To stroll through Parnell is to indulge your senses as well as transport you back in time. Parnell today is abuzz with an amazing selection of around 55 restaurants, cafes and bars – traditional, quirky or hip. From some of the best fish and chips you will ever taste to gourmet burgers to gastronomic delights there is plenty to choose from. With New Zealand's highest concentration of Art Galleries side by side with the best fashion designers, and fine New Zealand and imported products and speciality shops, it is all here.
Visit La Cigale French Markets on weekend mornings and make yourself a picnic from the vast array of tasty delights including fresh produce, pastries, French cheeses and smoked Akaroa salmon.
Take a dip at The Parnell Baths. Located on the waterfront, the pools have recently been upgraded and include a 60 metre salt water pool and three hot pools, lounging chairs and an all weather cafe.
Tennis fans - we are 5 minutes from Stanley Street's ASB Tennis Centre, home of the ASB Classic.
Minutes away is the shopping mecca of Newmarket, Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Parnell Rose Gardens and the Domain, Auckland City Hospital and the University of Auckland. A mere 1.5kms away is the city centre itself where you can visit the Art Gallery, Maritime Museum, take a ferry to Devonport or Waiheke or try your luck at the Sky City Casino.
Chalet Chevron is the ideal location if you are attending a conference (perhaps at the nearby Jubilee Centre or the Auckland Museum) or corporate event.
Stay at Chalet Chevron when you attend a sports event or concert at Vector Arena or at other theatre venues in and around Auckland... we are very close with easy walking and no parking problems. For train buffs arriving or departing on the Northern Explorer train then Britomart - Auckland's state of the art railway station - is close by.
Parnell was proclaimed New Zealand's first suburb in 1841. Not surprisingly the area is filled with buildings of historical and architectural interest even though their original use may have changed from that of milliner to bar or haberdashery to restaurant, and churches may have been moved from one side of the road to another.
Experience colonial Parnell at Ewelme Cottage, a well-preserved early colonial dwelling, linked with the Anglican community in the Auckland region. Originally constructed in 1863-1864, the timber house was commissioned by the Reverend Vicesimus Lush (1817-1882), when he was the vicar of nearby Howick. Located in a charming historic garden, Ewelme Cottage is fascinating to visit due to its well-preserved interiors and furnishings. Hundreds of pages of sheet music, original artworks and a vast array of everyday objects from ointment pots to knitting needles remain. The cottage is open for viewing on Sundays from 10:30am till 4:30pm.
Built in 1857, Kinder House is one of Auckland’s most notable stone buildings. It was commissioned by Bishop G.A. Selwyn and designed by Frederick Thatcher, the architect for many Anglican buildings in Auckland. Visitors can wander the ground floor rooms to admire the display of watercolours, photographs and sketches by John Kinder (1819-1903). Kinder House is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday from Noon to 3pm. It is free entry but a donation is requested on entry.
