Dunedin
New Zealand'S Most Complete Victorian And Edwardian City, Settled By Scottish Colonists And Still Shaped By Their University And Architecture, With Baldwin Street Measured As The World'S Steepest Residential Street And The Otago Peninsula'S Albatross Colony And Little Blue Penguins A Short Drive From The City Centre · Dunedin, Otago
Dunedin is New Zealand's most complete Victorian and Edwardian city, built on the profits of the 1860s Otago gold rush and shaped by the Scottish colonists who named it after the Gaelic name for Edinburgh. Bluestone and limestone civic buildings line the city centre, anchored by the Dunedin Railway Station, one of the country's most photographed buildings, and First Church's soaring Gothic spire. The University of Otago, New Zealand's oldest, gives the city a large student population and a lively, slightly scruffy energy that sets it apart from the manicured feel of some heritage towns. Baldwin Street, a short residential street in a northern suburb, is measured as the steepest street in the world, climbing at an extreme gradient locals use for an annual chocolate-ball race and tourists use for a short, out-of-breath photo stop. A short drive out onto the Otago Peninsula reaches a mainland colony of northern royal albatross, along with yellow-eyed and little blue penguins and New Zealand fur seals on quiet beaches close to the city centre itself.
On Otago Harbour in the lower South Island, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Dunedin's streets, the railway station exterior and Baldwin Street are open and viewable at any hour, free of charge. The railway station's interior and the Otago Settlers Museum keep standard museum hours, roughly 10am to 5pm daily. Otago Peninsula wildlife tours to the albatross colony and penguin viewing areas run on fixed daytime and dusk timetables and are weather-dependent, with high wind sometimes closing the albatross viewing platform without much notice. Cafes and the student quarter around the university stay lively well into the evening.