely outdoor area with trees, seating and a new small playground. Heaps of grass for picnics, studying etc. The buildings are getting rather old on the outside, but inside they are up-kept and tidy. Lovely place to visit if passing through Wellington. Parking costs through.

Lovely spot to take photos of the parliament buildings and surrounding gardens. Free tours through the beehive run every hour. I enjoyed my half an hour tour its great to see the inside of the beehive as well as it being highly informative.

One of the must see places in Wellington. Took the guided tour and it was absolutely fantastic. Free entry and tour and you can learn a bit about the NZ parliamentary system. Parliament next door is attached to this building and will be part of the guided tour.

Pretty cool, but smaller than I anticipated.

Great to visit if you are in Wellington. The building is a nice piece of architecture. A playground for the kids is on the grounds and you can walk around the building. There is also tour that you can avail of but limited slot so best to book ahead of time. The location is convenient and easily accessible by public transport. If you are to use the car and not familiar with the parking, best to search Wellington High Court instead because the public car park of Beehive is opposite the courthouse and not exactly the address. Otherwise you will be taken on the main entrance which is restricted access only.

A landmark at the CBD of Wellington, surrounded by the beautiful park where kids can enjoy and have fun. It’s at least one time visiting place and a lot learning about the New Zealand politics and history. Fun and knowledge together and interesting place for kids too, otherwise they can play on the play ground next to the beehive :)

If you visit New Zealand this is definitely one place you have to visit. If you visit by cruise ship it is easy to walk to. We were lucky because the weather was perfect.

Lovely place you should definitely see, However the lady at security was very rude to me when I asked some innocent questions. You wouldnt get the same treatment at the Australian parliament.

Joined th giude tour about an hour, learning a lot of NZ parliament

Nice place to walk around if youre visting the city for the 1st time

Recommend going here as a tourist as they give free daily tours, visit their website for schedules. If you’re interested in learning a little but of history about NZ politics and seeing inside the beehive why not-for free!

Joined in an hour tour. A guide was funny. Although Im not interested in this place at first, I really enjoyed the awesome tour. Didnt feel an hour is long.

We read in a guide book about the free guided tours of the parliament building so turned up to take part without a need to book. Security is quite tight understandably, so coats, bags etc have to be handed in and no photography is allowed but it is a very interesting trip which includes all 3 buildings and a video intro to begin with. Our guide was very interesting and informative, and answered everyones questions fully. It was perhaps a little bit rushed - it would have been nice to linger and look in more detail at some of the pictures and displays but nevertheless we enjoyed it very much.

Beautiful landmark. Lots of parking available outside on the streets starting from $4 per hour. A tour service of the parliament is also available once you through security and takes approx 60 mins.

Went on a tour here and it was absolutely awesome. Extremely informative. One of the largest highlights of an Awesome trip to Wellington. Would highly recommend.

A great shame that the tours have been stopped due to security concerns. The outside of the iconic building were still interesting and the grounds were pleasant to walk around.

The tour was very nice; the guide was quite patient and generous in sharing her knowledge with the group. Security was tight but non-threatening, which maintains the integrity of the place. Highly recommended.

We signed up for the Parliament tour on last Saturday afternoon. The entire 1 hour tour was amazing that we had the opportunity to visit the various part of the entire area. A must visit if you do visit Wellington.

The tour of the houses of parliament really surprised me. the work on the foundations was impressive and the stained glass in the other room was great. It was free when I did it and we recommend anyone visiting Wellington to give it a go, very close to the railway station as well.

A amazing building to see in person.

The Beehive is an architectural masterpiece that houses parliamentary offices. Next to the Beehive, there are few other parliamentary buildings that can all be covered as part of a tour.

Loved it great venue I attended the Kiwi Bank New Zealander of the year awards

.(01/2018)An architectural beauty in form of a building with awesome structure.Beehive is the first building of three New Zealand Parliament Buildings covered as part of guided Parliament tours.One of the must visit places in Wellington in my opinion.A building with great history behind it.Beautiful view from the outside around all directions.Amazing ambiance and interior with interesting details behind most of them.You have to surrender bags, phones, cameras, any food and electronic devices before exploring the building.There is wheelchair accessible entrance. Security checks are performed at the entrance. Lifts are available for those in need. The route is accessible to the people in wheelchairs.Good for groups, families and kids.Public restrooms are available including ones with wheelchair accessibility.

Visited as a teenager. Walked round the building unaccompanied, even into the debating chamber (parliament was not in session). Visited again as an adult with my daughter. Theyve increased security! This time went on a guided tour. The tour is extremely well done and recommended. Our tour party met one of the MPs in a back corridor and he was happy to stop and answer questions.

Beautiful and iconic building, definitely worth a visit

This is a parliamentary building which holds the sessions and meeting for all the parties for holding different sessions and meeting. It is highly secured place. It is open 7 days and they also have tours of the building when there are no sessions. The tours are completely free and can booked in advance. They also have free super fast WiFi connection open to all. Enjoy that

I have truly been blown away by a tour here. Not by the impressive architecture, nor by the interior, but by our tour guide Diana, the Aunty I never had. You have taken me on the best tour guide ever. Full of life, laughter, humour and knowledge, I cannot imagine being shown around the Beehive by another person. You were the highlight of my Wellington trip. It fills me with joy that when people are shown around the Beehive by you, that they become inspired at what takes place there. Ask for Diana! I will when I come back.

A good tour around the parliament buildings to see where the movers and shakers move and shake. Free

Very informative free tour of a fascinating piece of architecture - all the way from the Beehive through to the beautiful Library. Steep history in all three buildings. I was intrigued by the Maori Chambers tour and the respect they still hold today for their land and their elders. Should you visit Wellington, this is a highly recommended tour - and its free!

Visited as a teenager, got to witness some debating and meet some politicians. Building is of a very unique design, and there is a vast amount of history here. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, think there are also tours available.

Visited here in 2004 and got the tour around the buildings. Loved the way it was open - on the day I went, passed by parliamentarians and there was no fuss.Enjoyed listening to the stories of New Zealand parliamentary history and the relationship of the country to the British crown.