Sponsored: Gifts, gatherings, great cars

Looking for Nelson’s widest selection of gifts and collectables? You’ll find it at the store inside Nelson Classic Car Museum. A quick browse reveals something for every taste, every occasion, and every budget.

This beautifully curated shop celebrates local talent with artisan jewellery, ceramics and textiles, Kiwiana collectables, quirky must-haves, car and travel books, and fun souvenirs. From Royce McGlashen bowls to boutique-crafted handbags, elegant and fun earrings, through to the sweetest hand-knitted baby jumpsuits, the store answers every gift-buying challenge.

Ready for the next surprise? A hidden oasis at the museum is the boardroom, complete with a private outdoor patio and sparkling pond. Whether you’re impressing clients, hosting colleagues or planning an intimate family gathering with a twist, this elegant venue delivers style and sophistication. Available to hire by the hour or by the day, with flexible catering options, the boardroom combines convenience with character. Just five minutes from Nelson Airport, it’s the ideal meeting point for bringing people together from across the country.

And then there’s the biggest surprise of all with the museum itself, recently hailed by Classic American magazine as “NZ’s coolest car collection”. If you think you know the museum because you “went there once about 10 years ago”, then it’s time to take a look at what you’ve been missing.

Over the past few years, the museum has undergone a remarkable transformation, giving its 150 gleaming vehicles the showcase they deserve. A series of themed facades create wonderous backdrops to the cars, including the TV-famous Rovers Return (to show off a breathtaking line-up of British cars), the Nelson-loved Art Deco service station (check out what’s under the hood), and the nostalgic Four Square Dairy (park up your classic kiwi cars here!).

Travellers and tourists know this is a must-see destination. Their genuine enthusiasm reconfirms that this is a marvellous museum. There’s the world’s fastest Mini (for real), 13 Jaguars in their own gallery, an iconic DeLorean with its gull-wing doors, and a Mazda Roadpacer with its rotary engine. There’s even a selection of cars you can sit in, just to really savour the experience of being in an immaculate classic car.

Nelson Classic Car Museum is more than “looking at cars”; it’s about innovation and style-trends, it’s about the big success (and failures) in design and mass production. It’s about some truly odd decisions in automobile design, and some instantly recognisable classics of the silver screen and popular culture. It’s also about your grandad’s car, your dream car, your “I’d-sure-love-to-take-that for-a-spin” car.

Nelsonians are starting to reclaim Nelson’s Classic Car Museum as their own, not just for the store, as a meeting venue, and a seriously brilliant outing, especially when they snap up a $29 annual pass.

nelsonclassiccarmuseum.nz