Aotea Square
Aotea Square
3.5
Points of Interest & LandmarksParks
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About
Aotea Centre is home to two theatres, function rooms, Auckland's largest inner city outdoor space Aotea Square and BOX Cafe & Bar on the terrace. Inside the foyers you can find a large collection of New Zealand artworks.
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3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles157 reviews
Excellent
31
Very good
62
Average
49
Poor
11
Terrible
4

JnVSydney
Greater Sydney, Australia18,466 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
Located near the waterfront is this lovely pedestrianised area, the lees vehicle's the better in our opinion, nice to walk around enjoying the vibe of the city.
Written 10 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Oldjack
Greater Melbourne, Australia27,929 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
This square ,at the side of the Town Hall really had little atmosphere or character apart for the small statue of Sir Dove-Myer Robinson. It could be so much better in the center oif town.
Written 4 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Janjust16
Budapest, Hungary904 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019 • Couples
Food all around. Clear Ice globe 🌏 to just hang out, ice rink, projector in the middle of the well maintained park- awesome sauce!
Written 12 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

CNWgtnNZ
Wellington, New Zealand1,142 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Family
Lovely square of greenery in the middle of the city. Sunny day. There is the Aotea Centre, a top dessert bar and a couple of other eateries. Scattered seating around. Be a nice place to sit if you worked in the CBD.
Written 12 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter M
Melbourne, Australia1,301 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019 • Solo
Aotea Square is a large paved public area mnext to Queen Street. It was opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson and was renovated in 2010. It is used for open air concerts,gatheries,markets and rallies
Written 6 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

on_the_go_98765
Tucson18,350 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Couples
This square is Auckland's center for political discourse, protest rallies and various
demonstrations, as well as being the primo location for concerts and markets and parades. Maybe its close-cousins would be Athens' Parliament Square (where we have been during demonstrations) or even Washington D.C.'s Great Mall or Istanbul's Taksim Square (yup, been there during a demonstration too). Every major city surely has a place where people congregate for a number of reasons to raise their collective voices. This is Auckland's center.

Nothing volatile going on while we visited one brief weekend in February. And we are totally fine with that. We observed families watching carefully as their little tots took to their kiddie-wheels, hotties strutted their stuff, tourists grabbed on to anything that looked to make a good photo op and raised their hands in those ridiculous peace sign /victory poses (??? what is up with that anyway???), and the square was bouncing to life. Time for us to grab our grub and giddy-up back to the hotel.

The center of the square features an absolutely beautiful and intricate arch, Maori style. The arch motif is a common element in Maori culture. This particular piece was crafted by a Maori artist/sculptor and features fishes, birds, the moon, stars, small Maori vessels (everything filled with Maori symbolism), and a beautiful (Haiku) poem inscribed in the arch: "stop your snivelling creekbed, come rain, hail, and flood water, laugh again." The "snivelling" part spoke to me: shake it off (or so says Taylor Swift) and get on with life. Or so I heard anyway.

Each of us takes away something different and I feel quite certain that there is an entire college course taught in deciphering the hidden meaning to this haiku and all those delightful undercurrents of "what does this mean anyway?" Maybe I need to take that course. But as the tourists, "we takes them as we finds them" and feel the connection in our souls between this remote ancient culture and our own highly over- commercialized and interconnected selves. Sigh. Enough said.

Around the square is a statue dedicated to a founding father. He looks to be a Sonny Bono look-alike: both so dimunitive in stature but good things come in small packages (proven time and time again). You can't miss the statue, just look for those tourists wrapping themselves around the dude, all holding up those two fingers raised in (what?) triumph or conquest or victory sign ... this just escapes me. I am still mightily confounded. We normally try to stay completely clear of these remonstrations (and these people).

So, the square is front and center in the heart of the CBD and also the location for good eats and lots of fun (go to Sky World for some good entertainment and multi-ethnic eats and maybe bowl a game or two). The square is close to the university and that alone seems like enough to light the fuse of whatever cause is the cause du jour.

We love Auckland for its vibrancy, its multiculturism, its vitality, and its diversity. This (Aotea) square is home base for Auckland's pulse and its heart.
Written 16 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sunshine77UC
Christchurch, New Zealand35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Family
Coffee Culture in Aotea Square - outstanding service and friendly staff. When we last visited Auckland we dined there three days in succession - staff up-sized our coffee on the third visit acknowledging we were regulars - great initiative and really appreciated. Thank you to the team
Written 3 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Access Me
World60 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2018 • Friends
Aotea Square was renovated a few years ago with great success. Mobility impaired patrons can now fully access the space as well as all buildings and parking just off the square. Very buzzy atmosphere and a place in the central city that always feels safe.
Written 12 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review!
Written 14 February 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

ECWorld
Hong Kong, China2,719 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2018 • Couples
Perhaps we went on the wrong day - it was a weekend evening and while there were plenty of restaurants and shops in the area there was nothing going on and we really did not feel there was anything special about this place.
Written 26 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback here! :)
Written 10 February 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Perry B
Sydney, Australia2,690 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2018
The Square was lively and interesting during my recent visit. There was a lot happening on a weekend and it truly seemed like a focal point for Auckland City. The weather was also pleasant and mild.
Written 1 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback here! :)
Written 10 February 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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AOTEA SQUARE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)