I love historic homes. The guide was highly knowledgeable and the history and story behind the family who built this home was fascinating. What a house! I highly recommend it - you can enjoy a glass of wine in the gardens afterwards - and a short walk in the protected bush!

It was so badoncoulously coool. It was all Victorian and there were typewriters. I loved all the wood, the storytelling was amazing. The guides were hella friendly. All together it was an amazingly awesome experience. Take this from a 12 year old it is very family friendly.

An informative tour of a Christchurch heritage treasure filled with interesting insights into how people lived 150+ years ago. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and passionate about her subject which added a lot to our experience. We particularly loved going up in to the attic and walking through the bush afterwards. Highly recommended.

The nearby preserved Bush is a relic of the original vegetation, well worth a (free!) visit. Almost like being in a jungle! The house itself is only available to visit on a ($16 NZ, seniors) tour, but well worth it. Our guide was 85 years old, knew the house very well, and wore a Victorian-era frock coat. He was full of humorous stories, and got up and down stairs better than we did! There are lots of things to see, including a life-size statue made entirely from one block of wood There is also a good cafe there, serving lots of cakes. You can spend a relaxing and instructive afternoon at Riccarton House. It’s easily accessible by the 3 or the 5 bus from the bus interchange.

This tour is well worth the hour or so that you spend on it. The history is interesting and the house is well done. Diane was our guide and she is lovely. I would highly recommend to anyone, especially those who want to learn more about the history of the area.

A beautiful staycation day out - we arrived 10:45am easy parking, walked along the river followed by the 11am tour around the house, our guide John is very entertaining and informative :-). Had lunch at 12:30pm seated outdoors, generous and delicious ploughmans platter and lamb souvlaki washed down with Rose wine (keeping true to the holiday vibe) followed by a walk around the bushpark. Then we decided to stop and smell the roses, taking tea and finding just enough room for a home-made cake under the rose arbor before our final stroll around the gardens. We plan to visit again int the Autumn to enjoy the leaf colour. Staff were welcoming and happy will go the extra mile to meet your requests. Will be enjoyed by all ages.

I always recommend this venue to visitors, and especially for them to take a guided tour of the house. They will be rewarded with a fascinating insight into the hard work, loves and heart breaking losses of the pioneering Deans family who settled here from Ayrshire (Scotland) in the mid19th century, a poignant, but ultimately uplifting story. It is also well worth taking a short walk among the towering 300 - 600 year old kahikatea trees in Riccarton Bush - a sole surviving relic of the native bush that once thrived here (preserved by the Deans family for the people of Christchurch). A refreshing tea and cakes in a wooden panelled dining room rounded off our visit nicely.

Touring Riccarton house was like stepping back in time. Everything was so authentic and our tour guide Diane was very knowledgeable and knew all the history of the house and the family that had built it and lived there. My whole family thoroughly enjoyed stepping back in time and soaking up the history of Riccarton House.

Our tour guide, Janet, gave us a wonderful tour mixing the history of the family with the home's grand architecture. We ended our tour with a very nice cream tea in the cafe....wonderful day out!!

John IV, our guide at Riccarton House, did an amazing job! It was fascinating to learn more about the house, the family, and the era. John made the tour come alive with interesting details and facts, and personal stories! We would highly recommend this tour - it is well worth the price and the time!