The Wellington markets run on a simple weekly rhythm: a night market at the top of Cuba Street on Friday and Saturday evenings, a farmers market in Thorndon on Saturday morning, and the big Harbourside Market beside Te Papa on Sunday morning. Between them, they cover dinner, the weekly shop and a very good breakfast.
This goes through the Wellington markets day by day, with where each one is, its hours, what you will find there, parking and the tips that make a visit easier. Hours change with the seasons and the occasional holiday, so check before you set out, especially in winter.
The week at a glance
Friday evening: Welly Night Market, Abel Smith Street, Te Aro, from 5pm to 10pm.
Saturday morning: Thorndon Farmers Market, Hill Street, from 8.30am to 12.30pm.
Saturday afternoon and evening: Welly Night Market, Abel Smith Street, from 3pm to 9pm.
Sunday morning: Harbourside Market, Cable Street beside Te Papa, from 7.30am to 1pm in winter and 2pm in summer.
All of them are free to enter, and all are within walking distance of central Wellington.
Friday and Saturday: the Welly Night Market
Wellington's night market has a long history on Cuba Street. For years it ran in the Left Bank area and on lower Cuba, with the street closed on Saturday nights, before it closed around 2021. The Abel Smith Street market is the comeback, and it has brought the same mix of cheap food, music and a crowd of all ages.
Some older guides and websites still list the night market on lower Cuba Street or at Waitangi Park on different nights. The Abel Smith Street market on Friday and Saturday is the current one, but schedules can change, so check its social pages before you plan dinner around it.
What to expect: food stalls from across Asia, the Pacific and beyond, sweet things for dessert, a few craft and gift stalls, and music. Portions are made for grazing, so the best approach is to share and try several.
Getting there: a short walk from Cuba Street and Courtenay Place. Parking nearby is limited in the evening.
Saturday: the Thorndon Farmers Market
The Thorndon Farmers Market runs every Saturday morning from 8.30am to 12.30pm, rain, hail or shine, on Hill Street beside Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. It is a true farmers market: seasonal produce, fish, meat, cheese and artisan food sold by the people who grow or make it.
Bunting, food trucks and good coffee make it a pleasant breakfast stop, not just a place to shop. Arrive early for the best of the produce.
The market is a short walk up Molesworth Street from Wellington Station and the Parliament buildings, which makes it easy to combine with a Saturday in Thorndon: the market, then a walk up Te Ahumairangi Hill, then lunch at The Thistle Inn.
Parking: free street parking on Molesworth, Hill and Aitken Streets, which fills by mid-morning.
Sunday: the Harbourside Market
The Sunday Harbourside Market is Wellington's oldest and biggest market, on the corner of Barnett and Cable Streets beside Te Papa and Waitangi Park. It runs every Sunday from 7.30am to 1pm in winter and until 2pm in summer, with fresh fruit and vegetable stalls, around thirty food trucks and vendors, and entertainment.
It is a genuinely local market: more residents doing their weekly shop than tourists browsing. Stallholders donate unsold food to Kaibosh, the country's first food rescue charity.
The market's roots go back to the early twentieth century, and it has been part of Wellington's Sunday for generations. It is the one market every visitor should see.
What to buy: seasonal fruit and vegetables at prices well below the supermarkets, bread, cheese, preserves and nuts for a picnic, and breakfast from the food trucks. In summer, look for real fruit ice cream.
When to go: early. The best produce and the shortest queues are before 9am, and the choicest stalls thin out as the morning goes on. By late morning it is busy and the good bread has gone.
Parking: parking in the surrounding area drops to around $2 an hour during market hours, but it fills fast. Walking from the city takes ten to fifteen minutes along the waterfront.
Making a Sunday morning of it
The Harbourside Market sits in the middle of the waterfront, and it is the natural start to a Wellington Sunday. Buy breakfast from the food trucks, eat it on the grass in Waitangi Park while the children use the playground, then walk to Oriental Bay for a coffee and a swim in summer. Te Papa opens at 10am, a two-minute walk away, for the afternoon.
Other markets in and around Wellington
A few smaller markets are worth knowing about if you are in the right place at the right time.
The Newtown vintage, art and craft market on Mein Street sells vintage clothing, art and handmade goods on the days it runs, and pairs well with an afternoon on Riddiford Street's op shops and cafes. Newtown and Karori also have neighbourhood farmers markets.
A market has run in an underground car park on Jervois Quay on Saturdays in the past, with crafts and second-hand stalls. Check whether it is currently operating before you go.
Across the harbour, the Riverbank Market in Lower Hutt runs every Saturday from early morning until 2pm, with produce and food trucks. It is a local favourite, and an easy train ride from Wellington Station.
When the markets are closed
Wellington's markets cluster at the weekend, which leaves Monday to Thursday without one. For market-quality produce and local food on a weekday, Moore Wilson's on the corner of Tory and College Streets is the specialist food store where the city's chefs shop. It carries local cheese, meat, fish, bread and fruit and vegetables, and it is the best place in town to put together a picnic or stock a self-catering kitchen.
For fish, Wellington Seamarket on Lambton Quay sells fresh seafood over the counter alongside its fish and chips. Bread comes from the sourdough bakery in Left Bank, which bakes loaves that supply cafes across the city.
Where to eat what you buy
A market haul is best eaten outside, and Wellington has good places for it when the wind cooperates. From the Harbourside Market, walk ten minutes along the waterfront to Oriental Bay, or stay in Waitangi Park beside the market. From the Thorndon market, the Botanic Garden is a short walk up the hill, with lawns, shade and the rose garden.
From the night market, most people eat standing up or at the tables on site. On a still evening, a takeaway from Abel Smith Street carried down to the waterfront makes a cheap dinner with a view.
Accessibility and getting around
The Harbourside Market is on flat, sealed ground beside the waterfront, easy with a wheelchair or pram, though the aisles between stalls get crowded by late morning. The Thorndon market is on a sloping street next to the cathedral, manageable but with some gradient. The night market site is compact and busy in the evening.
All three are close to bus routes and within a short walk of central hotels. The Thorndon market is about ten minutes on foot from Wellington Station, the Harbourside Market ten to fifteen minutes from Lambton Quay, and the night market a few minutes from Courtenay Place.
A market weekend
With a Friday to Sunday in Wellington, the markets make a natural spine for the weekend.
On Friday, eat dinner at the night market on Abel Smith Street, then walk down Cuba Street for a drink. On Saturday morning, shop and have breakfast at the Thorndon Farmers Market, then walk up to the Botanic Garden and ride the cable car down. On Saturday afternoon, work through the op shops of Te Aro. On Sunday morning, go early to the Harbourside Market, eat breakfast in Waitangi Park, and spend the rest of the day at Te Papa and Oriental Bay.
It is a weekend that costs very little beyond what you eat, and it shows the city the way locals live in it.
Market tips
Bring a bag, and a spare one. Plastic bags are not handed out freely in New Zealand, and you will buy more than you planned.
Most stalls accept cards and phone payments, but a little cash speeds things up at the busier ones, especially for small purchases.
Go early for produce, later for food. The morning markets are best for shopping before 9am and best for breakfast between 9am and 11am.
Dress for the weather. The Harbourside Market and the night market are outdoors on the waterfront and on an exposed corner, and Wellington's wind makes a mild day feel cold. The Thorndon market runs in all weather.
Dogs are generally fine on a lead at the outdoor markets, but check the signs, and keep them away from the food stalls.
Markets with children
The Harbourside Market is the family pick, with food trucks, fruit and the Waitangi Park playground next door. The Thorndon Farmers Market is smaller and calmer, good for younger children. The night market is busy and crowded later in the evening, so arrive early with small children.
Markets by season
Summer brings the biggest crowds, the longest opening hours at the Harbourside Market and the best fruit: berries, stone fruit and new-season vegetables. Autumn has apples, pears and the last of the tomatoes, often in the calmest weather of the year. Winter is quieter, with shorter hours, root vegetables and citrus, and stallholders who are glad to see you. Spring brings asparagus and new greens, and the wind.
More food, more of Wellington
The markets are a good introduction to how Wellington eats. For the rest of it, the city's restaurants and its cafes cover every meal the markets do not.
The night market's home at the top of Cuba makes it an easy end to an afternoon there, and the Harbourside Market is one of the best free mornings in town if you only look.
Second-hand finds at the craft markets pair well with the city's vintage racks, and the markets are one of many good ways to spend a Wellington weekend.
Frequently asked questions
Published July 5, 2026
