Dunedin is situated at the head of Otago Harbour on the South Island, a 21 km long fiord-like inlet tending south-westward between Otago Peninsula and the mainland.

The area was first settled by Maori more than four centuries ago. Whalers, gold miners and other immigrants - many of them from Scotland and China - followed in the 19th century.

Scots of the Free Church built the first permanent European settlement here in 1848. Scottish settlers gave Dunedin much of its character, and its name, which is Gaelic for Edinburgh.

With the advent of the 1860s gold rush, Dunedin became New Zealand's most populous and prosperous city. New Zealand's first university, the University of Otago, was founded here in 1869.

Today Dunedin remains one of the southern hemisphere's best-preserved Edwardian and Victorian cities. Education, arts and culture, historic architecture and wildlife are all a focus in this interesting city.

Dunedin is a hilly city, but distances are not great, and the central city is flat and relatively compact. Many of Dunedin's central attractions are close together and can be easily explored by walking. The Octagon, dominated by St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, is a great public place with cafes, the city art gallery and picture theatres. One of Dunedin's most popular tourist attractions, the Cadbury factory has been here for over 70 years and still produces 85 per cent of New Zealand's chocolate.

Dunedin has New Zealand's oldest botanical garden (28 ha), established in 1863, and the country's only castle. Larnach Castle (1886) is a remarkable copy of an old Scottish building surrounded by a magnificent garden.

In a city of steep streets (34 Dunedin streets have a gradient steeper than 1:60), Baldwin Street only 200 m long with a 1:2.8 gradient, reigns supreme and is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's steepest street.

Peaceful Otago Peninsula, only 20 minutes' drive away on the southeast side of Otago Harbour, is home to an impressive array of wildlife, including albatrosses, fur seals, sea lions, blue penguins and rare yellow-eyed penguins.