5 Best Museums & Art Galleries in Niue

1. Fale Tau Taoga Niue Museum

Kicking off this list of museums and art galleries in Niue, Fale Tau Taoga is Niue’s national museum. Take off your shoes, as is the Niuean custom, and step inside the exhibition hall shaped like the island itself. The museum in Alofi gives an insight into the history and culture of Niue through woven crafts, archaic stone tools, traditional costumes and more. Complimentary guided tours and self-guided tour booklets are available. The museum is open from Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm. Check out the 10 Free & Cheap Things to Do in Alofi for more like this.

Location: Halamahaga Road, signposted along the main road in Alofi, central west coast of Niue. 

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2. Tahiono Art Gallery

See vibrant paintings and intricate ebony carvings from local artists, like Mark Cross and Jack Feleti, at the Tahiono Art Gallery. You’ll likely recognise some of the paintings that are usually hung with pride in accommodations across Niue. The gallery in the Alofi Commercial Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm (but things change all the time in Niue, so check with the Visitor Information Centre for opening times, as explained in our guide to Opening Hours in Niue: Odd Hours, Tide Times & Things to Know).

Location: Alofi Commercial Centre, along the main road in Alofi, central west coast of Niue.

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3. Hikulagi Sculpture Park

This open-air sculpture park on the verge of the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area showcases heartwarming creativity using discarded materials washed onto Niue’s shores. The Hikulagi Sculpture Park is a must-visit when road-tripping on the east coast of the island even if you have visited before, as the main installation, “Protean Habitat”, is a work in progress while other new sculptures are often installed. The park is open 24/7 and free to visit.

Location: Signposted a few hundred metres south of the Alofi-Liku Road intersection, Liku, central east coast of Niue.

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4. Niue Philatelic & Numismatic Company

Hardly a museum in the traditional sense, the Niue Philatelic & Numismatic Company offers a small display for those interested in Niue’s creative history of coins and stamps. From Pokemon to Star Wars coins to more elegant collections of stamps showcasing Niuean flora and fauna, there are certainly some interesting finds here. Learn more about Niue’s history of wacky currency in What is the Currency of Niue?

Location: Swanson Complex, Tapeu-Porritt Road, Alofi South, west side of Niue.

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5. Makini Hall

Perhaps the most prominent piece of art available to admire in Niue is its handicrafts. The island’s women come together in weaving groups once a week to craft an array of practical goods and attire and learn from each other. Usually, the best weaving group for visitors to check out is at Makini Hall every Wednesday (check weaving group schedules on arrival at the Visitor Information Centre), whose gift shop at the back of the hall displays an array of finished works.

Location: Orange building opposite Utuko Reef, along the main road in Alofi, central west coast of Niue.

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Bonus: John Pule Workshop

If you happen to be passing by Fale Fono – the old parliament building opposite the Visitor Information Centre in Alofi – and get a strong whiff of paint, head around the back on the ground floor outside of the building and you might just come across the workshop of a local legend, John Pule, whose work is held in major public collections such as Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa Tongarewa, The National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery.