With a population in excess of
23,000, Blenheim is Marlborough's largest town. Situated at the junction of State Highway
1 and State Highway 6, Blenheim is the region's economic centre.
 The Forum in Market Square
is the heart of Bleheim's business district and features an ornate rotunda and a wide
piazza where locals gather to talk and enjoy Marlborough's abundant sunshine. In keeping
with its role as a holiday destination, Blenheim's many parks and gardens lend a festive
air to the town.
Pollard Park and Waterlea Gardens have attractive flower displays and
Seymour Square features an historic monument and multi-coloured fountain. Blenheim's main
theatres, the Marlborough Centre and the Boathouse Theatre, are the principle venues for culture and entertainment
in the region and the Marlborough Arts Society Gallery and Millennium Art Gallery attract
exhibitions from artists throughout the region and beyond.
The township's restaurants and café's cater for a wide range of
budgets and tastes - from "kiwi cuisine" and Mediterranean fare, through to
Indian, Thai and Chinese. And most of these eateries use local produce served in
imaginative and delightful ways.
For the visitor wishing to stay a few days, a wide range of accommodation is available in
and around Blenheim from luxurious boutique hotels, lodges and bed-and-breakfasts, through
to motor camps and backpacker hostels.
The Wairau Plain is bounded to the north by the Richmond Range and to the south by the
Whither Hills. The Wairau River winds across the fertile floodplain, emptying into Cloudy
Bay.
Much of the region's - and New Zealand's - flourishing wine industry is
based on the Wairau Plain, where some of the best Sauvignon Blanc grapes in the world are
grown by a number of internationally renowned wine companies. Many of the wineries offer wine tasting as well as lunch and
dinner, and are a "must see" while in the area. |
