Christchurch

Christchurch has real beaches within the city limits. New Brighton runs as a long, straight strand of grey sand along Pegasus Bay, with a pier and surf lifesaving patrols in summer, while Sumner sits in a sheltered bay below the Port Hills and is the favourite for families and an evening swim. Taylors Mistake, over the hill, draws surfers.

The catch is the water. Even at the height of summer the sea rarely gets much above 17°C, easterly winds can make the shore bleak, and the swimming season is short. Locals swim, but most visitors treat the beaches as a walk and a paddle rather than the point of the trip. The bays of Banks Peninsula, about an hour and a half away, are prettier but no warmer.

Eating in Christchurch is built on the farmland around it: Canterbury lamb, Akaroa salmon, cheeses and stone fruit, with the Waipara Valley pinot noir and riesling country less than an hour north. Breakfast and coffee are taken seriously, as everywhere in New Zealand, and flat whites and cooked brunches are easy to find in every neighbourhood.

The central city has a covered food market by the river, laneway dining around the rebuilt core and a fair spread of Asian kitchens, plus weekend farmers' markets in the suburbs. What it lacks is a distinctive cuisine and real depth at the top end; a few evenings cover it, and prices for sit-down meals are on the high side.

Christchurch was the most English of New Zealand's cities, and the Gothic Revival stone buildings that survive, above all the Arts Centre's quadrangles and the old university clock tower, still show it. The earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 destroyed much of the centre, and that story is now one of the main reasons to look around: the cardboard-tubed Transitional Cathedral, the memorial wall along the Avon and a dedicated earthquake museum explain what happened.

The Christchurch Art Gallery, with its glass facade, holds the best collection of New Zealand art in the South Island, and the city's role as a gateway to Antarctica gives it a polar heritage visitors can explore. Two days is ample for the sights.

Going out centres on a few blocks: the riverside bars along Oxford Terrace, the small lanes of the rebuilt centre and Victoria Street just north of it. There are craft beer pubs, wine bars and a handful of late places that fill with students and locals on Friday and Saturday.

Outside the weekend the city is quiet early, and the club scene is small. It suits a relaxed drink by the river rather than a big night out.

The city sits on flat plains, but it is an outstanding base for getting into the landscape. The Port Hills rise straight from the southern suburbs, with walking and mountain-biking tracks along the crater rim of an old volcano and views over Lyttelton Harbour. Beyond them, Banks Peninsula is a tangle of drowned volcanic bays where you can sail or kayak among rare Hector's dolphins.

Westward, the Southern Alps are within about two hours: Arthur's Pass National Park for serious alpine tramping, and Mt Hutt and the club fields for skiing in winter. Braided rivers, jet-boating and the TranzAlpine rail journey add variety. In town, Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens are among the largest green spaces in any New Zealand city.

The best outing is Akaroa, about an hour and a half away over the hills of Banks Peninsula: a harbour village founded by French settlers, with weatherboard cottages, French street names and a lovely waterfront. Closer to town, the port of Lyttelton is a small hillside settlement with character, reached through a road tunnel in about twenty minutes.

North of the city, the Waipara Valley wine region is under an hour away, and the alpine resort village of Hanmer Springs takes about an hour and a half. Beyond that, the list thins: the South Island's other towns are spread far apart, and most longer journeys from here are about scenery rather than places.

Christchurch is an easy place with children. It is flat, safe and uncrowded, the parks are big, and the central riverside playground is one of the largest in the country, with slides, climbing towers and water play. Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens have room to run, and punting on the Avon or riding the heritage tram suits younger children.

On the city's edges are the bigger draws: Orana Wildlife Park with its open-range animals, Willowbank for kiwi and native birds, the International Antarctic Centre with penguins and a snowstorm room, and the gondola up the Port Hills. There is no theme park or aquarium, and a car makes the outlying attractions much easier.

The central city is compact and completely flat, so walking between the river, the gardens, the Arts Centre and the shops is easy, and a network of separated cycleways and shared e-scooters extends that range. A heritage tram loops through the centre, more a sightseeing ride than transport.

Beyond the core it gets harder. Buses reach the beaches, the airport and the suburbs, but the wildlife parks, the gondola and Banks Peninsula are awkward without a car, and most visitors hire one for at least part of a stay.

Shopping is modest. The rebuilt centre has a compact precinct of chain stores, a covered market by the river and Ballantynes, a department store trading since the 1850s. Suburban malls carry the rest of the high street.

For something to take home, look for merino and possum-wool knitwear, pounamu greenstone carvings and local wine, and the weekend markets are better for crafts than the city's shops. Luxury and design boutiques are few.

Christchurch is one of the gentler places on New Zealand's price scale. Hotel and motel rooms cost less than in the country's big tourist hubs, and the parks, gardens, art gallery and beaches are free.

The rest is not cheap. Restaurant meals, drinks and groceries follow the country's high cost of living, attractions such as the wildlife parks and Antarctic centre charge full admission, and because many visitors need a car, hire and fuel add up quickly.

For a city its size, Christchurch keeps a steady programme. The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra plays in the Town Hall, whose auditorium is admired for its acoustics, and the Court Theatre is one of the country's main professional companies. The Edwardian Isaac Theatre Royal hosts touring musicals, ballet and comedy.

The city's calendar includes a summer buskers' festival and an arts festival, and pubs and small venues carry local bands. There is no opera house or regular jazz scene, and many nights there is little on.

Christchurch has a gentle, unhurried pace, and its main wellness asset is unusual: a complex of hot saltwater pools on the beachfront at New Brighton, where you can soak while watching the surf. Otherwise the city's spa offer is mostly day spas and hotel treatments.

For proper thermal bathing, the alpine village of Hanmer Springs, about an hour and a half north, has a long-established complex of mineral pools set among forest, worth a day in itself. Back in town, slow afternoons in the Botanic Gardens or punting on the Avon complete the restful side of a stay.