Art Deco Trust — Attraction in Napier

We had an amazing experience with The Art Deco Trust in Napier, NZ, thanks to our knowledgeable tour guide, Kay. She provided a fascinating overview of the area's history, complete with a binder of pictures depicting Napier's transformation from the explorer days to the aftermath of the 1931 earthquake. Driving a charming Red 4 door Packard (see pictures) with its original interior, Kay made the lack of A/C a non-issue by keeping all windows open. The 1.5-hour tour included stops for breathtaking photos from the hilltop and the oldest street in town. What sets this tour apart is the unique aspect of all the guides are dressed up in the 20's attire which added an extra layer of charm and authenticity to the entire journey. Only one minor drawback was that it was challenging to look up, given Kay's detailed explanations of the architectural features of various buildings in town. Nevertheless, Kay did an exceptional job and we highly recommend taking this unique tour. Thank you for a...

We went on an Art Deco Tour, with the Art Deco Trust. As a perpetual tourist, I really enjoyed this tour, as did my Sweet Kiwi Man, who although a New Zealander, had never done a tour of this nature. We loved walking through the streets, looking up, instead of down. Some really cool things we learned were; the difference between art nouveau and art deco, (one has a lot of floral and vines, one doesn’t), all about speedlines–(which we now plan to incorporate on our new sailboat), the earthquake and incredible rebuilding effort afterwards, what some of the cool colors and geometric patterns mean–(it felt a little like The DaVinci Code!), windows, columns, entryways–it was a grand adventure and learning; and a brilliant way to spend a couple of hours in this beautiful...

Been coming for a few years but bit disappointed for 2020. The cost of many of the indoor events is getting out of hand. But..the soundshell music was great and the deco dancers were very talented. Their free stage show was phenomenal. Vintage dance lessons were good. Museum after dark, airshow, soap box derby, garden bar and the old cars all popular but the big disaster was the drunken behaviour of the youth who must have seriously preloaded due to the liquor ban. By 9.30pm Saturday the Police had to shut down the 2 free family events. There was no visible security protecting the street band and families.The Trust and the city need to seriously look at how they manage intoxicated idiots or the whole thing...