Just last weekend I was invited over to experience the sights and sounds of Wellington, New Zealand – arguably one of the best cities in the land of the long white cloud. One of my very first stops in a (short) long weekend visit was Cuba street, right in the heart of Wellington’s CBD. Known as one of the more bohemian areas of Wellington, it is home to an electric array of shops, cafes, fashion boutiques and bars.
Usually a city’s main street is filled with shops, making it one for the fashionistas and a thoroughfare for the rest of the population. But I was pleasantly surprised to see an array of buskers, bucket fountain and eccentric little vintage shops, art shops and restaurants dotted along.
Our favourite store along the street was Kate Sylvester‘s Wellington boutique on the southern end of Cuba Street. We loved that her street window combined the same dripping pink paint that we saw on the runway at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week this April. Perhaps it was just the glee of seeing Sylvester’s boutiques – there’s something special about seeing a designers vision played out in their own boutiques, rather than limp pieces on clothes hangers in a department store.
It was followed a closely by Iko Iko for their quirky array of knick knacks and Madame Fancy Pants for their pretty jewelry… viewed from the street since they were closed the day I decided to pop by! While it was a shame to be on the outside peering in, it was a perfect excuse to pop by to the hotel and use the bath bomb I had picked up earlier from Lavage – a perfect way to put the feet up after a day of shopping and sight seeing.
Here’s our list of hot cafes, shops and bars to check out on Cuba Street, Wellington:
SHOPS
- Iko Iko, 118 Cuba Mall, Wellington. www.ikoiko.co.nz
- Madame Fancy Pants, 217 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.madamefancypants.com
- Mandatory, 108 Cuba Mall, Wellington. www.mandatory.co.nz
- Kate Sylvester, 32 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.katesylvester.com
- Lavage, 174 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.lavage.co.nz
CAFES
- Floriditas, 161 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.floriditas.co.nz
- Fidel’s, 234 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.fidelscafe.com
- Ernesto, 132 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.ernesto.co.nz
BARS (the legal drinking age in New Zealand is 18)
- Good Luck Bar, 126 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.goodluckbar.com
- Mighty Mighty, Level 1, 104 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.mightymighty.co.nz
- Matterhorn, 106 Cuba Street, Wellington. www.matterhorn.co.nz
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More from the ‘This one time in Wellington’ series:
The Montana World of Wearable Art Show 2009
Yayoi Kusama: The Mirrored Years exhibition
It’s time to do some shopping
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SASSYBELLA.com was flown to Wellington thanks to Positively Wellington Tourism by Air New Zealand and stayed as a guest of the Bolton Hotel.
