The Gothic Revival cathedral at the centre of Cathedral Square was the most recognisable building in Christchurch for 130 years, and it remains so today — partly because it is impossible to miss the scaffolding and the missing spire. The 2011 earthquake left the tower a stump and the interior in ruins, and the subsequent decade of arguments about what to do with it became a proxy battle over the city's identity: should Christchurch mourn, preserve, or move on? The answer, eventually, was to restore.
Visiting now means seeing a building mid-operation, which turns out to be quite compelling. The ground floor has been opened to visitors while work continues above, and interpretive displays explain both the earthquake damage and the restoration process in detail. Cathedral Square around it remains the civic heart of the city — trams ring past, the Chalice catches the light, and people still gather here as they have since the 1860s. Come at dusk when the stone catches the last sun.