New Zealand · Oceania

Roots Earth in Auckland: audio stories about 46 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 46 places in Auckland, New Zealand, in Oceania. The Auckland stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Auckland, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 46 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: auckland.md

The 46 places in Auckland with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

Sky Tower
Auckland War Memorial Museum
Auckland Harbour Bridge
Auckland Domain
Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Town Hall
Civic Theatre
Queen Street
Aotea Square
Ferry Building
Viaduct Harbour
St Patrick's Cathedral
Holy Trinity Cathedral
St Matthew-in-the-City
Albert Park
University of Auckland
Old Government House
Auckland Central City Library
Aotea Centre
Spark Arena
Britomart
Auckland Railway Station
Mount Eden
One Tree Hill
Rangitoto Island
Auckland Zoo
Museum of Transport and Technology
Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium
Eden Park
Cornwall Park
Highwic
Alberton
Karangahape Road
Ponsonby
Parnell
Grey Lynn
Kingsland
Newmarket
Symonds Street Cemetery
Devonport
Mission Bay
Takapuna
Bastion Point
North Head
Waiheke Island
Wynyard Quarter

Is there an audio guide for Sky Tower?

Yes. Sky Tower has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 46 Auckland places in the app, at -36.84847, 174.76231. Every one of the other 45 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Auckland

Open Roots Earth and choose Auckland. The city has its own map of places with all 46 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 46 places in Auckland, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 46 places in Auckland, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Sky Tower

Coordinates: -36.84847, 174.76231
In one line: Rising 328 metres above central Auckland, the Sky Tower has dominated the skyline since 1997.

2. Auckland War Memorial Museum

Coordinates: -36.86027778, 174.77777778
In one line: Crowning a volcanic hill in the Auckland Domain, this neoclassical museum opened in 1929 as a memorial to the war dead. It holds the world's foremost collection of Maori and Pacific taonga, alongside natural history and a solemn cenotaph.

3. Auckland Harbour Bridge

Coordinates: -36.82944444, 174.74638889
In one line: Spanning the Waitemata Harbour since 1959, this steel box-truss bridge links central Auckland to the North Shore. Its arched main span, later widened with Japanese clip-on lanes, now carries eight lanes of traffic, plus a bridge climb and bungy jump.

4. Auckland Domain

Coordinates: -36.859158, 174.775808
In one line: Auckland's oldest park spreads across an ancient volcanic crater once known as Pukekawa. Set aside in the 1840s, its 75 hectares hold the 1920s Wintergardens, duck ponds, sports fields, and the War Memorial Museum crowning the crater rim.

5. Auckland Art Gallery

Coordinates: -36.8514, 174.7663
In one line: New Zealand's largest art collection lives in a French-chateau-style building of 1887, transformed by an award-winning 2011 extension. Beneath a soaring kauri-canopy atrium, Toi o Tamaki holds works from Sir George Grey's founding gift to contemporary Maori and Pacific art.

6. Auckland Town Hall

Coordinates: -36.8526856, 174.7634912
In one line: Built on a wedge-shaped site and opened in 1911, this Edwardian Renaissance landmark is famed for the acoustics of its Great Hall. The Beatles played here in 1964, and a grand 1911 pipe organ still ranks among New Zealand's largest.

7. Civic Theatre

Coordinates: -36.851072, 174.76392
In one line: Opened in 1929, the Civic is one of the world's finest surviving atmospheric picture palaces. Its fantastical Moorish-Indian interior is crowned by a domed ceiling of twinkling stars, conjuring a starlit garden inside a grand cinema on Queen Street.

8. Queen Street

Coordinates: -36.85, 174.765
In one line: Auckland's principal commercial street follows the old Waihorotiu valley from the waterfront up toward Karangahape Road. Laid out in 1840 and named for Queen Victoria, it threads heritage facades, department stores and civic landmarks through the city centre.

9. Aotea Square

Coordinates: -36.85222222, 174.76305556
In one line: Auckland's principal civic square opened in 1979 beside the Town Hall and Aotea Centre. A broad paved plaza for markets, concerts and protests, it is marked at its Queen Street edge by the Waharoa, a carved gateway by Māori sculptor Selwyn Muru.

10. Ferry Building

Coordinates: -36.843, 174.767
In one line: Built from 1909 to 1912 in Edwardian Baroque style by architect Alex Wiseman, the Ferry Building stands in sandstone and brick on the downtown waterfront. Its clock tower long marked the gateway to the North Shore, and it now houses ferries, bars and restaurants.

11. Viaduct Harbour

Coordinates: -36.843534, 174.760015
In one line: Once Auckland's main fishing port and boatbuilding basin, the Viaduct was redeveloped for the 2000 America's Cup into a lively marina, dining and apartment precinct. Yachts crowd the water, and the New Zealand Maritime Museum anchors the harbour's edge.

12. St Patrick's Cathedral

Coordinates: -36.8465, 174.7635
In one line: The mother church of Catholic Auckland, St Patrick's Cathedral had its second construction phase in 1906–07 and was dedicated in 1908. A careful restoration finished in 2007 returned its quiet downtown grandeur.

13. Holy Trinity Cathedral

Coordinates: -36.8596, 174.7836
In one line: The Anglican cathedral of Auckland stands in historic Parnell, built across the 20th century. Its bold modern nave, designed by Richard Toy and completed in 1995, joins a neo-Gothic chancel and the 2016 Bishop Selwyn Chapel, blending centuries of style under one roof.

14. St Matthew-in-the-City

Coordinates: -36.8502, 174.7611
In one line: An Anglican landmark in Oamaru stone, St Matthew-in-the-City was built from 1902 to 1905 to a design by Frank Loughborough Pearson. Its soaring English Gothic Revival nave is matched by a long record of progressive, socially outspoken ministry.

15. Albert Park

Coordinates: -36.85, 174.7676
In one line: A formal Victorian park laid out in the 1880s on the site of the old Albert Barracks, crowning a green hilltop above the university. Its ornate cast-iron fountain, floral clock and band rotunda draw walkers and students year-round.

16. University of Auckland

Coordinates: -36.85, 174.77
In one line: New Zealand's largest university, founded in 1883 on the old Albert Barracks site. Its 1926 ClockTower, nicknamed the wedding cake, rises in Gothic splendour, while a fragment of basalt barracks wall survives among the modern campus buildings.

17. Old Government House

Coordinates: -36.84988, 174.77042
In one line: Built in 1856 to a design by William Mason, this grand timber mansion was crafted to imitate stone. Once the governor's vice-regal residence, where royalty stayed and Queen Elizabeth II broadcast in 1953, it now belongs to the University of Auckland.

18. Auckland Central City Library

Coordinates: -36.8516, 174.7654
In one line: Auckland's main public library, in a modernist building opened in 1971 just off Queen Street. Behind its everyday floors lies the renowned Sir George Grey collection of rare books and manuscripts, the heart of one of the country's great heritage libraries.

19. Aotea Centre

Coordinates: -36.8519301, 174.7624075
In one line: Auckland's main performing arts centre, opened in 1990 on the western edge of Aotea Square. Designed by Ewen Wainscott, it houses the 2,139-seat Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre and the intimate Herald Theatre, hosting opera, ballet, concerts and major events.

20. Spark Arena

Coordinates: -36.8471738, 174.7769451
In one line: Auckland's main indoor arena, opened in 2007 at Quay Park near Britomart. Seating up to 13,280, it hosts the city's biggest concerts and sporting events and is home court for the New Zealand Breakers basketball team. It was originally known as Vector Arena.

21. Britomart

Coordinates: -36.8447, 174.7672
In one line: Auckland's downtown underground railway station, opened in 2003 behind the grand 1912 Chief Post Office. Known for years as Britomart and renamed Waitematā in 2023, it blends Edwardian Baroque heritage with an award-winning subterranean terminus.

22. Auckland Railway Station

Coordinates: -36.84809, 174.776668
In one line: Opened in 1930 on Beach Road, this monumental Beaux-Arts station by William Gummer once channelled Auckland's rail traffic. Faced in granite and brick, it now houses apartments and a restaurant while retaining its grand foyer.

23. Mount Eden

Coordinates: -36.877, 174.764
In one line: Known to Māori as Maungawhau, this dormant volcano is the highest natural point on the Auckland isthmus. Its deep summit crater and terraced slopes recall a fortified pā abandoned around 1700, with sweeping views across the city.

24. One Tree Hill

Coordinates: -36.9, 174.78305556
In one line: Rising 182 metres, Maungakiekie was once the largest pā on the Auckland isthmus, terraced by chief Tītahi in the 17th century. Its summit obelisk honours Māori and marks the grave of John Logan Campbell, within Cornwall Park.

25. Rangitoto Island

Coordinates: -36.786742, 174.860115
In one line: Auckland's youngest volcano, this symmetrical shield island rose from the sea around 600 years ago. Reaching 260 metres, it holds the world's largest pōhutukawa forest, raw lava fields and a community of historic holiday baches.

26. Auckland Zoo

Coordinates: -36.8628, 174.7208
In one line: Opened in 1922 at Western Springs, Auckland Zoo spreads over 16 hectares and houses more than 1,400 animals across some 135 species. Its Te Wao Nui precinct showcases native New Zealand wildlife, anchoring a strong conservation mission.

27. Museum of Transport and Technology

Coordinates: -36.8673, 174.7276
In one line: Founded in 1960 and opened in 1964 at Western Springs, this museum celebrates New Zealand transport and technology. Its collections span vintage trams, steam locomotives, aircraft and the pioneering flying machines of Richard Pearse, linked by a working tramway.

28. Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium

Coordinates: -36.84583333, 174.81722222
In one line: Opened in 1985 inside disused waterfront sewage tanks, this aquarium pioneered the curved acrylic viewing tunnel. Founded by diver Kelly Tarlton, it features an Antarctic penguin colony, a vast shark tank and more than 1,500 animals.

29. Eden Park

Coordinates: -36.875, 174.74472222
In one line: Eden Park is New Zealand's largest stadium, a cricket and rugby ground between Mount Eden and Kingsland. Opened in the early 1900s, it became the first venue to host two Rugby World Cup finals, in 1987 and 2011.

30. Cornwall Park

Coordinates: -36.898411, 174.784821
In one line: Cornwall Park is a vast green expanse around the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie, gifted to Auckland by philanthropist John Logan Campbell in 1901. A working farm, heritage avenues and the One Tree Hill summit make it the city's grand pastoral retreat.

31. Highwic

Coordinates: -36.8718, 174.7749
In one line: Highwic is a grand Carpenter Gothic timber house built in 1862 for colonial settler Alfred Buckland. Set above Newmarket, its steep gables and kauri construction survive as one of New Zealand's finest Gothic Revival homes, now a historic house museum.

32. Alberton

Coordinates: -36.890017, 174.724626
In one line: Alberton is a grand colonial mansion in Mount Albert, begun in 1863 for Allan Kerr Taylor and remodelled in the 1870s into an Anglo-Indian style manor of towers and verandahs. A famed venue for balls, it is now a heritage house museum.

33. Karangahape Road

Coordinates: -36.8577935, 174.7597039
In one line: Karangahape Road, known as K Road, runs along a ridge at the southern edge of central Auckland. Once the city's busiest shopping street, this Māori-named thoroughfare is now a bohemian strip of cafes, galleries, nightlife and the heart of the rainbow community.

34. Ponsonby

Coordinates: -36.852, 174.739
In one line: Ponsonby is an inner-city Auckland suburb on a ridge west of the centre, lined with Victorian villas. Once working-class and bohemian, the cradle of New Zealand reggae and Pacific community life, it is now a fashionable strip of cafes, boutiques and galleries.

35. Parnell

Coordinates: -36.8572, 174.7816
In one line: Parnell, founded in 1841, claims to be Auckland's oldest suburb. Set on a ridge near the harbour, it blends colonial buildings, the Anglican cathedral and the restored Parnell Village with upmarket boutiques, restaurants and the historic Parnell Rose Gardens.

36. Grey Lynn

Coordinates: -36.86012, 174.738858
In one line: Grey Lynn is a leafy inner-west Auckland suburb of Victorian kauri villas, subdivided in the 1880s and renamed for Sir George Grey. Once a working-class, dry-vote Pasifika heartland, it has been gently gentrified since the 1970s.

37. Kingsland

Coordinates: -36.872, 174.745
In one line: Kingsland is a compact Auckland village built around its 1880 railway station and a strip of Edwardian shopfronts on New North Road. Subdivided from farmland in 1882, it sits beside Eden Park and has grown into a lively cafe and bar quarter.

38. Newmarket

Coordinates: -36.869862, 174.777578
In one line: Newmarket is central Auckland's premier shopping district, grown from a 1850s livestock market at a meeting of three roads. Its main street, Broadway, was renamed in 1912, and the suburb mixes heritage homes like Highwic with brewery history and modern retail.

39. Symonds Street Cemetery

Coordinates: -36.8595, 174.7642
In one line: Symonds Street Cemetery, established in 1842, is Auckland's oldest burial ground, a wooded 5. 8-hectare slope above Grafton Gully. It holds early colonists including Governor William Hobson, and lost thousands of graves to 1960s motorway works.

40. Devonport

Coordinates: -36.831667, 174.796278
In one line: Devonport is a Victorian seaside town on Auckland's North Shore, reached by ferry across the Waitemata Harbour. Settled from 1841 and renamed in 1859 for the English naval port, it pairs heritage villas with a long naval base and two volcanic cones.

41. Mission Bay

Coordinates: -36.84817, 174.83059
In one line: Mission Bay is a popular beach suburb on Auckland's eastern waterfront, named for the Melanesian Mission headquartered here from 1856 to 1867. Its 1858 stone mission house and 1950s marble fountain frame a lively dining strip along Tamaki Drive.

42. Takapuna

Coordinates: -36.787, 174.772
In one line: Takapuna is a North Shore beach suburb beside the volcanic Lake Pupuke, its sands facing Rangitoto and hiding an ancient fossil forest. A Victorian resort turned commercial hub, it boomed after the 1959 Harbour Bridge and inspired writers Frank Sargeson and Janet Frame.

43. Bastion Point

Coordinates: -36.84416667, 174.82416667
In one line: A windswept headland above Waitematā Harbour, Takaparawhau holds one of New Zealand's defining land protests, when Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei occupied the ground for 506 days before reclaiming it in 1988.

44. North Head

Coordinates: -36.827751, 174.81205
In one line: A volcanic cone guarding Auckland's harbour mouth at Devonport, Maungauika layers an ancient Māori pā over Victorian gun batteries and a maze of tunnels, with sweeping views to Rangitoto and the Hauraki Gulf.

45. Waiheke Island

Coordinates: -36.8, 175.1
In one line: A 40-minute ferry from downtown Auckland, Waiheke trades city bustle for vineyards, art, and beaches. Once kauri timber and farming country, the Hauraki Gulf island is now New Zealand's premier wine destination.

46. Wynyard Quarter

Coordinates: -36.8423, 174.7585
In one line: Once an industrial tank farm on reclaimed land, Wynyard Quarter reopened in 2011 as Auckland's waterfront playground, with Silo Park, North Wharf eateries, a lifting bridge, and a working fishing fleet still at its heart.

Roots Earth in short

Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people.

No account
Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection
Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities

Roots Earth for Android is available on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app.