Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington

A beautiful place to learn about NZ animals, nature, people and history, with so much care clearly put into every detail. I loved it. A gorgeous position right on the harbour and it was a clear day with beautiful views. And incredibly, its free!! The staff are good kind people, happy to help. I had a nice lunch at the Espresso cafe at a good price. Definitely a great place to spend a few hours, or if you only have limited time there are museum tours for around 45 minutes.

Great place to learn the history and culture. The Gallipoli memorial is too good to miss.

we went during the week in the morning and it wasnt too busy. the Super size ANZAC section was great. I thought it was very informative and respectful. the outdoor section was very interesting and a great walk. There was a staff member who came and gave us some information Maori culture and they were super informative and gave really relivant information. really enjoyed that discussion.

Te Papa will always be one of the places to visit when in Wellington. Its interactive and fun for all ages.

Wow! Wow! Wow! This place is amazing and the best part you can leave a donation, and that I did 👍🥰... visited Te Taiao the Nature exhibition,very educational and hands on! Loved it!! Then visited Gallipoli: The Scale of our war 😳😢 so sad and very airy . Soo enjoyed all exhibitions

Perfect place to learn and kill time while waiting for my wifes thing to finish. Visited Phar Laps skeletal remains. Had a quick convo with a toxicologist who was looking at it while I was taking pictures. She believes Phar Lap died of acute arsenic poisoning (likely intentional). Anyway, left my bags at their lockers. They used to have a manned counter but they now have electronic locker system instead. Good system :)

We love coming here as a family. Lots of stuff to look at - not the easiest to look at everything as your path can always change and you find yourself somewhere different!

Great place to learn all kinds of knowledge about earthquake, volcano, Maori culture, nature and arts etc. Amazing place for both kids and adults. Please allow at least two hours, as there are many things to see and do!

Interesting museum, but need a bit more new staff like pictures, some 3D arts, etc

Actual phenomenal museum. We only saw the 2nd floor nature exhibit but it was totally jam packed with stuff. Free entry with an excellent gift shop is a heck of a business model. I love it. The chairs in the reading areas are the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever sat in except for multi-thousand dollar Lay-Z-Boys. I’m not joking, I took a photo of the chair’s geometry to analyze it’s brilliance later. I know I sound insane but honestly go here. It’s a special place.

Te Papa Tongarewa @te_papa is one of Lonely Planets top 500 places on earth & one of Tripadvisors top 25 museums in the world - for good reason! This container of treasures holds six floors & 36,000 sqm of exhibitions, cafés & gift shops dedicated to NZ culture. Te Papas unique architectural design from Jasmax envisioned contrasting external faces & as a result the building looks different from every angle. One of our favourite places in the city, recommended for adults & kids alike!

Plenty to view and interact with. Friendly and insightful staff members are happy to help and will guide you in the right direction! Cafe and gift stores for visitors in Wellington that have some unique offerings. Often have paid exhibitions that have been worth while. One example was the mummified remains from an Egyptian exhibition over a decade ago. Pompeii exhibition was also very interesting and slightly horrific.

This would have to be the best museum in New Zealand. Great day with your family or even on your own.Very respectful and knowledgeable staff.There are lockers conveniently placed by the entrance with strong security presence.Its been atleast 21 years since I was last down there but it looks incredible!Simple layout and great if you have kids (plenty of activities).

Great set up for young and adult. Displays were well done A+

It is so beautiful museum in Wellington. It gives complete information about New Zealand and it’s war against Ottoman

Great museum, amazing price, having 6 floors to see different things was great, facilities were clean, staff were really friendly and helpful. Keep it up

What a gem of a cafe, right in the heart of the museum.Wait staff were lovely. Our server noticed the table we’d sat at was not clean so raced back for a cloth and carefully cleaned our table.The coffee was perfectly brewed and the ambience of the location and comfort of the chairs could have kept me there all day.Alas Robin Whites simple yet superb art called me on!Will visit again. Maybe I will try a cake next time also!

This came highly recommended as a place to visit. It was free entry and the exhibits were high quality. This was a great way to learn about the Indigenous culture and it was very engaging. The artist exhibit was excellent. The gift shop had lots of quality souvenirs.

We have a 3year old inquisitive little boy who thrived at Te PapaEverything was Oooooo and AaahhhhAdults absolutely loved that time just flew by we spent hours in there without even knowing it.Being a Maori and seeing our Culture and all our crafts/carvings/greenstone on show for all to learn about gives me the feels.Te Papa is for the people

Highlight of our short stop in Wellington. Learned a lot about Māori culture and New Zealand flora and fauna. Gallipoli - The Scale of Our War expo was incredible.

Amazing place. I love the world war exhibition. They made the replica of the soldiers i think double the size. And sadly it’s temporary. So please go and have a look before it’s gone.Apart from that they also present museum that is very interactive and kids friendly. Definitely recommended to bring your kids there. And it’s free!!

The Gallipoli exhibition is so well done! Very informative and touching. You can easily spend 1 hour there and not realising it.

World class Museum with lots of helpful volunteer and staff.Admission is free. Parking is charged.Avoid visiting in public holiday, weekend or school holiday as there will be lots of visitors.

Always an awesome experience.. no matter the exhibit, outside weather or state of mind. Shows the past and encourages you to think about the future and how to get there while leaving our planet intact.Only thing is palm shorter visits over several days if you are someone who is light sensitive as its quite low lighting and I tend to get sore eyeballs there.

The detail put in to every display was amazing and was thoroughly enjoyable. A vast amount of information on New Zealands history and culture and the best part about it is, it is completely free.There is also lockers to store anything you might not want to take with you for as little as $2.I would highly recommend visiting the museum 5/5.

Attended a 2 day conference here. Had a lovely room with a good layout. Food and beverages were on time, delicious and plentiful. The team throughout the museum were knowledgeable helpful and always available. I visited the Robin White exhibition which was wonderful.

Its free to enter, though the parking isnt. Recommend anyone visiting to take public transport. Very educational exhibits, learnt a lot about Maori culture and New Zealand.

its a must.while we were there they had a gallipoli exhibition.it was great, also always good to see a Britten motorbike from a great kiwi

Wow… the Gallipoli exhibit was so incredible and very moving. We were all in awe at the precise detailing of the models on display. It was very well done and was very emotionally touching being able to read the personal stories on the walls throughout the exhibit.The Cafe coffee was superb! And tasty cabinet salad and hot chips !!Gift shop downstairs had very average selection of gifts and was also ridiculously overpriced (I think I saw a tea towel for $30 and a tote bag for $40 .. no thanks😂)We didn’t have time to see anything else in the museum apart from the Gallipoli exhibit but would definitely return again in future to see the rest of the museum ☺️

Took the kids(4-12yrsthere for a trip during the holidays. They were very engaged with all of the exhibits and we ended up staying longer then expected.Lots of changes since we last visited so always new and interesting things to explore. Some sections were closed off with new exhibits being installed, but still plenty there to keep you intrigued.As always the ANZAC exhibit is phenomenal and well worth it!!!

One of NZs best museums that I have had the pleasure to experience. Amazing team of workers doing what they can to help answer queries etc.A happy place where young & old share in history

Beautiful, clean, and lots to see here! Definitely a to-do and a good way to spend time with family or friends. The Gallipoli exhibition is mind blowing, and the nature one is very educational too.

Clean, spacious, up to date projects through out Te Papa. Enjoyed the Destination Mars simulation experience.

Wasnt as good as last time I came 9 years ago but the kids interactive area and outside were nice.The souvenir store prices were ridiculous though I was expecting high prices but not to pay $15 for a fridge magnet which I had actually thought was $3.50 due to poor price display.

It was very good and entertaining to my son. My son loved the spinning ball, everything in the second floor and the colorful room in the 4th floor. He enjoyed the earthquake house too.

Great museum. Good cafes on-site.Definitely worth a visit when youre in Wellington

The Māori name of the museum is Te Papa Tongarewa. Literally translated, the name means something like "container for treasures". The short form Te Papa can be translated as "Our place". In addition to the permanent Māori and Pacific Island culture exhibits, there was an extensive exhibition on the ground floor when we visited, Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War, about the First World War Battle of Gallipoli, which also involved New Zealand. The other exhibitions are also worth seeing.

Spent the day in Wellington it was wet so decided to spend our time at Te Papa arrive about 10 am and didnt finish till nearly 6 in the evening a great day so much to see did the Mars launch which was a entertaining interactive show very enjoyable

Must see!!! Amazing exhibitions and couldnt believe that its free. Really enjoyed getting lost in the museum for almost 3 hours.

Beautiful experience glad we came and had a look this museum is very thought out the people who works there was also very informative and nice very clean and well maintained for a public area all covid protocols are also very well followed even the toilets are clean. love all the exhibition it was an eye opener and just well thought out.

Just totally impressive, the Gallopoli exhibit is humbling. The whole Te Papa space is so professionally put together it makes you proud to be a New Zealander. Weta workshops well done with your larger than life testament to some heroic men an woman.

A haunting memorial that words and pictures cant describe.From the moment I heard about this exhibition a few years ago my sole motivation to visit Wellington was this display and it did not disappoint. The level of detail is inspiring, creative and damn skilful.If you get a chance check this display out, but that is not all that they have. Theres a huge area that is just interactive and looks like so much fun for children. But alas, I did not get a chance to view the whole thing, but I was certainly delighted with what I did see.

My second time coming to this museum and I always enjoy myself. The Gallipoli exhibit is a personal favorite and I get emotional everytime. Located at the end of the waterfront and you can walk to it too its a great time for everyone

One of the best Museums I have ever been too, the War display section was a 10/10. I felt so emotional walking through there, even though I dont know much about the War. I could feel the emotion in the air. HIGHLY recommended.....

Very interesting war museum best for learning about war history and nature . Wellington Museum shares the fascinating stories of the Wellington region. All housed within the beautiful 1892 heritage building designed by leading architect Frederick de Jersey Clere. Enter the nautical world of ships and sailors, explorers and seafarers. Steer ships and haul cargo on board as you enter Jack’s Boathouse. Experience living in a real captain’s cabin and learn more about Pōneke’s best-loved dog, Paddy the Wanderer.

Really great Museum that will take a few hours to go through quickly. The Gallipoli display (The Scale of our Warwas absolutely incredible and I recommend that you go see it.

What an amazing museum - especially the natural history animal displays and WW1 Gallipoli exhibition. Unfortunately we went at a time (Monday morningwhen the exhibition was full of a visiting school, so there was a lot of yelling and talking through the WW1 section. Maybe try go around lunch, in between school visits! The giant squid was also a highlight. Parking cost was reasonable for Wellington, see photo at the end.

Te Papa is quite a magnificent museum and gives a through insight into New Zealand culture and land. Spend a full day taking in the wonderful exhibits and live performances. Great Cafe on-site too.

Fantastic museum, visit every time we are in Wellington. Always something to see with 2 nice cafes when you need a rest. Gallipoli exhibition is amazing, very moving really brings home what it was like.

Great place to visit on a rainy day … free of cost some really amazing artwork… 6 levels to see … surrealism arts gave a bit of headache but theres lots to stare at for hours here easily …. Could easily spend a day here !! Cafe n restaurant decent food and service… if h wish yo have lunch!!