Heritage Dunedin City Walking Guided Tour
- 1.5–2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
The stories Gregor researches have rarely been heard before. They are the culmination of years of research and are exclusive to Tales From Darkest Dunedin. Darkest Dunedin has an extensive knowledge of the area and its history so you'll walk away feeling like a local and just as welcome!
Inclusions
What's included
- An in person guide to provide commentary and direction
What's not
- Private Transport
Itinerary
Starting the tour here, learn about the amazing buildings that survive in the center of town. It survives by good luck rather than good planning.
The Dunedin Railway Station is the second most photographed building in the southern hemisphere, second to the Sydney Opera House. We go inside the foyer of the station with its Royal Doulton tiled walls and mosaic floor made with approximately half a million pieces. She's currently under works so covered with scaffolding, however they've kindly printed a picture of the building on the outside!
Passing Toitu we see Josephine, the first locomotive in Otago and hear its story - how it came here, how it was nearly lost to history and how it survived.
At Queens Gardens the tale is told of the first Scottish settlers, how they were welcomed by the Kai Tahu Maori, how they dealt with rain and mud, and why it was all worthwhile.
In the Exchange area we see the winged monkeys of the Cargill memorial and other fanciful shapes carved in stone.
Now Broadway has a medical centre but it was once the site of a large shopping centre where Mr and Mrs Loft had a shoe shop and a scandalous and tragic ending.
Ending the tour here, we can see more interesting buildings surrounding the area and you're welcome to stay at Speights and enjoy a drink in the restaurant and gift shop or we can continue our loop back to the Octagon where we started.
Dunedin's oldest pub
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.6
- 547
- 46
- 31
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- 13
Ratings come from 58 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Outstanding experience in Dunedin
Our tour guide, Gregor was knowledgeable friendly and most informative. He did not hesitate to answer our questions and provided interesting minor details that may not be commonly known. The Heritage Tour is appropriately named as Gregor shared information about the original peoples of the region, the European migration to the area and the significance of the historic buildings in the city centre.
5A Great Walking Tour!
Gregor showed me around and had an amazing about of knowledge about the history of Dunedin. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants a short introductory tour of the history of Central Dunedin.
5Enjoyable and informative.
Lolene our guide was very informative and humourous in her presentation.
5Excellent Dunedin tour company
We spent a thoroughly absorbing 90 mins with Gregor who is so knowledgeable about the history of Dunedin it was astounding what he knew and shared with us. Certainly worth every penny. Highly recommend this company
5Opportunity to connect with Dunedin
An interesting tour of central city Dunedin. A combination of history, tales of years gone by, significant events & a general sense of connection with the city. Lolene provided a relaxed style tour, with genuine insight & interest.
5Informative and Insightful
Wonderful tour! Tailored to our interests. Our guide was very knowledgable, personable, and clearly passionate about the town and its history. Overall, it was a great way to learn about Dunedin and a nice way to spend an afternoon.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Meet your guide under the clock tower of the 1880's municipal chambers building in The Octagon, outside the iSite entrance. They'll be holding a Tales From Darkest Dunedin sign.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 10 travellers
- Operated by
- Tales From Darkest Dunedin
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Dunedin
- Its from-price is 69% below the median of the 95 experiences we list in Dunedin.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 28 of 95.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Dunedin
Dunedin is a Scottish-founded university city on New Zealand's South Island, beside the Otago Peninsula and its albatrosses, penguins and seals.
Dunedin was founded in 1848 by Scottish settlers, and its name is the Gaelic form of Edinburgh. The Octagon, an eight-sided plaza at the centre, is ringed by St Paul's Cathedral and the town hall and holds a statue of Robert Burns. Victorian and Edwardian buildings of dark stone fill the streets, among them the Flemish-style railway station and the Gothic First Church. The University of Otago, the country's oldest, gives the city a student character.
Top-ranked sights in Dunedin: Dunedin Railway Station , Baldwin Street, Larnach Castle.
Special offers in Dunedin
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
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