Napier (Ahuriri in Māori) is a port city in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It has a population of 57,900 as of the June 2008 estimate. Less than twenty kilometres separate the centres of Hastings City and Napier, and as such the two are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities".

The population of the urban area of Napier-Hastings is 122,600 which makes Napier-Hastings the fifth largest urban area in the country, closely followed by Tauranga (116,000), and Dunedin (114,900). The city is 332 kilometres (by road) north-east of the capital, Wellington. It has a population slightly smaller than the Hastings District, but as Hastings is administered as a district, Napier is the only official city in the Hawke's Bay region.

Napier is the largest cross-bred wool centre in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest apple, pear and stone fruit producing areas in New Zealand. It has also become an important grape growing and wine production area with the fruit passing from the growers around Metropolitan Hastings and then to Napier for exporting. There are large frozen meat, wool, pulp and timber tonnages passing through Napier’s port.

Napier is a popular tourist city, and has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue on Marine Parade called Pania of the Reef. Her statue is regarded in Napier in much the same way that the Little Mermaid statue is regarded in Copenhagen. In October 2005 the statue was stolen, but it was recovered a week later, largely unharmed.

Thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the Art Deco Weekend event - a celebration of Napier's Art Deco heritage and history. Other notable tourist events attracting many outsider's include the region's annual Wine & Food Festival (named Harvest Hawke's Bay), and Mission Concert at the Mission Estate Winery in the near by town of Taradale. Past artists have included Eric Clapton, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, and Rod Stewart.

Similar to 0 things you like: