The elegant coastal city of Napier, 313 km north-east of Wellington in Hawke's Bay, is internationally renowned for the charm of the world's best examples of Art Deco buildings.

The first European to see the future site of Napier was Captain James Cook, who sailed down the east coast in October 1769. The site was subsequently visited and later settled by European traders, whalers and missionaries. By the 1850s, farmers and hotel-keepers arrived.

In 1854 Alfred Domett, a future Prime Minister of New Zealand, decided to establish a planned town here; its streets and avenues were laid out, and the new town was named for Sir Charles Napier, a military leader fought in the province of Sindh, India.

On 3 February 1931, a massive earthquake hit the Hawke's Bay region and Napier city suffered particularly badly. The collapse of buildings and the ensuing fires killed 256 people. Some 4,000 hectares of today's Napier were under the sea before the earthquake raised it above sea level, providing new farmland and room for urban development.

The city was rebuilt in what was then the most fashionable of styles - Art Deco. All the new buildings had to be built in concrete and low-rise, with surprisingly uniform and appealing effect. By the end of the 1930s, Napier was the newest city on the planet. Most of the centre remained intact for long enough to be recognised as architecturally important. Napier and South Beach in Miami, Florida, are considered the two best-preserved Art Deco towns in the world. In 2007 Napier was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Napier is also the home of New Zealand wine, housing the oldest wineries and winemaking establishments in the country. With some of the best sunshine hours in New Zealand, mountainous shelter from prevailing westerly winds, and refreshing sea breezes, Napier is not only an ideal place for growing grapes but also a great place to visit.