Queen Street, Auckland (must see)

Queen Street in Auckland’s Central Business District (CBD) is the city’s major commercial center where you can find just about anything and shop ‘til you drop. The main thoroughfare begins down at the wharf area near the Ferry Terminal and extends around 3 km up to Karangahape Road. Although the original town planners envisaged Shortland Street as the city’s main street, it was quickly superseded by Queen Street. Queen Street was surveyed and set down in 1841 immediately following settlement. The swampy area had to be heavily gravelled, but buildings began to pop up along the street almost immediately.

Queen Street further cemented its place as the city’s most important street following a fire along Shortland Street in 1858, which wiped out around 50 buildings. One of the earliest remaining examples of buildings from these times is the facade of the Bank of New Zealand building. In the 1880s horse drawn buses began taking passengers along the street and in 1902 it was the first street in New Zealand to have bitumen and electric trams. Recent refurbishments between 2006 and 2008 have revitalized the street and confirmed its place as one of New Zealand’s premier shopping destination.