Wellington: Capital value

7pm: Arrive at Wellington's extremely user-friendly airport and nab a cab. Thanks to some apparent subverting of the time-space continuum, you'll arrive at CityLife hotel in the CBD about 15 minutes later. Surely that is not physically possible? Where are the queues of traffic?

Drop the bags, pause for a pre-prandial drink in the hotel's small but perfectly formed house bar, The Living Room, before heading two minutes up the road to the outstanding (and very cosy on a winter's night) Boulcott St Bistro for a delish dinner.

9am: Up and at 'em - eventually. Hit the hotel's breakfast spread or step out the CityLife back door directly on to Lambton Quay and walk towards Parliament and the new Hill St Farmers' Market in the car park of Wellington Cathedral. Here you can pick up a brekkie of tasty pastries or crepes and a piping-hot coffee as you mingle among the stalls selling fresh fruit and veges, wine, organic meat (great if you want to make use of the kitchen in the CityLife suites) and other boutique products.

If the weather's good, you could put together a picnic and head to Wellington's gorgeous botanic garden, up the hill at the top of the cable car, back near the hotel, or to Frank Kitts Park on the waterfront.

11am: Right, time to give that credit card a capital workout. If you've decided to forego the picnic for another day, head back the way you came up Lambton Quay, shopping as you go. First stop should be Wellington's iconic department store, Kirkcaldie & Stains, before you hit the Old Bank Arcade, where you'll find Wellington designer Andrea Moore as well as other fashion favourites such as Ruby and Ricochet, plus spectacular shoes at I Love Paris. If your energy is waning, pick up a tasty coffee at Mojo, then head outside to Wellington's newest fashion nook on Featherston and Grey streets for Zambesi, Workshop, Moochi, Dyrberg Kern, Unity Collection and more.

From there, press on up Willis St to Wellington labels Starfish and Voon, and on to the quirky boutiques, chain stores and high-end designers such as Kate Sylvester on Cuba St. Head up one side and down the other before making a quick detour for cool designer jewellery and art at Artikel around the corner on Wakefield St.

By now you'll be ready for another bite. Cuba St is filled with great cafes: try Floriditas and Plum or French bistro food at Le Metropolitan.

4pm: Back to the hotel, laden down with shopping bags. Shower and change for a night on the town.

5.30pm: Kick off your evening with an early, pre-show dinner at Wellington's iconic Logan Brown restaurant. There's a very good reason this restaurant is always found near the top of any list of the country's best and the set bistro menu is an excellent way to experience Logan Brown's amazing food. You need to be in and out by 7.30pm, but that's perfect for pre-show dining and you get three delicious courses for $39.95.

7.30pm: Theatre time. There's always plenty going on among Wellington's theatre companies, but the next big thing in the capital city will be Waiting for Godot starring Gandalf himself, Ian McKellen, at the gorgeous St James Theatre on Courtenay Place from June 30 to July 3.

10.30pm: Time to hit the legendary entertainment strip of Courtenay Place. A word to the wise, though _ a lot of the best spots for a post-show cocktail are just off the teenager-filled place. Our picks are the stylish Motel and quirky Alice (where your cocktails come in teapots), found down a service lane off Tory St; the book-lined Library, upstairs on Courtenay Place next to Burger King; and the newly opened, super-cool The Apartment on Allen St, which is laid out, as you might expect, as an apartment - with a kitchen, lounge and even a sun deck. Nice.

9am: It's best to be up and about earlyish again to catch two of the capital's most famous markets: Harbourside and City. But you won't need breakfast first. Harbourside Market is Wellington's oldest, now found on the corner of Barnet and Cable streets outside Te Papa and open every Sunday from 7am to 1pm in winter (to 2pm in summer). Here you'll find huge amounts of fresh produce, as well as baked goods, artisan foods and a vast array of freshly made treats for breakfast or lunch.

Beside it you'll find the much newer City Market, which sits under shelter in the Chaffers Dock building. It is the brainchild of leading Wellington chef Martin Bosely and food company owner Rachel Taulelei. City Market is also open every Sunday, 8.30am-12pm, and specialises in gourmet artisan foods - olives and oil, cupcakes, wine and even organic seedlings; there's not much you can eat that you won't find here.

12pm: Stomachs now filled with a market brunch, pause for a little more shopping at The Service Depot, a brilliant collection of top fashion labels in Lombard St, or head a couple of blocks back from Courtenay Place to Goodness on College St (across the road from Moore Wilson and near Cafe L'Affare, if you're still hungry) for more great Kiwi fashion.

3pm: Now you've stretched the legs and given the stomach and wallet a good workout, time to feed the mind with a trip to Carter Observatory at the top of the cable car (which you can pick up on Lambton Quay just a few doors down from CityLife on the edge of the botanic gardens - pause for a moment to admire the harbour views before you head inside).

It's a fascinating place, great on a wet day and great to keep kids (of all ages) amused for hours. Inside the recently refurbished interactive exhibition space, the displays begin by trying to explain the mind-bending size of the universe with columns of sands representing a portion of stars in the universe, and from there it scales all the way down to cover our solar system and finally the southern skies above Wellington - taking in Maori astronomical myth and history, and Kiwi space legends such as Sir William Pickering along the way.

See the spectacular and surprisingly elegant Thomas Cook telescope, gifted to the observatory in the 19th century and still in use on public star-gazing nights.

Carter also runs regular planetarium shows highlighting the stars of our night sky and tailored to the time of year - watch out for special shows on the Matariki stars starting next week.

5pm: With a head full of stars, head back to the hotel for another quick outfit change, then take your pick of outstanding Wellington eateries. Try a pre-dinner wine or two at Arbitrageur or Pravda on Featherston St, before trying tapas at Zibbibo on Taranaki St, seafood at Martin Bosely's eponymous restaurant or perhaps Spanish at Osteria del Torro on Holland St.

Wherever you go, raise a toast to a fine few days of eating, shopping and sipping your way around the capital.

IF YOU GO

The four and a half-star City Life Wellington sits on Gilmer Terrace, but with direct access on to Lambton Quay, making it an easy walk to almost anywhere in the central city. It has a range of rooms, including two- or three-bedroom suites, which include kitchen and laundry facilities. The hotel also has a fully equipped health club, a private boardroom facility, free wi-fi and 24-hour concierge service.

Weekend overnight packages start from $169 for a studio room, including breakfast for two, or, for a more luxurious option, treat yourself and a loved one to a night in an executive one-bedroom suite for $209 with breakfast.

A two-bedroom family suite is $229 a night. This rate is room-only and available only on weekends and school holidays. Call 0800 36 88 88 or visit heritagehotels.co.nz.

For shows, events and attractions in Wellington, visit wellingtonnz.co.nz.

Kerri Jackson travelled to Wellington courtesy of Positively Wellington Tourism and Heritage Hotels.