Shopping

The Malls

The city has a number of suburban malls. Westfield Riccarton (tel. 03/348-4119) has more than 100 shops; the bus stops right outside the door. Northlands Mall, in Papanui (tel. 03/352-6535), has 67 stores. The Palms, in Shirley (tel. 03/385-3067), has more than 85 stores, a big entertainment complex, and good bus services. The recently revamped, upmarket Merivale Mall (tel. 03/355-9692) is smaller, but features a more expensive range of designer stores and boutiques. All malls are open daily.

The Markets

The Arts Centre, on Worcester Boulevard, offers a good range of everything from quirky to quality, especially during the open market weekends when the courtyard swells with purveyors of all things.

Riccarton Rotary Market (tel. 03/339-0011; www.riccartonmarket.co.nz), which you'll find Sundays from 8am at Riccarton Racecourse, on Racecourse Road, Upper Riccarton, is supposedly New Zealand's biggest outdoor market and attracts over 300 vendors. Arrive early to get the best bargains. The goods are predominantly secondhand, but there are some good buys in sheepskin products and crafts. You'll need to sift through everything as there's a lot of junk, but it's a good cultural study. Bus no. 83 from central city drops you at the main gate.

City Shopping Spots

Back in the city, New Regent Street is an architectural highlight on the central-city tram route. It features a mix of boutique stores, restaurants, and cafes and is generally very lively. If you're walking, it runs between Gloucester and Armagh streets.

For antiques and interesting secondhand stores, walk the length of High Street between Litchfield and Tuam streets. My favorite is Chaos, 180 Tuam St. (tel. 03/366-8651). It always has a great array of the unexpected and it shares the space with a vintage clothing and jewelry dealer. W. Holliday & Sons, 20 Papanui Rd., St. Albans (tel. 03/355-4117), is a fifth-generation enterprise with the best imported antiques. Wayne Wright Antiques, 88 Victoria St. (tel. 03/366-1116), is a close second.

Victoria Street, north of the Crowne Plaza through to Bealey Avenue, is now home to a lovely range of boutique gift, fashion, design, furniture, and interior decor stores, with plenty of cafes and restaurants along its length for a much-needed shopper's rest.

A new shopping and entertainment heart has sprung up at South of Lichfield (SOL), a classy alley off Lichfield Street, which mixes popular cafes, bars, and nightclubs with boutique stores. This theme continues in nearby Poplar Lane, which can be accessed off Lichfield Street (a couple minutes' walk to the east), or off High Street. And High Street itself is certainly the fashion center. You'll also find a number of leading art galleries in the High and Manchester streets area.

Top-quality New Zealand arts, crafts, and jewelry can be found at Form Gallery, in the new Christchurch Art Gallery (tel. 03/377-1211; www.form.co.nz). If you don't find what you want, Cave Rock Gallery, on the Hereford Street side of the Arts Centre (tel. 03/365-1634), will almost certainly fill some gaps.

There is a Regency Duty-Free Shop at 736 Colombo St. (tel. 03/379-1923). And it's in this area and into the Square that you'll find a wide range of gift stores selling souvenirs and clothing.

Tip: Made in New Zealand

Head for Untouched World, 155 Roydvale Ave. (tel. 03/357-9399; www.untouchedworld.com), where you'll find a stunning range of top-quality, New Zealand-made wool garments. It has a delightful setting with a top-end restaurant and native garden. They have another outlet at the Arts Centre, 301 Montreal St. (tel. 03/962-6551). Phone for courtesy transport. Wild South Adventure Clothing, 685 Colombo St. (tel. 03/379-7330), also sells excellent garments in natural fibers.

J. Ballantyne & Co., at City Mall and Colombo Street (tel. 03/379-7400), is still seen as the department store in Christchurch. It has been operating with distinctive style for over 100 years and its newly opened Contemporary Lounge is a good spot for top international clothing and accessories brands that can't be found elsewhere on the South Island.

Special Find: Retail on High

Some of my favorite stores are on High Street. One Big Sugar Bowl (tel. 03/377-3600) will appeal to all your senses with lovely costume jewelry, underwear, and accessories. Decodence, 151 High St. (tel. 03/982-8332), is a good place for Art Deco finds; and inform, 158 High St. (tel. 03/366-3893), is where you'll find more beautiful contemporary jewelry by Koji Miyazaki (owner of Form in the Christchurch Art Gallery) and other reputable New Zealand jewelers.

For excellent New Zealand-made contemporary gifts, go to the Vault (tel. 03/379-5399), which is also in this area, or Wild Places (tel. 03/365-2533).

Map World, 173 Gloucester St. (tel. 03/374-5399; www.mapworld.co.nz), is New Zealand's most comprehensive specialty map shop, stocked to the brim with guidebooks and topographic maps.