Cafs, restaurants, shopping and night life - the Waikato has all the entertainment you can handle:

Shopping

Hamilton is proud to offer a huge variety of shopping opportunities for all the shop-aholics out there!  From malls to specialty shops, Hamilton has the gift, souvenir or fashion accessory you seek. 

Outside of the main city, every major town in the Waikato region has a unique shopping opportunity to offer you - see Cambridge for its wonderful antiques and arts and crafts, Tirau for great souvenirs or Otorohanga for Kiwi icons, to name just a few.

Eating Out

Once you've 'shopped till you've dropped', relax at one of the Hamilton's fantastic cafes or find a glass of wine and a fine meal to revive you for the night ahead.  Try Hamilton's South End of Victoria Street.

For a list of Hamilton cafes and restaurants visit the  Hamilton i-site.

For eating out guides in the general Waikato region, refer to your local information centre for more information.  But make sure you try the Boatshed Caf at Lake Karapiro, The Workman's Caf in Matamata and Vinnie's Caf in Raglan.

Casino

For a big night out with meals, bars, live entertainment and gaming rooms, Hamilton's casino is open daily from 11am to 3am.  Close to the river and the central city, it is the Sky Riverside.

Events

The Waikato is host to a variety of sporting, festival, theatre and arts events, many of which take place in Hamilton city. 

See this website's list of festivals   and visit the Hamilton  event listings site for more information.

The annual  National Fieldays, held at  Mystery Creek, are an extravaganza of all things agricultural. Thousands of the farm-minded and sightseers converge upon the site for a whole week in June.

Art / Museums

Local artists exhibit at a variety of galleries around the Waikato.  Visit your local information centre for more details.  Or try Artpost gallery and the Waikato Museum of Art and History in Hamilton to start with.