Set along the delicate curve of Pegasus Bay, the city of Christchurch combines the rich urbane culture of an innovative city, with the remarkable allure of alpine and ocean-inspired scenery. The capital of the Canterbury region and the largest city on New Zealand's South Island, Christchurch contains charming pockets of its English heritage – from marvelous Gothic Revival structures that its streets are liberally peppered with, to a host of prime English gardens that dominate this 'Garden City'. Despite continuing to reel from the impact of the 2011 earthquake that tore through its English heart, Christchurch breathes life into new beginnings by planning infrastructural renewal and making the most of its ruinous remains. Visitors are typically drawn to the pretty scenery that surrounds the tranquil Avon River, the city's prized botanical gardens and a host of culinary delights that can be covered on foot or bicycle, two of the city's most preferred forms of transportation.
