Top North Island Art Galleries

Step into Peter Jackson's Middle-earth with this guided group tour of the Hobbiton™ Movie Set from 'The Lord of the Rings' film trilogy. Learn more about the movies than you ever would by exploring by yourself with the help of your local guide. And with a shuttle service at your disposal, you enjoy a truly seamless Matamata experience.

Art, craft, and culture-loving travelers will enjoy this guided tour of a New Zealand jade (pounamu) carving studio. Learn about the cultural significance of jade to the local Maori people, and about traditional and contemporary designs. Get the chance to meet jewelry artists and to see them at work. Choose a piece of jade to string and keep as a memento.

Gain entry to the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia on a guided tour of this geothermal hot spot. Take a walking path up to steaming vents, boiling mud pools and erupting Pohutu Geyser at Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley; observe the emblematic kiwi bird; and discover Maori traditions at the cultural center. Upgrade to include a cultural performance of Maori song and dance, including the warlike ‘haka.’ Showtimes are available several times a day during admittance.

Get an authentic introduction to Māori culture the way few tourists do, with an evening at the Mitai Māori Village in Rotorua. See men in traditional dress paddle down the river in a waka (canoe) and be captivated by the displays of weaponry. Watch a haka war dance and poi performance, and spot glowworms in their natural habitat. This evening experience includes round-trip hotel transport and a traditional buffet hangi feast, so you don't have to worry about a thing.

Wētā Workshop Unleashed is an immersive, guided experience at Auckland's SkyCity, created by five-time Academy Award-winning Wētā Workshop. On this interactive tour, you'll go behind the scenes of practical filmmaking and see how props, creatures and special effects are made. The experience takes you through three original film worlds - fantasy, science fiction and horror. Led by entertaining hosts, you'll explore detailed movie sets, get hands-on with practical effects, and come face-to-face with creatures, robots and larger-than-life characters built by the Wētā Workshop crew. Photography and video are welcome throughout, so you can capture and share your visit. Suitable for film fans, families and creative minds, Wētā Workshop Unleashed is a hands-on alternative to a traditional museum and a unique thing to do in Auckland. Your ticket includes a complimentary souvenir video.

Visit the Hobbiton Movie Set on a full-day tour from Auckland that explores New Zealand's "Middle-earth," where "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" films came to life. Travel through a landscape of lush farms, then take a guided tour of the 12-acre (4.8-ha) Hobbiton Movie Set, from hobbit holes to gardens and the Green Dragon Inn. With free time to shop and explore, this tour includes transportation from selected locations in Auckland for your convenience.

Make the most of your time in Auckland with skip-the-line access to the Auckland War Memorial Museum (also known as the Aukland Museum). Housed in a beautiful heritage building, the museum's three floors showcase New Zealand's diverse culture, rich heritage, and its role as a place of remembrance for those who sacrificed their lives in war.

Whangarei is home to the largest collection of painter, ecologist, and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s work outside Vienna. Explore his art and architecture, as well as his dedication to nature on this self-guide or optional guided tour, as well as taking in the Wairau Māori Art Gallery, which features contemporary Māori artists exploring indigenous themes and Aotearoa’s history.