A Perfect Vintage Day in Auckland: Retro Cafés, Heritage Streets and a 1960s Double Decker at Sunset
Some days in a city are practical.
They’re for errands, meetings, busy crossings and takeaway coffee on the run.
But some days are meant to be different.
Slow. Beautiful. Thoughtfully curated. A little bit cinematic.
This is a guide to one of those days: a perfect vintage-inspired day in Auckland, built around charming cafés, heritage neighbourhoods, seaside promenades, and the most photogenic way to see the city — from the top deck of a 1960s London Routemaster on the Double Decker Discovery Tour.
If you love retro aesthetics, classic design, old-school hospitality and a touch of romance, this is your blueprint for seeing Auckland through a vintage lens.
Morning: Start with Coffee in a Retro Corner of the City
Every good vintage day starts with a proper coffee and a space that feels like it’s lived a few lives.
Seek out a café with:
Wooden floors
Mismatched chairs
Vintage posters or signage
Shelves of books or records
Sunlight that falls just right onto the table
As you sip your flat white and settle in, give yourself something rare on busy trips: time. No rushing. No frantic checklist. Just a sense that you’re somewhere real — a place with weight and stories.
Look around: old brickwork, original windows, repurposed furniture. These details are the architecture equivalent of patina on leather: they tell you you’re in a place that has seen years, not months.
Auckland is full of these pockets of history, hiding between modern glass towers and minimalist interiors. Your vintage day is all about finding them.
Late Morning: Wander Through Heritage Streets
From your café, wander into one of the city’s older neighbourhoods. Look for:
Wooden villas with decorative verandas
Terraced shopfronts
Old churches and brick buildings
Narrow streets and laneways
Rather than racing from landmark to landmark, walk slowly and notice the details:
Original letterboxes and iron fences
Old street lamps
Faded painted advertisements on walls
Vintage tiles at shop entrances
This is where Auckland’s vintage character lives — not in one big museum, but in hundreds of little details scattered across Parnell, Ponsonby, the CBD, and waterfront precincts.
Take photos of doorways, rooftops, balconies and window reflections. You’re creating your own visual diary of the city’s layered history.
Midday: Seaside Strolls and Classic Harbour Views
No vintage day in Auckland would be complete without getting close to the water. The city’s relationship with the harbour is one of the oldest stories it has.
Head toward the waterfront and find:
Wooden piers
Old ferry terminals
Maritime buildings
Fishing boats and classic yachts
There’s something timeless about the sight of masts in the harbour, gulls circling above, and the soft slap of water against wooden piles.
If you can, walk a stretch of the coastal route along the waterfront, or out toward the paths that follow the harbour edge. The combination of sea air, harbour sounds and layered skyline is pure Auckland – and feels like it could belong in almost any decade.
Early Afternoon: Vintage Shopping, Markets and Hidden Finds
After the seaside calm, head into an area known for vintage and second-hand stores. Your mission isn’t to buy armfuls of things; it’s to explore.
Look for:
Vinyl records and old album covers
Mid-century glassware and ceramics
Vintage clothing with character
Old maps and postcards
Classic New Zealand travel posters
What you’re really collecting isn’t objects, though you may find a treasure or two. You’re collecting moods: the feeling of being surrounded by items that have a story before you touched them.
There’s a quiet comfort in browsing through objects that have outlasted trends. They remind you that not everything is disposable and that the past is always humming quietly beneath the surface of modern life.
Late Afternoon: Step Aboard a 1960s London Routemaster
Now comes the centrepiece of your vintage day: boarding a beautifully restored 1960s London Routemaster for the Double Decker Discovery Tour with Vintage Views.
From the moment the bus comes into view, it feels like a character has walked onto the stage:
Glossy red paintwork
Curved front windows
Classic round headlights
Distinctive tall profile
It looks like London. It sounds like history. But the backdrop is pure Auckland — glass towers, bustling streets, harbour light and distant volcanic cones.
You climb the staircase and emerge onto the top deck, where your entire day seems to expand outward.
Golden Hour: Seeing Auckland from the Top Deck
From your seat upstairs, the city becomes a moving film reel.
As the Routemaster rolls through the CBD and waterfront, you realise just how different the city looks from above:
The Sky Tower suddenly feels closer, framed by neighbouring buildings.
The harbour glitters between glass towers.
Viaduct Harbour’s boats and boardwalks look like a miniature scene from a model set.
Then the bus climbs toward Parnell and beyond, and the scenes change:
Villas and gardens slip past at eye level.
Old brick churches appear and disappear between trees.
The curve of the Domain and Museum comes into view.
Soon, you’re on Tamaki Drive, riding along one of New Zealand’s most beautiful coastal roads. From the top deck:
Rangitoto Island dominates the horizon
The shoreline bends gracefully ahead
Walkers, cyclists and beachgoers move in a lazy, sunlit rhythm
There is something unmistakably “holiday vintage” about this stretch of road: palms, gentle bays, slow traffic, the sound of waves, the tingle of salt air. You could almost be anywhere in the classic seaside world — and yet it’s distinctly Auckland.
Ponsonby follows, with its colourful terraces and vibrant street life. The Routemaster fits here more than anywhere; it feels like it belongs among cafes, boutiques and balconies. Every corner looks like a potential album cover.
And then comes the moment that ties the whole day together: the Harbour Bridge crossing.
As the bus climbs and the city opens up around you, you realise you’re seeing Auckland in a way that almost no other vantage point can provide:
The skyline flares in the afternoon light
Sky Tower rises above everything, now part of your story, not just a distant postcard
The harbour stretches behind and beside you, flecked with boats and container ships and tiny swimmers near the shore
From the top deck of a 1960s bus on a 1950s bridge, with a 21st-century skyline around you, you’ve arrived at the exact intersection where vintage and modern Auckland meet.
Evening: City Lights and One Last Look Back
After the tour returns you to the city, you step off the bus a different kind of tired — not the weary, overstimulated tired of rushing, but the satisfied, warm tired of a day well lived.
As the evening unfolds, you might:
Find a cosy bar with dim lights and vintage décor
Sit near a window and watch the city’s neon glow reflect on wet pavement or harbour water
Raise a glass to the version of Auckland you met today – not just as a tourism brochure, but as a living, layered place
If you’re in the mood, you might even return for the evening Great British Pub Crawl on the same Routemaster, seeing yet another side of the city’s character under streetlights and stars.
Why a Vintage Day Feels Different
What sets this kind of day apart from a typical “city sightseeing day” isn’t the number of attractions you visit. It’s the way you move through them.
By choosing vintage spaces, heritage streets, seaside promenades and a classic double decker rather than standard modern options, you:
Slow down
Notice more
Appreciate craftsmanship and detail
Create better photos
Make stronger memories
You’re not just ticking boxes; you’re curating an experience — an aesthetic, emotional story you’ll remember long after you’ve left.
Turning a Simple Day into a Story
Auckland can be done fast: rush between malls, landmarks, towers, queues and food courts.
Or it can be done like this:
Coffee in a café with a past
Wandering streets where every building has a story
Breathing harbour air on a seaside walk
Finding small treasures in vintage shops
Riding into the golden hour on a double decker older than you are
Ending with city lights reflected in your glass
One is a busy day.
The other is a story you’ll tell.
On your next visit, or your next free weekend at home, choose the story.
And if you see a red Routemaster gliding through the streets of Auckland as the sun dips low over the harbour, you’ll know where to find the perfect seat.
Top deck. Front row.
The vintage way to see the city.