Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. According to the 2013 census, Lyttelton had a usual resident population of 2,859.
As a landing point for Christchurch-bound seafarers, Lyttelton has historically been regarded as the "Gateway to Canterbury" for colonial settlers. Until the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the port has been a regular destination for cruise ships. It is the South Island's principal goods-transport terminal, handling 34% of exports and 61% of imports by value.
In 2009 Lyttelton was awarded Category I Historic Area status by the Historic Places Trust defined as "an area of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value", not long before much of the historic fabric was destroyed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.