Living

Christchurch embraces a lifestyle of dynamic business and education, rich art and culture, exciting cuisines and world-class wines. No matter what you’re looking for, you can find it in this world class city.

Christchurch is bordered by hills and the Pacific Ocean, and is situated on the edge of the Canterbury plains stretching to the Southern Alps. It is centred in an area of tremendous geographical contrast.

Summers are generally mild and sunny with low humidity. Blue skies are the norm all year; the city has an average of over 2,000 hours of annual sunshine. Winter features delicate frosts on brittle mornings and clear, calm days. Autumn often has the longest period of settled weather and, for garden lovers, the city puts on an especially fine show in spring.

Much of the city’s area has been set aside for parks, natural reserves and recreation grounds. It is these, together with Christchurch’s glorious parks and gardens which led it to win an International Garden City Award.

With its great range of attractions and excellent accommodation facilities, Christchurch is host to many conferences and events. Within a few minutes of the city centre are the new conference and event centre at the Airforce Museum, CBS Canterbury Arena and AMI Stadium – all of which provide multi-purposed venues for major sporting and entertainment events.

A huge range of recreation attractions offers a variety of things to do and see – residents can enjoy active or more leisurely pursuits the whole year round.

Sports & recreation

Christchurch is the destination for many sporting events and is fortunate to have a number of international standard facilities… more

Arts & culture

Fine art, music, theatre, dance and film are all celebrated in Christchurch… more

Getting around

Getting around Christchurch is easy, find out… more

Parks & gardens

Check out what to see and do… more

More information

Facts & stats

Find out more about Christchurch’s climate (temperature, rainfall), population, industry… more

Canterbury & South Island

Find out more about the Canterbury region and South Island… more

International relationships

Find out more about Sister Cities and other important international relationships… more