Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. It is New Zealand's third most-populous urban area behind Auckland and Wellington.

Christchurch was established in 1850 by Anglican English settlers and this heritage shows in its fine older buildings, especially the neo-gothic buildings in the cultural precinct along Worcester Boulevard and Rolleston Ave. The River Avon meanders through the central city and disrupts the otherwise regular rectangular layout of the city streets.

Christchurch is known as the Garden City, a well-deserved name. Looking from a few floors up, one is struck by the number of trees that grow like a forest throughout the suburbs.

The central business district is undergoing a major rebuild after earthquakes. All areas are now accessible and the city remains a major gateway to the rest of the South Island.

Christchurch has a rich English heritage. This is shown in the older buildings, especially in the cultural precinct along Worcester Boulevard (which is open from the Avon River towards the west), where most heritage buildings remain.

• i-Site Visitor Centre, 28 Worcester Boulevard (The Arts Centre), ☎ +64 3 379-9629, toll-free: 0800 423 783, e-mail: info@christchurchnz.com. Daily 08:30-17:00. Free booking service for accommodation, activities, and transport. 

Climate

Christchurch has a temperate climate with moderate rainfall. Under the Köppen climate classification, Christchurch has an oceanic climate (Cfb). Summer in the city is mostly warm but is often moderated by a sea breeze from the Northeast. A record temperature of 41.6 °C (107 °F) was reached in February 1973. A notable feature of the weather is the nor'wester, a hot föhn wind that occasionally reaches storm force, causing widespread minor damage to property. Christchurch experiences the urban heat island phenomenon, similar to cities such as Tokyo, London, and New York City, making temperatures feel warmer than they actually are within the inner city regions.

In winter it is common for the temperature to fall below 0 °C (32 °F) at night. There are on average 80 days of ground frost per year. Snowfalls occur on average three times per year, although in some years no snowfall is recorded. The coldest temperature recorded was −7.1 °C (19 °F) on 18 July 1945, the third-lowest recorded temperature of New Zealand's major cities.

On cold winter nights, the surrounding hills, clear skies, and frosty calm conditions often combine to form a stable inversion layer above the city that traps vehicle exhausts and smoke from domestic fires to cause smog. While not as bad as smog in Los Angeles or Mexico City, Christchurch smog has often exceeded World Health Organisation recommendations for air pollution. To limit air pollution, the regional council banned the use of open fires in the city in 2006. In 2008, the council prohibited the use of wood burners more than 15 years old, while making funding available to upgrade domestic home heating systems.