New Regent Street

New Regent Street was built in 1932 as a single planned development - forty shops in matching Spanish Mission style, painted in pastels, on a short pedestrian block - and it was the first shopping street in New Zealand designed as a coherent whole rather than accumulated building by building. It is registered as a historic place. The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes damaged it badly and it was closed for years while every building was strengthened and repaired; it reopened progressively and is now one of the more complete pieces of pre-earthquake Christchurch still standing. The heritage tram runs through it on the city loop. The shops are cafes, bars, small retailers and a couple of long-running institutions. It is one short block, so it is a twenty-minute walk rather than an afternoon, and it works best combined with the tram loop and the surrounding rebuilt centre.

What you actually see

• The 1932 row - forty matching Spanish Mission shopfronts in pastel.
• The tram - running down the middle on the city loop.
• The earthquake repair - every building strengthened and reopened.
• The cafes and bars - what the block is used for now.

When to go

Any time; evenings when the bars are open have the most life. It is one short block - twenty minutes to walk, longer if you stop.

Honest expectations

It is a single short street, not a district. Prices are city-centre. The tram is ticketed separately and runs a loop rather than a service.

Nearby

Cathedral Square and the Transitional Cathedral are minutes away; the Avon and the Botanic Gardens are west.