# Roots Earth in Christchurch: audio stories about 42 places Canonical: https://rootsearth.com/cities/christchurch Published: 16 September 2026 Roots Earth has audio stories about 42 places in Christchurch, New Zealand, in Oceania. The Christchurch stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Christchurch, 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 42 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. ## The 42 places in Christchurch with audio stories In the order the app shows them. 1. ChristChurch Cathedral 2. Cathedral Square 3. Canterbury Museum 4. Christchurch Botanic Gardens 5. Christchurch Art Gallery 6. Christchurch Arts Centre 7. Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings 8. Hagley Park 9. Bridge of Remembrance 10. Cardboard Cathedral 11. Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial 12. Christ's College 13. Christchurch Town Hall 14. Victoria Square 15. New Regent Street 16. Christchurch Tram 17. Te Pae 18. Statue of Robert Falcon Scott 19. Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament 20. Avon River / Otakaro 21. Church of St Michael and All Angels 22. Christchurch Casino 23. Hagley Oval 24. Christchurch Gondola 25. Port Hills 26. Cathedral Grammar School 27. Barbadoes Street Cemetery 28. Riverside Market 29. St Luke's Church 30. Riccarton House and Bush 31. Mona Vale 32. Merivale 33. Sumner 34. New Brighton 35. Lyttelton 36. Cashmere 37. Sydenham 38. Addington 39. Taylors Mistake 40. Ferrymead Heritage Park 41. Victoria Park 42. Godley Head ## Is there an audio guide for ChristChurch Cathedral? Yes. ChristChurch Cathedral 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 42 Christchurch places in the app, at -43.531, 172.637. Every one of the other 41 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 Christchurch Open Roots Earth and choose Christchurch. The city has its own map of places with all 42 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 42 places in Christchurch, in the app's order, with their coordinates. ## All 42 places in Christchurch, 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. ChristChurch Cathedral - Coordinates: -43.531, 172.637 - In one line: A Gothic Revival Anglican cathedral begun in 1864 and finished in 1904, designed by George Gilbert Scott with Benjamin Mountfort. Its spire fell in the 2011 earthquake, and a slow reinstatement is now underway. ### 2. Cathedral Square - Coordinates: -43.53083333, 172.63638889 - In one line: The civic heart of Christchurch, laid out in the 1850s at the crossing of Colombo and Worcester Streets. The damaged cathedral, the silver Chalice sculpture, and the post-earthquake rebuild all converge in this open public space. ### 3. Canterbury Museum - Coordinates: -43.5309, 172.6271 - In one line: Founded in 1867 with a Gothic Revival building from 1870 by Benjamin Mountfort, this museum holds celebrated Antarctic exploration collections and over two million objects, from a blue whale skeleton to the beloved Paua Shell House. ### 4. Christchurch Botanic Gardens - Coordinates: -43.53, 172.62 - In one line: Founded in 1863 within Hagley Park beside the Avon, these Victorian gardens began with an oak planted for a royal wedding. Across 21 hectares they hold magnificent mature trees, a celebrated rose garden, and the Cuningham House conservatory. ### 5. Christchurch Art Gallery - Coordinates: -43.53055556, 172.63111111 - In one line: Opened in 2003 behind a rippling glass facade, this contemporary gallery, known as Te Puna o Waiwhetu, is the city's major art museum. It served as Civil Defence headquarters after the 2011 earthquake before reopening in 2015. ### 6. Christchurch Arts Centre - Coordinates: -43.53148056, 172.62823333 - In one line: Built over many decades beginning in 1877 for Canterbury College, this Gothic Revival complex is New Zealand's largest cluster of heritage buildings. Once the workplace of Ernest Rutherford, it has been painstakingly restored after the 2011 earthquake. ### 7. Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings - Coordinates: -43.5292, 172.634 - In one line: Built between 1858 and 1865 in High Victorian Gothic by Benjamin Mountfort, these are the only purpose-built provincial government buildings still standing in New Zealand. Their celebrated stone council chamber collapsed in the 2011 earthquake. ### 8. Hagley Park - Coordinates: -43.53, 172.62 - In one line: Hagley Park is Christchurch's vast Victorian green lung, set aside in 1855 and reserved forever as a public park. Spanning roughly 165 hectares of lawns, oak avenues and the winding Avon River, it cradles the Botanic Gardens at its heart. ### 9. Bridge of Remembrance - Coordinates: -43.5331, 172.6334 - In one line: The Bridge of Remembrance is a stone triumphal arch raised over the Avon River between 1923 and 1924 to honour Canterbury's First World War dead. Designed by William Gummer, it was carefully restored after the earthquakes and rededicated in 2016. ### 10. Cardboard Cathedral - Coordinates: -43.53225, 172.64286111 - In one line: The Cardboard Cathedral is a striking A-frame church built from 96 giant cardboard tubes, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and opened in 2013. It served as a transitional cathedral after the 2011 earthquake wrecked the city's stone original. ### 11. Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial - Coordinates: -43.53455, 172.63149 - In one line: The Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial, known as Oi Manawa, is a riverside wall of marble naming the 185 people killed in the February 2011 earthquake. ### 12. Christ's College - Coordinates: -43.52972222, 172.62583333 - In one line: Christ's College is one of New Zealand's oldest schools, founded in 1850, its Gothic Revival stone halls and chapel gathered around a quiet quadrangle beside Hagley Park. Big School, dating from 1863, is the oldest educational building still in use in the country. ### 13. Christchurch Town Hall - Coordinates: -43.52695, 172.63549444 - In one line: Christchurch Town Hall is a modernist landmark opened in 1972, designed by Warren and Mahoney and famed worldwide for the acoustics of its elliptical concert auditorium. Damaged by the earthquakes, it was restored and reopened in 2019. ### 14. Victoria Square - Coordinates: -43.52777778, 172.63527778 - In one line: Victoria Square is a green civic space on the Avon, the city's original market place, renamed for Queen Victoria in 1903. It holds the floodlit Bowker Fountain, statues of Queen Victoria and Captain Cook, and New Zealand's oldest cast-iron bridge. ### 15. New Regent Street - Coordinates: -43.52926389, 172.63871944 - In one line: A pastel-fronted Spanish Mission shopping street built in 1932, often called New Zealand's first planned retail precinct. Restored after the earthquakes, its 40 facades now frame cafes, galleries, and the heritage tram. ### 16. Christchurch Tram - Coordinates: -43.53083, 172.63639 - In one line: Restored vintage trams running a central-city loop since 1995, reviving a network that first opened in 1880. Polished wooden cars carry visitors past landmarks while conductors narrate the route through the rebuilt heart of Christchurch. ### 17. Te Pae - Coordinates: -43.5279, 172.6359 - In one line: Christchurch's flagship convention centre, opened in 2021 on the Avon River. A 450-million-dollar landmark of the post-earthquake rebuild, its flowing facade of 43,000 tiles evokes the braided rivers of the Canterbury Plains. ### 18. Statue of Robert Falcon Scott - Coordinates: -43.5312, 172.63361 - In one line: A white marble statue of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, carved by his widow Kathleen Scott and unveiled in 1917. Standing beside the Avon River, it honors the explorer whose expeditions sailed from nearby Lyttelton. ### 19. Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament - Coordinates: -43.5383, 172.646 - In one line: A grand Catholic cathedral built from 1901 to 1905 by architect Francis Petre in Renaissance Revival style, once crowned by a copper dome. Heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake, the limestone landmark was later demolished. ### 20. Avon River / Otakaro - Coordinates: -43.528, 172.726 - In one line: A gentle 14-kilometre river winding through central Christchurch, known by its Maori name Otakaro, meaning place to play. Lined with willows and famous for punting, it shaped the city's gardens and its earthquake rebuild. ### 21. Church of St Michael and All Angels - Coordinates: -43.53444444, 172.63305556 - In one line: A timber Gothic Revival church opened in 1872, among the largest wooden churches of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Built of matai timber after earlier quakes, it survived the 2011 earthquakes almost unscathed. ### 22. Christchurch Casino - Coordinates: -43.52583333, 172.63305556 - In one line: Opened in 1994 on Victoria Street, the Christchurch Casino was New Zealand's first legal casino. Its gaming floor holds hundreds of machines and dozens of tables, anchoring a lively corner of the central city. ### 23. Hagley Oval - Coordinates: -43.534, 172.619 - In one line: Set within Hagley Park, Hagley Oval is Christchurch's international cricket ground. It hosted New Zealand's opening match of the 2015 World Cup and keeps a timber pavilion from 1864, among the oldest cricket pavilions in the country. ### 24. Christchurch Gondola - Coordinates: -43.585, 172.70805556 - In one line: Opened in 1992, the Christchurch Gondola climbs Mount Cavendish in the Port Hills to a summit 445 metres above the sea. From the top, visitors take in the city, Lyttelton Harbour and the Southern Alps beyond. ### 25. Port Hills - Coordinates: -43.59, 172.69 - In one line: The Port Hills are the eroded rim of an ancient volcano, rising between Christchurch and Lyttelton Harbour. Their summits, walking tracks and the scenic Summit Road give the city its dramatic southern skyline and sweeping coastal views. ### 26. Cathedral Grammar School - Coordinates: -43.5279, 172.629 - In one line: Founded in 1881 to educate the cathedral's choristers, Cathedral Grammar School sits near Hagley Park. It belongs to the worldwide Choir Schools Association and keeps a heritage building, Inveresk, dating from the 1860s and 1870s. ### 27. Barbadoes Street Cemetery - Coordinates: -43.5243, 172.6455 - In one line: Established in 1851, Barbadoes Street Cemetery is one of Christchurch's oldest burial grounds. Its Anglican, Catholic and dissenters' sections hold early settlers, bishops, mayors and members of parliament beneath weathered headstones and obelisks. ### 28. Riverside Market - Coordinates: -43.53257778, 172.63741389 - In one line: Opened in 2019 near the Avon River, Riverside Market is a bustling food hall of around 100 local traders. Fresh produce, butchers, bakers and eateries fill a hall built partly from timber salvaged from the Lyttelton wharf. ### 29. St Luke's Church - Coordinates: -43.5261, 172.6401 - In one line: Saint Luke's Church was a Gothic Revival Anglican church at the corner of Kilmore and Manchester Streets, designed by Cyril Mountfort and consecrated in 1909. Badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake, it was demolished, though its surviving vicarage still stands nearby. ### 30. Riccarton House and Bush - Coordinates: -43.52658, 172.59783 - In one line: Riccarton House is the grand Victorian and Edwardian home of the pioneering Deans family, built in stages from 1856. Beside it stands Riccarton Bush, a rare surviving remnant of ancient kahikatea forest. Both passed to public ownership in 1947 and now welcome visitors. ### 31. Mona Vale - Coordinates: -43.52330278, 172.60851944 - In one line: Mona Vale is an elegant homestead and riverside garden estate built in 1899 and 1900 by architect Joseph Maddison. Set on the Avon River, its four hectares of lawns, fernery, and rose garden became a public park in 1969. ### 32. Merivale - Coordinates: -43.517031, 172.616522 - In one line: Merivale is a leafy, affluent Christchurch suburb just north of the centre, named after Charlotte Jackson's farm of 1851. Known for its tree-lined streets, restored cottages, and busy shopping strip along Papanui Road, it blends Victorian character with one of the city's liveliest cafe scenes. ### 33. Sumner - Coordinates: -43.57144, 172.76447 - In one line: Sumner is a seaside suburb on Christchurch's eastern coast, surveyed and named in 1849 after the Archbishop of Canterbury. Famous for Cave Rock, its sandy surf beach, and volcanic cliffs, it grew into a popular and relaxed beach resort. ### 34. New Brighton - Coordinates: -43.508, 172.726 - In one line: New Brighton is a seaside suburb on Christchurch's east coast, named in 1860 after Brighton in England. Its landmark pier, first opened in 1894 and rebuilt in 1997, reaches far over Pegasus Bay. Once famous for Saturday shopping, it is now a renewing beachside community. ### 35. Lyttelton - Coordinates: -43.6, 172.72 - In one line: Lyttelton is the historic port town serving Christchurch, set in a volcanic harbour over the Port Hills. Landing place of the First Four Ships in 1850 and departure point for Antarctic expeditions, it remains a characterful working port and creative community. ### 36. Cashmere - Coordinates: -43.572751, 172.6311 - In one line: Cashmere is a leafy hillside suburb rising on the northern slopes of the Port Hills above Christchurch. ### 37. Sydenham - Coordinates: -43.55, 172.63333333 - In one line: Sydenham is an inner working-class suburb just south of central Christchurch, strung along Colombo Street. Once New Zealand's largest borough, it grew on industry and trade before merging with the city in 1903. ### 38. Addington - Coordinates: -43.545, 172.609 - In one line: Addington is a southwest Christchurch suburb built on railways, racing and trade. Home to the famous trotting raceway, vast former rail workshops and a historic prison, it remains a busy, diverse industrial and entertainment district. ### 39. Taylors Mistake - Coordinates: -43.5833, 172.7755 - In one line: Taylors Mistake is a rugged surf beach at Christchurch's southeastern edge, named for an early settler's navigational error. Backed by cliffs, century-old holiday baches and rare cave dwellings, it draws swimmers, surfers and coastal walkers. ### 40. Ferrymead Heritage Park - Coordinates: -43.56728611, 172.7022 - In one line: Ferrymead Heritage Park is a living outdoor museum in Christchurch, recreating an Edwardian village beside the site of New Zealand's first public railway. Vintage trains, trams and working exhibits are run by volunteer societies. ### 41. Victoria Park - Coordinates: -43.5896, 172.6437 - In one line: Victoria Park is a sprawling reserve on the Port Hills above Christchurch, opened in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Its forests, gardens and tracks draw walkers and mountain bikers, with sweeping views over the city. ### 42. Godley Head - Coordinates: -43.5875, 172.805 - In one line: Godley Head guards the entrance to Lyttelton Harbour at the eastern tip of the Port Hills. Its windswept slopes hold a 1939 coastal defence battery, a historic lighthouse and cliff-top walking tracks above the open Pacific. ## 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](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app). ## More from Roots Earth - [Oceania in the Roots Earth catalogue](https://rootsearth.com/cities#oceania): every city in Oceania with its number of places and its languages. - [What Roots Earth is](https://rootsearth.com/app): the app in one page, how it works and what is in it. - [Questions travellers ask](https://rootsearth.com/faq): the cities, the languages, the account, listening without a connection. - [The 7 languages](https://rootsearth.com/languages): the seven languages with their codes and how many cities each one covers. - [Auckland](https://rootsearth.com/cities/auckland): 46 places in New Zealand with audio stories. - [Dunedin](https://rootsearth.com/cities/dunedin): 40 places in New Zealand with audio stories. - [Napier](https://rootsearth.com/cities/napier): 40 places in New Zealand with audio stories. - [Wellington](https://rootsearth.com/cities/wellington): 44 places in New Zealand with audio stories. 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