Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand's capital, calls itself 'the coolest little capital in the world', and the compact, walkable centre backs it up. Squeezed between a horseshoe harbour and steep green hills, the city concentrates its appeal in a small area you can cross on foot: a buzzing café and craft-beer scene (Wellingtonians drink more coffee per head than almost anyone), a strong arts and live-music culture centred on bohemian Cuba Street, and a waterfront promenade that links the museums, the lagoon and the ferries. The headline sight is Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand — a large, free, interactive national museum that tells the country's natural and Māori stories brilliantly, and a must even for those who skip museums. The classic photo is from the lookout atop the historic red cable car, which climbs from downtown Lambton Quay to the Botanic Garden; the higher Mount Victoria lookout gives the full sweep of harbour and city. Wellington is also New Zealand's screen capital — Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop and Wētā FX, the effects houses behind The Lord of the Rings, are based in the suburb of Miramar, where studio tours pull back the curtain. The city's other character traits are the wind (it's genuinely the windiest major city, which locals wear as a badge) and its setting on a fault line, ringed by reserves like the fenced Zealandia eco-sanctuary where native birds thrive. Beyond the centre, the Wairarapa wine region around Martinborough and the wild south coast are easy escapes. As the link between the North and South Islands, Wellington is also the port for the scenic Interislander ferry across Cook Strait.