Palmerston North Sights and Landmarks Guide, New Zealand

There is plenty to see and do in Palmerston North. You can visit the Te Manawa, which is a combined museum, interactive science center, and art gallery that creates a fusion of mind, life, and art. Te Manawa is open every day, including weekends and holidays, with the exception of Christmas Day, from 10am to 5pm. The admission to the Life and Art galleries is free; to the Mind galleries, however, it costs $6 for adults, $4 for children, and $15 for a family.

The New Zealand Rugby Museum is definitely something that you will not want to miss. This place is possibly the oldest museum in the world; maybe even the first. It has the most comprehensive and largest collection of rugby records and memorabilia, which includes some of the rarest rugby artifacts in the world. There is an extensive library that includes the only copy of some books in New Zealand and records of every first class match that has been played since rugby was introduced to New Zealand in 1870. It is open every day, Monday through Saturday from 10am until noon and 1:30pm until 4pm; it is then open on Sundays from 1:30pm to 4pm for arranged Tour and Rugby Groups. The cost is $4 for adults and $1 for children.

A great place for some indoor and outdoor fun is the Lido Aquatic Center, which has pools indoors and outdoors, a toddler's pool, a spa pool, two hydro-slides, and a diving tower. It is open every day of the week at different times and costs $2.50 for adults and $1.50 for children.

If you love to see the sight of beautiful gardens, then Victoria Esplanade is the place to visit. There is a conservatory, walkways, picnic areas, a playground, a scenic railway, free electric BBQs, and an aviary. Victoria House is Palmerston North's original post office and a historic building, which is also located here. It is open all the time, and the conservatory and Education Center are open during the week from 10am to 4pm and on weekends from noon to 4pm.

There is also Cross Hills Gardens, where you can walk around the landscape that has one of the finest rhododendron and azalea collections in the world, with more than 2,000 varieties. There are also many rare perennials, shrubs, and trees that have been planned in order to be sure that there is something that visitors can view here during every season of the year.

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