Queen Street

Queen Street, in Auckland

Queen Street is the main artery of the centre of Auckland, that crosses the financial district from the seafront to the heights. The Auckland audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this great shopping street, named in honour of Queen Victoria, founded at the same time as the town and laid out on the route of a former stream.

The great street of Queen Victoria

Queen Street is one of the main arteries of the centre and of Auckland in general. It bears this name in reference to Queen Victoria, who reigned over the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901; sixty-three years of reign, almost as much as Queen Elizabeth II. An emblematic monarch of what is now called the Victorian era, it is she who annexed New Zealand to the United Kingdom in 1840. The street Queen Street was moreover traced at the same time as the new town of Auckland, created following this integration. It has always occupied an important place in the town: in the time of the Maoris there was here a stream, around which life was organised, and it is partly on its filled-in route that the avenue was laid out. Descending from the seafront towards the south, Queen Street is today the commercial and lively heart of the centre, the street with the highest concentration of shops, where it is impossible not to find your happiness. You cross there department stores, international brands, cafés, restaurants and cinemas, including the famous Civic Theatre. Lined with old buildings and modern skyscrapers, it illustrates the contrast of Auckland, between colonial heritage and twenty-first-century metropolis. Vibrant at any hour, it is the ideal starting point to explore the town on foot. A historic artery and a commercial heart, Queen Street is a fine stop of the discovery of Auckland.

What to see

Here you discover the main artery of Auckland, named in honour of Queen Victoria who annexed New Zealand in 1840, traced at the same time as the town on the course of a former Maori stream; descending from the seafront towards the south, it is the commercial street par excellence, with the highest concentration of shops, lined with old buildings, skyscrapers and the Civic Theatre. Queen Street is the commercial heart of Auckland. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

Queen Street crosses the centre of Auckland from north to south, from the seafront towards the heights, reachable on foot. It is a great shopping street freely accessible, lined with shops, cafés and restaurants, lively at any hour. You walk along it during a stroll in the centre.

Where does the name of Queen Street come from in Auckland?

From Queen Victoria, who reigned over the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901 and annexed New Zealand in 1840; the street was traced at the same time as the town of Auckland, partly on the route of a former Maori stream, and it is today the main commercial artery of the centre, with the highest concentration of shops.

Where is Queen Street in Auckland?

In the heart of the centre of Auckland, crossing the town from the seafront towards the heights, in New Zealand.