Queen Street & Downtown, Auckland

Queen Street is the main street of Auckland downtown, starting from the harbour and going uphill for more than 3kms.
Some of the most important buildings of the city are located on this street: the ferry building, the Bank of NZ building, Auckland Town Hall, etc. (you'll get a full list of the buildings and their history on any tourist guide).
Queen Street is a nice place for shopping: international fashion brands are close local shops and nice little bars and cafés are the perfect place to rest during your shopping experience.
Shops close very early in NZ, at 5.00pm, but they're open till 8.00pm on Fridays.

Souvenir shops on every block. If you want anything sheepskin/wool and en route to Australia, save your money and buy in Australia. Genuine sheepskin boots in Auckland were around twice the price of Sydney. Wool lined jackets around 2-3 times the prices. If you want something with possum fur, buy it in NZ as they are not culled in nearly the same numbers as in NZ.

hanging out on queen street was very fun; for less than an hour we saw a huge motorbiker parade, and we saw crazy people having fun with non-crazy people; walking around took us to sushi on conveyer belt or the so called "SUshi Factory" (see my restaurant tips).......or as my friend said "we've had the queen street experience""

One will find both local and foreign branded shops on either side of the road.. dotted with small eatires or take aways ... Many shops shut by 5pm so plan accrodingly esp if you coming from else where... Post Jan 15 one can get nice discounts ...

One street back from Queen Street is High Street, it has great shops (more boutique than the ones on Queen Street) and lots of good cafes, bars and clubs. Try Lorne Street for more interesting shops and Vulcan Lane for great drinking spots (the Occidental Tavern especially)

Queen Street is the main thoroughfare of downtown Auckland. It begins at the edge of the harbour at Queen Elisabeth II Square and runs right up (hill) to Karangahape Road. Most of the interest is from where Queen Street starts to level out with all the shopping, galleries and entertainment areas mostly in this area. At the bottom end you will find all the harbour cruises and ferries to outer islands. The transport centre is also at the lower end of the Queen Street.

The first Queen Street wharf was built in 1852. Before that time goods that were imported had to be unloaded into boats and then transported to shore. The old courthouse, gaol, gallow and stocks were on the corner of Victoria and Queens Streets… much of the lower part of Queen street was just clay roads while the top end leading up to Karangahape Road was just a rough track.

The old Customhouse is one of the precious buildings that has been saved from demolition. A French renaissance styled building, it sits at the corner of Customs and Albert Street and opposite the Westfield downtown shopping complex. It was opened in 1889 and for some 80 years it wasy the financial heart of Auckland. Today the building houses shops and restaurants and has been registered as a historic place.

The old Ferry Building which was originally built on reclaimed land in 1912, has been restored and has an award winning seafood restaurant inside lining the balconies.

This is also the landmark to head for when catching ferries to the outer islands or to Devonport or Birkenhead.