What to do in Christchurch

LCA 2018 is happening in January in Christchurch (which is a great conference and has a few Rust talks this year). I'm not able to attend, but I am in town, so I hope to meet some of my internet friends (get in touch!).

I thought I'd write down a few things to do in Christchurch for those who are new to the city. Don't get your hopes up for lots of tourist fun though (unless you have time to see some of the surrounding country), it is not the most interesting city, even less so since half of it was flattened in an earthquake. For more ideas, I like the Neat Places website.

Good places to drink coffee

  • C4
  • Coffee Embassy
  • the brunch places below

Good places to drink alcohol

  • The Volsted (near-ish the university)
  • 44 Welles Street

Good places to eat brunch

  • Hello Sunday
  • Unknown Chapter
  • Supreme Supreme (if they re-open in time - they're currently closed for refurbishment)
  • Addington Coffee Co
  • Caffeine Laboratory
  • Black Betty
  • Southside Social

Good places to eat dinner

  • Rangoon Ruby (Burmese)
  • Mumbaiwala (fancy Indian street food)
  • Birkenavala (cheap and delicious Indian)
  • Little High Eatery (hipster food court, lots of options)
  • Mexico (interesting but expensive Mexican food and lots of drinks)
  • Cassels (great pizza and great beer)

Best ice cream

  • Rollickin’ Gelato

Best place to swim

  • Jellie Park - 50m outdoor pool and 2x25m indoor pools. Also a decent gym which you can use without a membership.

Best place to run

  • Hagley Park

Best beach

  • Sumner - it has a good bit of sand plus some surfing and is a nice little beach village

Good places to go nearby

  • Castle Hill (On the way to Arthur's Pass, kind of magical, nature-sculpted boulders to work amongst)
  • Arthur's Pass national park (Mountains and forests, one of NZ's lesser visited NPs, but one of my favourite)
  • Akaroa (cute tourist town (and you can swim with dolphins), drive there the long way via Governor's Bay and enjoy food and views and chocolate at She cafe, as well as a nice drive. If you like cheese, stop at Barrys Bay)

Good things to see and do in town

  • Look at the ruins of the Cathedral and wonder the new city centre.
  • Riccarton House farmers market (Saturday Morning; lots of nice things to eat and drink)
  • Walk in the Port Hills
  • The Buskers Festival (Throughout January, lots of shows)
  • Go to the beach (see above)

Any questions, ping me on twitter - @nick_r_cameron.