Urban List Guide To Auckland

 If your idea of a good night involves screaming Stick Season alongside thousands of strangers, Auckland is about to deliver. Noah Kahan is bringing The Great Divide Tour to Spark Arena this Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October, with special guest Michael Marcagi coming along for the ride. Clear your calendar, warm up those vocal cords and prepare to feel a few things.

Construction is underway on the Auckland Surf Park, a major new surfing and wellness destination taking shape across 54 hectares in Dairy Flat. 

Londo's Bob Fairs will be partnering with Pici's Jono Thevenard to cook a six course meal as part of Auckland Feast festivel in November. 

It has been a big year for New Zealand's food scene and things show no sign of slowing down. Auckland Feast powered by Mastercard will launch in November, turning the city into one big food festival. 

Jack Cashmore will bring his two-hatted restaurant from the central North Island to Auckland's Kauri Bay for two nights as part of the Auckland Feast festival. 

Just three months after closing its doors, Rosalia's is set to reopen with its former head chef at the helm. 

It’s a well-known fact that we here at Urban List love our pooches and so we’ve rounded up some of Auckland’s best dog-friendly parks because—let’s face it—your dog’s already peed on all the trees at your local. So, treat your pup and take them to the best dog parks in Auckland.

Fun fact: did you know Dachshunds were bred to burrow after badgers? Or that Labradors were built for retrieving in cold water? Yeah, neither did we.

Opening up Sydney's West for Kiwis looking to get away, Air New Zealand will be kicking off non-stop flights on 26 October 2026 to Western Sydney International Airport.

Sport is basically a religion here in Aotearoa, and meeting your mates to share a drink and yell sports-themed profanities is a rite of passage. And when you can’t make it to a game, there’s no better way to experience nail-biting sport than with a drink in your hand and plenty of people to create the vibe. 

The Fray is bringing their Summer of Light tour to Australia in 2027, and if you missed your chance to see their totally sold-out 2025 tour, you’d better register for pre-sale ASAP.

The much-loved Kiwi band will return for a full tour of their home country for the first time in 14 years. 

Auckland bartender PJ Renaud has won the 2026 Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series.

If your winter has been spent scrolling wistfully through everybody else’s Euro Summer because you snoozed on snagging flights last year, this is your opportunity to right that wrong.

With winter’s indoor-socialising era officially upon us, hosting at home no longer needs to look like a Pinterest board brought violently to life. And we’re here to show you that the best hosts aren’t necessarily the ones making everything from scratch.

Father’s Day is just around the corner (6 September if you’re wondering) and while not all of us have a father we almost certainly all have someone who’s unabashedly cracked dad jokes with reckless abandon.

Air New Zealand has just announced bookable lie-flat sleep pods for Economy travellers, and we’re losing our minds.  

More than a century after the Titanic embarked on its ill-fated maiden voyage, one of the world's most famous ships is resurfacing in Auckland through a major international exhibition.

Auckland, prepare accordingly: GRAMMY-nominated DJ and producer Dom Dolla is heading to Auckland Domain for his biggest-ever headline show in New Zealand.

After a decade of construction, years of disruption and plenty of anticipation, Auckland’s City Rail Link finally has an opening date.

We’ve rounded up ten of the most romantic restaurants in Auckland so you can take the guesswork out of where to go for the most romantic date night. 

Kick back and dive into the best Disney+ has to offer in Australia and New Zealand for 2026.

Be nice to each other, because hot new extra Olivia Dean tickets just dropped across all her Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland shows this spring. 

Women make up over half of Aotearoa’s population. But, according to Westpac, less than a third of our businesses are owned by women. 

Celebrating all things funghi, the inaugural Auckland Mushroom Festival is bringing informative talks, great food and lots of fun to Karangahape Road this month.

Does life feel so hectic right now that you’re missing out on those magical moments with your special someone? Check out these romantic getaways and magical retreats within driving (or ferry) distance from Auckland.

We sat down with the couples behind 12 of our favourite eateries in Tāmaki Makaurau to find out how they met, what it’s like working together and where they love to go for date night.

Laufey is set to make her Aotearoa debut on Wednesday 12 August and, if you haven’t yet secured a ticket, you’d best snap one up, stat. And we have three passes up for grabs, thanks to Visa. 

From rolling valleys to dense native forest and cliffs overlooking black sand beaches, we've found the most jaw-dropping Airbnbs across New Zealand that you can book for a getaway.

Forget the tourist hubs and ski slopes—these are the secret spots worth planning your trip around. 

Let's give it up for Australian talent. There's no denying that a whole heap of the best fashion labels right now are Aussie born and bred.

Self-care is getting steamy and it's set to stay that way. Here are the best infrared and traditional saunas to work up a sweat at in Tāmaki Makaurau. 

Cue the Macklemore flashbacks. It's clear that thrift shopping—correction, op shopping—is f**kin’ awesome. Especially in Auckland, with the best op shops per capita, so we say. 

Two of Auckland's most-loved restaurants are coming together for two days of exceptional food and even better vibes. Expect duck fat tortillas, big flavours and a great meal. 

Matariki is here and it's time to feast. 

Whether you’re after a traditional Vietnamese ham, or a crispy crackling lid—let this be your guide on where to find the best banh mi in the city.

This one-off event is one to be experienced rather than documented. It’s been created around a simple idea: if every moment is unrepeatable, perhaps we should treat it that way. 

We've got some of the most savvy parent influencers to spill their secrets about where they (and their kids) love to dine, so your next dinner out with the family goes straight to core memory—for only the right reasons.

We’ve looked high and low and we’ve scouted the best places to eat if you’re gluten free—because there’s no need to miss out.

Whether you’re a matcha convert or you’re curious about the vibrant green tea that's taken the world by storm, Tāmaki Makaurau has you sussed. Let's find your perfect match-a. 

The central tenets of winter are, inarguably, mulled wine, bubbling raclette and settling in for the night at a hidden bar. But there’s another vital ingredient to a winter’s night out on the town and it manifests in the form of a roaring fireplace. 

From a proper cheese melt, to a filling-forward focaccia situation on the go, there’s no shortage of a solid sandwich in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Here in Tāmaki Makaurau we’ve slurped our way to find the best bowls of steaming hot phở you can get in the city to find some faves we just keep coming back to again and again. 

We tapped a hair stylist for her go-to tips, biggest blow-wave mistakes and the tricks she swears by for achieving that fresh-from-the-salon finish from your own bathroom.

From food courts to candlelit courtyards, casual eateries to date night-worthy dinners, the food scene in Ponsonby is world class—and all within walking distance too.

When it comes to steaks, the grills (and chefs) in Tāmaki Makaurau aren’t messing around. Whether you’re all about how it’s cooked (from charcoal to woodfired) or all about the cut, there’s a steak for every kind of occasion, big or small. 

The mercury might be plunging in Tāmaki Makaurau, but there’s one spot in the city that’s only getting hotter this winter. 

​Auckland is a mecca for hair salons and when it comes to choosing “the one”, selecting a hairdresser to entrust with your precious locks is a big freakin’ deal.

As Kiwis, a love of pies is practically in our DNA. These hearty pastries have been keeping us fuelled for generations and are the perfect meal for lunch, dinner, or even a cheeky brekkie.

We’ve rounded up our go-to picks for that bakery run—whether you’re a sucker for a kiwi classic, a modern Asian sweet, gluten-free sausage roll or a vegan croissant—we’ve got you.

Ube is having a main character moment in the food and drink scene across Aotearoa, and especially in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Whether you’re a fan of a classic hot choc, or an indulgent one with melted chocolate, floating with marshmallows (toasted, please)—or a thick Italian-style custard situation, there’s a hot choc for every occasion here in Tāmaki Makaurau.

From the first slurp of noodles, a jammy egg and fragrant char of the glistening piece of chāshū, to a deep and savoury, toasted sesame dotted broth—here are our picks for the best ramen in Auckland in 2026.

Whether you'd love to spend your weekend gazing at art-adorned walls with a quizzical look on your face thinking ‘what the heck is that!?’ or simply elevate your mind by marvelling at stunning artwork then we have found the best places for you.

If you’re curious about anything (or everything), get yourself along to one of Auckland’s many incredible museums and prepare to expand your mind. From ancient relics to impressive architecture, lush outdoors to lifeforms past and present, Auckland has no shortage of intriguing historic collections to get amongst.

One of the side effects of writing for Urban List is friends and strangers alike are always sliding into my DMs asking for recs (which I dig, by the way). So I decided I should really be spilling my secrets here, for all of you, too. 

Fancy a kid-friendly weekend at a waterfront beach house with a gated pool? Or sneaking away to the hinterlands for a farmstay filled with horses and cows? You decide.

Ah, the universal dumpling. Enjoyed across cultures and family tables as part of celebrations, they’re found in all shapes and sizes across cultures. From steamed to pan-fried, and all the different varieties in between—there’s something comforting about digging into a big bowlful of dumplings. 

Auckland is a pretty fun place to grow up. Consider this your ticket to never hearing 'I'm booored' again.  

​What’s a Sunday without a roast? We’re talking juicy, succulent pieces of meat drowned in gravy, paired with crispy, seasoned veges and—if you’re lucky—a fluffy Yorkshire pud on the side. 

Grab a pie and a pint, put your thinking cap on, and get ready to show off your obscure knowledge. Who knows? You might even come out on top. 

As far as baked treats go, cookies are king, and we don't discriminate.

We love Japanese food an awful lot here at the Urban List. And who’s to blame us? From sushi to sashimi to sake, Japanese cuisine delivers deliciousness on all levels.

Forget everything you thought you knew about vegan and vegetarian food. Far from its can-o’-chickpea origins, vegan fare is now unapologetically delicious.

Explore Fiji's best activities for every type of traveller in 2026.

Welcome to the most fabulous corner of the internet—Urban List's destination for the picks of the beauty crop. This month, it's about scrumptious new scents galore, and a fair few revamps of our favourites. 

If you’ve got 48 hours and a curiosity for art, music, film and performance, this is your sign to make a beeline for Wellington. 

There’s a moment in Wellington when the day starts to soften and the city shifts gears. For our editor, this is Wellington at its best.

Make markets your favourite weekend morning ritual and kick on with mates for the night markets too. Here is our (extensive!) list of the very best Auckland markets.

Swap your waterproof jacket for a robe and hiking boots for slippers, here’s how to spend a stress-free 72 hours in Aotearoa’s geothermal heart.

Here are 11 mother-owned businesses to support this Mother's Day and beyond. 

Beer—it makes the world a better place and lucky for us hop lovers, Auckland’s craft beer scene is absolutely booming.

From vintage teacups to bottomless bubbles—here are our picks for the best high tea offerings across Tāmaki Makaurau.

Make it a memorable weekend (with Mother’s Day this year on Sunday 10th May) and gift her the love language of food, with a feast out in Tāmaki Makaurau.

This Mother’s Day, skip the generic gifts and celebrate with something truly special, while supporting the incredible businesses that make Aotearoa shine. 

Korean food has officially taken over Auckland—and we're not mad about it. Whether you're in it for fiery Korean fried chicken, bubbling bowls of stew, or sizzling hot BBQ, this is your go-to guide to the best Korean restaurants in Auckland.

Whether you're after breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or a little somethin' somethin' this ANZAC Day public holiday, there's loads to choose from. 

Oh New Zealand, how we love it. Home to dramatic, unspoiled landscapes it’s one hell of a spot for a group getaway—and, once you’re there, all you need is the best Airbnb to take your longed-for hol to the next level.

Managed to wrangle time with the whole fam and tempted by a New Zealand getaway at the best Airbnb? You’ve come to the right place.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, here are the best things to do in Auckland to celebrate. 

We’ve plucked, tinted and shaped our way to bring you the very best brow bars in Auckland. 

Whether it’s family brunch with an Easter twist, an Auckland staycation with the kids or an excuse to indulge in Easter hot cross buns and Easter treats—gather the crew for a relaxing weekend ahead, rain or shine. 

From doughnuts to gelato, or make it a complete weekend affair with an Easter High Tea—these are our picks for the Best Easter Treats for 2026 

Fear not, breakfast-lover—you’re about to have the ultimate list of the best breakfasts in Auckland right at your fingertips.

Let's get one thing straight—pilates may be a great tool for rehab but that doesn't mean it's cruisy.

Takapuna is one of my favourite suburbs in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Not only is it home to one of the most popular beaches on the North Shore, it also boasts a long list of amazing places to eat and drink and that's a combo that makes this food writer very happy indeed.

At Urban List, we've spent a lot of time thinking about what makes the difference between a good restaurant and Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's very best. 

From creamy kormas and crispy pakora to dry fire-breathing curries and fluffy biryani, here are the best Indian restaurants in Auckland.

To help us whittle down our beauty choices for 2026, we’ve phoned a friend aka, beauty creator, Taylor Arona, to tell us her top five picks.

Whether you’re a traditional spiced fruit purist, team chocolate, or partial to a custard cross, bakers are slinging all sorts and we’re here to give you our picks for the Easter season.