8:30am Start as you mean to go on – with a top quality coffee. In a surf club building right on the beach, Maranui Café(maranuicafe.co.nz) is a classic of Kiwi café culture with its retro styling and hearty breakfasts. It’s worth the short taxi ride from the city centre for the views and vibe.

11:30am Shop at Moore Wilson’s Fresh (moorewilsons.co.nz), the ultimate foodies’ supermarket, for picnic lunch ingredients. Artisanal bread and New Zealand cheeses are a good start.

11am Ready for another coffee? Head to Cuban-revolution-inspired Fidel’s Café (fidelscafe.com) for a beatnik-y buzz. Look out for their chocolatey Afghan biscuits – a New Zealand home baking treat.

10:00am Back downtown, explore the alternative fashion boutiques and design stores of bohemian Cuba Street. Stop at the colourful Bucket Fountain for a spot of people watching.

12pm Go bush at Te Papa (tepapa.govt.nz), New Zealand’s national museum. Munch on your fresh picnic purchases in Bush City, an outdoor exhibition complete with a limestone cave (free admission).

1:30pm Explore the Museum of Wellington City and Sea (museumswellington.org.nz), voted one of the world’s top 50 museums. Look out for quirky extras and hands-on fun, as well as plenty of Wellington harbourside history (free admission).

1pm Stroll the Wellington waterfront (wellingtonwaterfront.co.nz), which doubles as a public art walk. Wax lyrical as you discover poetry sculpted in stone along the way.

3:30pm Head down Lambton Quay to the Old Bank Arcade (oldbank.co.nz) for a spot of retail therapy inside a magnificent historic building. Check out Andrea Moore, Workshop, Ricochet and Ruby for a taste of New Zealand fashion design. Stop for coffee at Smith the Grocer – you might find some edible souvenirs to take home as well.

2:30pm Eyeball two very different architectural styles at the New Zealand Parliament (parliament.nz) buildings. The intended second wing of the early 20th century Parliament House was never built, instead the descriptively-named Beehive was added in its place in the 1970s. The grand wooden former Parliament buildings, just across the road, are also worth a look.

8pm Get a new perspective on the city by taking a ride on the historic Wellington Cable Car (wellingtoncablecar.co.nz). The short ride is rewarded with panoramic city and harbour views from the top ($7.00 return; departs every 10 minutes until 10pm, 9pm on Sundays).

6:30pm Grab a table if you can at the often packed-out and no-reservation Sweet Mother’s Kitchen(sweetmotherskitchen.co.nz). The menu is New Orleans influenced and the curly fries with Creole mayo are legendary.

5:30pm Treat yourself to a luxury cocktail or two at the book-lined Library Bar (thelibrary.com.nz). The Lower Hutt Lemon Meringue, inspired by a favourite New Zealand dessert, includes vodka, lemon curd and an actual meringue.