NZ Rugby Museum

New Zealand Rugby Museum

For sports fans (and those who wonder how New Zealand became such a power in world rugby), a visit to The New Zealand Rugby Museum is a must. The first museum in the world devoted to the oval ball code is a treasure trove of memorabilia and information. Tie in the visit with a trip to Massey University Sport and Rugby Institute. This architecturally award winning building, shaped like a silver fern, is just amazing. Silver fern carpets, rugby ball door handles, the Peter Bush wall of fame and a life-size haka performing Buck Shelford greeting visitors at the entrance, make this a very special venue for a guided tour.

87 Cuba Street
Palmerston North

Phone: (06) 358 6947

Te Manawa Science Centre

Te Manawa Museum, Gallery & Science Centre

Te Manawa is a regional cultural centre where art, heritage and science themes dominate. Exhibitions explore the past; seek to inform today and pose questions about tomorrow. They include international touring shows as well as homegrown exhibits that celebrate the joys and challenges of provincial life. These are supported by education programmes, special events, performances and workshops.

326 Main Street
Palmerston North

Phone: (06) 355 5000

Victoria Esplanade Gardens

Running 19 hectares along the Manawatu River at Palmerston North's southern entrance, the Esplanade is a striking city gateway offering a wealth of recreation and leisure pursuits.

From the splendour of lofty trees, the lush elegance of ferns, to the glory of abundant blooms in the Dugald Mackenzie Rose Garden, Palmerston North Victoria Esplanade offers year-round delight.

Named to commemorate Queen Victoria's 60th Jubilee, the Palmerston North Esplanade is a walker's paradise offering a variety of settings for exercise or leisure, mingled with playgrounds, a paddling pool, a miniature railway, beautiful garden beds and magnificent trees.

Victoria Esplanade is home to a profusion of flora. This five hectares of native bush is home to rare and endangered plant species and to a wealth of animals and birds, including bellbirds, falcons, grey warblers, morepork, shining cuckoos, tui and wood pigeons.

Flower beds provide year round colour. Annual beds are replenished twice yearly and extensive plantings of perennials and bulbs throughout the more established gardens provide seasonal interest. The Dugald MacKenzie Rose Garden is home to over 5000 plants and 100 rose varieties. Surround yourself with the scent and colour of roses in full bloom voted one of the top five rose gardens in the world.

Manawaroa Street, Fitzherbert Avenue and Park Road
Palmerston North

Cafe Esplanade

Victoria House Cafe Esplanade

Victoria House Cafe Esplanade is set amongst Palmerston North's premier park and located in a lovely, recently refurbished Victorian house.

Open every day for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea or high tea, and you can call in for great coffee, icecream, or a beer or wine anytime.

Victoria House Cafe Esplanade also offers great cuisine and there is a comprehensive wine list with a great selection of New Zealand and imported beers available.

The perfect venue for weddings or special occasions as the Victoria Esplanade features hundreds of mature trees, rose gardens, all year round flower beds, indoor gardens and manicured lawns, creating the perfect backdrop for photos.

As night falls Victoria House Cafe Esplanade comes alive. The surrounding gardens are lit up creating a truly romantic setting.

Open 7 days: Monday to Sunday from 9.30am to 4.00pm daily.

The Esplanade
Palmerston North

Phone: (06) 357 7880

Indoor Go-Karts

Daytona Indoor Raceway

It is the dream of many children to become racing drivers. New Zealand appears to be the breading ground for motor racing Icons such as Scott Dixon (three times Indy car champ), Greg Murphy (Winner of Bathurst) and Chris Pither of Palmerston North is the world’s youngest motor racing driver. All of these started out as kiwi children racing Go-Karts.

23 Bennett Street
Palmerston North
New Zealand

Phone: (06) 353 5082

Palmerston North City Library

Palmerston North City Library

The Library provides a range of service points, from the award winning Central Library, four Community Libraries, a Mobile Library and a website.

Community Cyberspace is the public access IT centre of the Library, providing access to computer technologies for recreational, educational and research purposes. The Library’s collections, as well as a range of external databases, are available via remote access.

The Library's core purpose is to inspire people to explore the pathways to the world.

Central Library
4 The Square
Palmerston North

Phone: (06) 351 4100

Regent Theatre

The Regent on Broadway

When the Regent Theatre opened on 4 July 1930 it was described as "The Theatre Beautiful". Built in 1930 Palmerston North's Regent Theatre is one of the few remaining intact examples of a chain of Regent theatres built in New Zealand and Australia.

The three-storey concrete facade is a good example of the early art deco style with its symmetry, vertical fins, shallow stylised relief, stepped skyline and chevron ornament. In contrast to its exterior, the elaborate interior took its inspiration from the "picture palace" era of the 1920's and 1930's and displays a mix of styles from Baroque to Persian to Neoclassical.

Features of the interior include the vaulted marble staircase, the kowhaiwhai design on the mezzanine ceiling, and the large fresco in the auditorium.

Now beautifully restored to its former glory and technically modernised, The Regent is certainly worth a visit.

The Regent on Broadway
63 Broadway Ave,
Palmerston North,
New Zealand.

Phone: (06) 350 2100