Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa: Introducing Te Papa Tour
4.6
90 Ratings
Wellington

Embark on a small group guided tour of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa and delve into the fascinating history, culture, and wildlife of this premier attraction in Wellington.

Duration: 1 hour
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa - Make your way to Te Papa, located in a distinctive modern building that sits on the waterfront in Wellington’s city center. You can choose from several times throughout the day for the 60-minute guided tour.
    Your guide introduces the museum’s collections of art and design, photography, history, Maori and…
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What's Included
  • General Admission to the museum before and after the tour
  • 60-minute guided tour
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Entry fee to any short term paid exhibitions
Additional Information

Explore the top features of New Zealand’s esteemed museum, Te Papa, with a guided tour serving as a superb starting point to this mandatory destination in Wellington.
Trace back more than a hundred million years with your guide on an expedition through New Zealand’s vivid past and cultural tapestry. Listen to narratives of our versatile fauna, the…

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Location
55 Cable Street
Cable Street
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(90 Ratings)
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1 star
Fpuhan
May 30, 2024
All of Aotearoa's (New Zealand) history under one roof! - Although a small country by some standards, New Zealand has captured and presented its cultural heritage and unique history in a number of museums, the capstone of which is the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (a concatenation of both English and Māori terms; Te Papa, for short) in Wellington, the country's capital. Exhibits cover every aspect of the island country's history, botany, geology, wildlife, and culture. Many of these exhibits are "hands-on," in which one can press a button, smell a flower or spice, watch an animation, listen to natural sounds and can become engaged rather than just spectate. There is even the means to view the earthquake-proofing foundation on which the structure stands. Of particular note is the exhibit called "Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War." That campaign of World War I was New Zealand's entry into global politics, and is commemorated with relics, film clips, dioramas, and impressive sculptures that were created with the aid of the award-winning design and special effects studio, Wētā Workshop. Make sure you don't miss this part! It lasts through April, 2025. There are kids' learning areas, and of course, a café where one can rest their feet and refresh with hot and cold beverages. Best of all, admission is free (charges apply to some short-term exhibitions and activities).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anonymous855
Apr 27, 2024
Excellent docent led tour is a great intro to the wonderful museum & exhibits - All of the gallery docents were knowledgeable and eager to share their information. Lovely coffee cafe on level 4 for afternoon cake & coffee time. Fun "bush" walk outside and some viewing platforms. Gallipoli exhibit was astounding; the craftsmanship by Weta group making the larger than life story tellers...wow. Even the spray painted defacement of the Whatangi treaty was interesting. Good lunch choice in the regular cafe & reasonable cost although limited seating at busy times. Overall, a terrific experience...full day, whew
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Kez280
Apr 12, 2024
Great experience - Visited Te Papa for the first time in ages to see the Dinosaur exhibition. Great experience. Highly recommend getting there early to avoid too many people (during school holidays).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erikt933
Mar 29, 2024
Interactive modern museum. Must see - What a beautiful museum. Free, there are lockers ($6 for 3 hours), a good café downstairs and on the 4th floor. In addition, there is a Dutch brochure. We booked a short tour for $22 pp, but it only started 1.5 hours later and we therefore visited the exhibition about participation in WW1 independently. Wonderfully surprisingly designed with very large images, lots of interaction and entertaining. Also for children. Also visited the nature section: same image: interactive with the highlight experiencing an earthquake. We were the only 2 in the tour and the guide was very enthusiastic and entertaining. She was therefore not strict on time. Seen and learned a lot about the Maori. All in all it took more than 3 hours. You really have to make choices.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
925nigew
Mar 17, 2024
Cruise ship visit - Easy booking experience. Judith our museum tour guide was informative and you could feel her connection to the history of NZ. A tour that takes in many artefacts to give you an overview of the 5 levels that you can keep exploring after your 1 hr guided tour is over.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N5213yplorraineb
Mar 3, 2024
A must-do in Wellington - Amazing museum. Our tour guide was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Definitely left us wanting to stay there all day if we could. The Gallipoli exhibition is a MUST too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cvd485
Feb 1, 2024
Very nice museum - It is a very beautiful museum which has free access. There are some very beautiful reproduced or stuffed specimens. The section on the war with the “giant” but very real looking soldiers was also interesting.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emmanuel811
Aug 3, 2024
Beautiful museum - Near the docks, this museum is free. We learn a lot about New Zealand: fauna, flora, volcanoes, the history of the Maori people. You visit a small local forest. All right.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lonk55
Apr 25, 2024
Incredible variety - Our 90 minute private tour served as a good introduction to the incredible variety of exhibits at the national museum of New Zealand. Our tour guide was personable, but not necessarily personal, as we didn’t get the feeling that anything was tailored particularly towards our interests, as we hoped a private tour might. We stayed afterwards for the Gallipoli exhibit - not to be missed!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sandy_m
Jan 30, 2024
Book Tour with Museum Instead - Museum was great, but meeting instructions were not clear. The only information we were given was to meet at 55 Cable Street, the address of the museum. We waited outside, like we do for most of our Viator tours. Never found the guide. Fortunately, after going into the museum, the staff were helpful and added us to a scheduled museum tour. Advice, just go to the museum and go with the museum tour guides.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
November 2024
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