--- title: "Is Christchurch walkable? Walkability score 61/100" description: "Christchurch scores 61/100 for walkability (Somewhat Walkable) across its central 5 km: how far it reaches and what's near the centre." url: https://howwalkable.com/cities/new-zealand/christchurch updated: 2026-10-22 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- 1. [Cities](https://howwalkable.com/cities) 2. [New Zealand](https://howwalkable.com/cities/new-zealand) 3. Christchurch # How walkable is Christchurch? By [Oscar Higson-Spence](https://howwalkable.com/about#author). Updated 22 October 2026 Christchurch has a walkability score of 61 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. It is the 2nd most walkable of the 3 cities ranked in New Zealand. 61 out of 100: Somewhat Walkable Some errands can be accomplished on foot. * #2 of 3 in New Zealand * #439 of 690 tied, worldwide * 100 at the centre [Open on the map](https://howwalkable.com/?lat=-43.53333&lon=172.63953&q=Christchurch%2C%20New%20Zealand) ## What's within walking distance of the centre 1,432 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Christchurch. The nearest grocery is about 3 minutes away on foot. Every category earns full or nearly full points. ### Groceries 3.0 of 3 points * FreshChoice City Market, 3 min * Kosco Metro, 4 min * Countdown, 10 min ### Restaurants & bars 3.0 of 3 points * Seven Dining, 1 min * Pink Lady Rooftop, 1 min * Gelatiamo, 1 min ### Shopping 2.0 of 2 points * Sweaty Betty Christchurch, 1 min * JD Sports, 1 min * Shosha Christchurch CBD Vape Shop, 1 min ### Coffee 2.0 of 2 points * dainty, 1 min * The Residency, 1 min * Cafe and Bar 165, 1 min ### Banks 1.0 of 1 point * Colony, 2 min * ASB Bank, 3 min * Christchurch CBD Kiwibank, 4 min ### Parks 1.0 of 1 point * Rauora Park, 1 min * CTV Site, 3 min * Latimer Square, 4 min ### Schools 1.0 of 1 point * The Rainbow Corner ELC The Crossing Christchurch, 4 min * Sidekick CA | Chartered Accountants, 9 min * Annabel's Educare, 11 min ### Books & libraries 1.0 of 1 point * Ara Library, 4 min * Paper Plus, 5 min * Scorpio Books, 5 min ### Culture & entertainment 1.0 of 1 point * Alice Cinema and Film Specialists, 4 min * Odeon Theatre, Christchurch, 4 min * 𝙷𝚘𝚢𝚝𝚜 𝙲𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚜, 5 min Measured from the centre at -43.5333, 172.6395, the point near Christchurch's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route. ## Street layout Within 800 m of the centre there are about 107 street intersections per km², and blocks average 88 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced. ## How far walkability reaches Christchurch's score of 61 is the average across the 5 km around its centre, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 93 within 1 km of the centre, 71 from 1 to 3 km out and 50 from 3 to 5 km out. 39% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot. Walkability falls off steeply away from the centre, so check a specific address on the map. ![Walkability scores across the 5 km around central Christchurch, one hexagon per square kilometre. 39% of points score 70 or more; the lowest, 14, is 5 km to the east.](https://howwalkable.com/maps/new-zealand/christchurch.svg?v=c8c8ca7f86e4) Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Christchurch. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets. | Area | Score | Scoring 70+ | Points sampled | | ------------- | ----- | ----------- | -------------- | | Centre | 100 | 100% | 1 | | Within 1 km | 93 | 100% | 7 | | 1 to 3 km out | 71 | 54% | 28 | | 3 to 5 km out | 50 | 21% | 47 | ## Nearby cities | City | Distance | Score | | --------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ----- | | [Wellington](https://howwalkable.com/cities/new-zealand/wellington), New Zealand | 306 km | 55 | | [Auckland](https://howwalkable.com/cities/new-zealand/auckland), New Zealand | 766 km | 69 | ## Questions about walking in Christchurch ### Is Christchurch a walkable city? Partly. Christchurch has a walkability score of 61 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 100. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks 2nd of 3 cities in New Zealand and joint 439th of 690 worldwide on How Walkable. ### What is the most walkable city in New Zealand? Auckland is the most walkable of the 3 cities ranked in New Zealand, with a score of 69. Christchurch ranks 2nd with 61. ### How does Christchurch compare with nearby cities? Christchurch sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 61, against Wellington (55, 306 km away) and Auckland (69, 766 km away). ### Which part of Christchurch is most walkable? Christchurch's most walkable area is its centre, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 100. Walkability averages 93 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the west (averaging 75) and falls most to the east (46). ### How is Christchurch's walkability score calculated? For Christchurch it is the average of 82 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 32 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score. This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the [methodology](https://howwalkable.com/methodology). Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames. Ask about walking anywhere in ChatGPT with the [How Walkable app](https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6accc634bcf8819189c1bcaf0e227f0f), for example "How walkable is Christchurch?" Scores, rankings and text by How Walkable (https://howwalkable.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit How Walkable and link to this page when reusing them.