Where to Stay in Napier, Hawke's Bay

What is Napier known for?

A great earthquake flattened the town in 1931, and it was rebuilt whole in the bright Art Deco style of the day, leaving one of the finest deco townscapes in the world along its palm-lined seafront. The wine country of Hawke's Bay spreads behind it. Style and disaster made the city.

What are the main landmarks in Napier?

The Art Deco streets are Napier's glory. Rows of low white buildings from the 1930s, decked with sunbursts and pastel colour, line the centre, the great draw of the city, a block back from the sea. The seafront runs long and green.

Marine Parade stretches beneath its Norfolk pines, and MTG Hawke's Bay, the National Aquarium of New Zealand, and the cricket ground of McLean Park stand along the shore, near the Hawke's Bay Earthquake Memorial.

What is the history of Napier?

Napier grew up as a port on Hawke Bay. British settlers built the town on a hilly peninsula by the sea, and it prospered on the wool and produce of the rich Hawke's Bay plains behind it. Then the earth shook it to ruins.

In 1931 a great earthquake struck the bay, destroying almost every building in the town and killing hundreds, while the seabed rose and drained the lagoon to make new land. The town rebuilt itself in a single bright style. In the years after the quake, Napier rose again in the fashionable Art Deco and Spanish Mission styles of the 1930s, its low white buildings decked with sunbursts and pastel trim.

The whole city shared one look. Because it was raised so quickly and all at once, Napier kept a rare and complete deco townscape, admired the world over. Museums like MTG Hawke's Bay tell the story now.

Napier still shows off its deco streets along the sea.

Where is Napier?

Napier sits on the shore of Hawke Bay. The city spreads along a curve of the east coast of the North Island, where flat reclaimed land and low hills meet the Pacific, backed by the wide plains and vineyards of Hawke's Bay. Blue sea runs along Marine Parade.

The green hills rise behind the town.

What is the climate of Napier?

Napier has a mild, sunny climate. Warm, dry summers and mild winters make it one of the sunniest spots in New Zealand, sheltered from the wet west by the ranges inland. Rain falls lightly through the year.

The bay keeps the seasons gentle and warm.

How do you get to Napier?

Napier lies on the east coast of the North Island. Roads run to the city from Wellington and the north, and a small airport and port serve the bay, while the highways cross the ranges to the west. Buses reach the wine towns around.

Most arrive by road along the coast.