Aotea Square

Aotea Square is one of Auckland’s prime landmarks’; opened in 1979. The urban concrete garden/​square is surrounded by culture: Auckland Town Hall, Aotea Centre, ASB Theatre, Herald Theatre (facing Mayoral Dv), IMAX cinemas & Aotea Ice Rink in the Winter months. There are many wooden benches to sit, trees to admire & the traditional entry Maori gate (aka ‘Waharoa’) on Queen Street side & other bronze statues to photograph. In the day the space buzzes with students, tourists & locals drinking coffee from nearby Starbucks or Box café, reading, soaking up the sun, relaxing, eating sushi or watching an event. ‘Aotea square’ is synonymous for art — especially theatre, dance & comedy hence Civic, Basement & Q theatre/​s are only a stone’s throw away. If you’re in Auckland for the first time, make sure you visit Aotea Square! Unilocal

Iconic Auckland place, on a busy weekend especially during summer, its fun to just grab a starbucks and sit in the square and people-​watch, or even grab a beer at the play-​house.
Enclosed by the Town Hall, Aotea Centre, and the Skycity Metro, Aotea Square hosts various things around the calendar, and in the recent years, an outdoor skate rink during the winter months.
A must-​visit for any tourist, with photo opportunities with the Maori gate and Auckland big little city gate.

Aotea’s always been a mixed bag for me — its size means that it can be brilliant for events or markets, but the lack of activation around the edges means the space can feel a bit dull and boring for the rest of the time. To be fair, the recent makeover has made it miles better than it used to be — the grass areas are lovely on a warm day, and there have been obvious efforts to activate the Aotea Centre frontage with the Box café (which is excellent). Just one thing — please bring back the Aotea Square markets — the place isn’t the same without them!
Oh and I love the statue of Dove Meyer Robinson — an ongoing reminder that our current arguments regarding rail investments are sadly nothing new! Something for us to rally around!

On an average day the Aotea Square looks a little bare and uninteresting. But what I really like about it is it’s ability to be a great space for festivals like the Auckland Arts Festival. I love seeing the space transform from a somewhat barren space to the home of tents and caravans and giant decorations. I imagine it’s also a pretty nice place to go and eat your lunch on a sunny day too. One thing I do miss about the «old» Aotea Square is its giant trees. I know it will take time for the new trees to grow up but at the moment it gets pretty hot in the square and the new trees just aren’t quite big enough yet to provide a lot of shade.

Whatever bad things you think about rugby, having the world cup centred in Auckland really allowed for a lot of great changes. The makeover of Aotea Square, long overdue, has really turned out great.
if you enter from the Myers Park side, the first thing you notice is the cool little waterfall leading out to lush green spaces. Unfortunately, when the park first opened, Occupy Auckland managed to stake a claim to all these areas, so it took me about six months to get the chance to really enjoy the space. All power to them though, I’d love to camp out in the city, and change the world at the same time.
The area that is «the square» really has a slight Tienanmen square vibe — an expansive open space leading to a vast set of wide stairs. I can imagine Len Brown leading the masses to riot against the Government’s continual refusal to fund the inner city loop — or not .
Regardless, it’s a nice place to have lunch and enjoy the sun, or to sit in on a Saturday night and watch the dregs of the nightlife come streaming past

I really really like the new Aotea square. Having just returned to auckland after four year of the capitol, I reckon that Aotea square has had an amazing uplift. Gone is that awkward triangular ‘art’ piece that was smack bang in the middle before. Now it is a spot of classic architecture and design. Park benches are now surrounding the square so that people can enjoy their lunch either sitting there or in the sun on the lawns surrounding it. There is often public displays of music also. The other day i walked past and there was this amazing jazz band playing.

Aotea Square sits right in the heart of the city and has recently had a makeover. Though it used to be the home of the weekly Aotea markets, where local designers, jewellers, chefs and creators sold their creations, unfortunately since the square’s revamp this is no longer the case. However that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to look at while you’re there now.
People congregate in the bars and Starbucks restaurants that line one side of the square, but my favourite thing to do is grab a kebab from across the road and park up under the beautifully carved wooden arch in the centre of the square and people watch. My latest experience involved watching a beautiful Chinese dance troupe float through the square in celebration of Chinese New Year, but this is no isolated occurrence.
There is always something going on in the square to keep you entertained. Buskers, mimes, artists, skateboarders, protestors, tai chi groups — Aotea Square is where it all happens, and despite being in the middle of the city — it acts as a great escape from the bustle of Queen Street.

Aotea Square is a good place to bring your lunch, catch up on some fresh air, and do a spot of people-​watching. It would be vastly improved with the addition of a few more shady spots though. It hosts an arts and crafts market on Friday and Saturday afternoons, and well as less regular events like New Year’s celebrations, protest marches, and the Occupy movement’s tent city. For newcomers to Auckland it’s a good point from which to orientate yourself with the city, especially as there are heaps of great venues nearby, like the Aotea Centre, the Auckland Town Hall, and the Civic Theatre.