New Zealand’s largest city is a shopping lover’s paradise, offering all the designer labels and large department stores you would expect in an urban metropolis, as well as fine food and wine, quirky local products, and atmospheric markets where you can try traditional food cooked in a Maori hangi (underground oven) and catch bonus cultural performances. Wander through elegant arcades built in the early 1900s in the central business district or CBD, and meander down hidden laneways lined with inviting cafes, bars, and restaurants. Alternatively, head out to the suburbs to score a bargain at one of the large modern malls or peruse cute weatherboard stores in historic villages that celebrate the best unique New Zealand-made wares. The country’s favorable exchange rate makes it even more important to leave some extra room in your luggage for the flight home.

This iconic street is the city’s main commercial hub. It runs for nearly two miles from Queens Wharf on the waterfront to Karangahape Road. Built in the early 1900s and since refurbished, the beautiful Queens Arcade is a must visit. It has gorgeous white marble columns on the ground floor and stores selling clothes, shoes, and jewellery. Devonport Chocolates sells delectable handmade gourmet chocolates from the seaside village of Devonport, on Auckland’s North Shore, with wrapping by local artist Fraser Williams showcasing pukeko and kiwi birds. The ornately-decorated The Strand Arcade that links Queen Street and Elliot Street also has a range of independent and chain stores and a large international food court downstairs. The street is also home to a Smith & Caughey's department store and the fabulous music shop Real Groovy Records, where you can find new and used vinyl, tapes, CDs, books, DVDs, movie and musician posters, T-shirts and other memorabilia.