Claudelands is the suburb directly across the Waikato River from central Hamilton, connected to the city by the Claudelands Bridge. It has a quiet, residential feel quite different from the city centre — most of the area is parkland, with walking and cycling tracks running along the river and through the Claudelands Reserve.
The Claudelands Events Centre hosts concerts, conventions, and trade shows year-round. The suburb also has a cluster of older heritage houses from Hamilton's late Victorian and Edwardian period, not particularly well preserved but giving a sense of the city's early development. From the eastern riverbank, the views back towards the CBD and the river terraces are the best in Hamilton.