Ponsonby

Long gone are the days where the area of Ponsonby was a gritty neighborhood to be avoided – now the thoroughfare and surrounding streets bustle with boutiques, as well as cute restaurants, cafés and bars. The shops here for the most part are the types of cool independent places you'd find in New York's Lower East Side. There are also some nice homewares, design and art shops. After a morning or afternoon shopping tour, seek out Ponsonby Central (136 Ponsonby Road; ponsonbycentral.co.nz), a center with a lovely organic market and some stamp-sized cafés, bakeries and restaurants (Toro is a favorite for lunch).