Christchurch Attractions

Christchurch is a walker's city compact, level, and varied. Begin your stroll at Cathedral Square, the city's bustling center. Along your route you'll get a close look at distinctive old and new buildings. You can linger along the Avon, sample outstanding parks and gardens, and visit some of the city's stimulating cultural centers.

Cathedral Square. Heart of the city is Cathedral Square, now a tiled pedestrian plaza softened by trees and flowerfilled containers. Shoppers pause to rest on benches, office workers purchase fruit and flowers from pushcart vendors, and noontime entertainers amuse the lunch crowd.

Buildings around the perimeter of the square include not only sleek, high rise office buildings but also elegant older structures the main post office, the Press newspaper building, and several vintage hotels. A statue honors John Robert Godley, called "the founder of Canterbury."

Christchurch Cathedral is the finest Gothic style church in the Dominion and the spiritual center of this essentially Anglican city. Built of stone quarried in the Port Hills, it reflects the courage, vision, and dedication of the early settlers who began construction in 1864, only a few years after they arrived. Inside, memorial tablets and windows record the origins of the town and Canterbury province. If you feel energetic, you can climb the 133 steps up through the bell tower to observation balconies overlooking the city. The cathedral spire towers more than 63 meters/207 feet above the square"

Victoria Square. Two blocks north of the cathedral is Victoria Square, departure point for some sightseeing tours. The Bowker Fountain provides a graceful backdrop for a sturdy statue of Captain Cook, and a replica of Queen Victoria keeps an eye on passing traffic.

Town Hall. A block beyond Victoria Square and bordered by the Avon River is Christchurch's striking glass and marble Town Hall. Opened in 1972, it's the center for civic and cultural activities, performing arts events, and meetings and conferences. Events are presented in the main auditorium or in the smaller 1,000 seat theater.

Provincial Government Buildings. Follow the Avon upstream along Oxford Terrace. Near the river at Armagh and Durham streets, you'll see the stone tower and wooden extensions of the Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings, one of the most intriguing structures in the country. Seat of Canterbury's government from 1859 to 1876, the Provincial Council Chamber is open on weekdays from 9 A.M. to 4 P.m.; guided tours are available on Sunday afternoon at 2 and 3 P.m.

The chamber, on the Durham Street side near the river, was built in 1865 of local stone and native timber. Almost churchlike in appearance, the neo Gothic chamber has a magnificent gilded and painted barrel vaulted ceiling, mosaic wall panels, and stained glass windows. Balcony seats once accommodated the public.

During Canterbury's early years, the chamber was the scene of many lively debates and historic decisions. Provincial architect Benjamin Mountfort designed the complex, as well as many of Canterbury's other historic public buildings.

Along the river.

Rimmed by grassy, tree shaded banks and spanned by graceful stone bridges, the winding Avon provides a tranquil corridor skirting the center of the city Couples stroll the riverside walkways, office workers eat their lunches on the lawn, and children feed the ducks.

For a leaflet describing points of interest along the river, stop at the Information Centre, 75 Worcester Street.

Across Worcester Street is a statue of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the famous Antarctic explorer. At Cashel Street you pass the Bridge of Remembrance, a war memorial. Continuing along Oxford Terrace, you see the distinctive wooden St. Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church, built in 1872.