A growing number of tour groups on buses and shuttles are driving by Dunedin's Castle Street – with domestic and international sightseers wanting to head to the student quarter.
Two tour companies confirmed to 1News they regularly visit the street.
Fantail Tours goes three times a week in summer – and allowed 1News to join a visit with 24 international tourists on a bus this month.
Guide Asta Armalyte-Ghidella explained to the group Castle St was known to New Zealanders as "a notorious street".
"Things get out of hand, police is [are] called, but that's where students want to live, that's where action is."
She told 1News the flats' nicknames drew particular attention.
"When we have American visitors, they see the Hilton and Trump Tower and they find it hilarious."
Also never left off the list is 660 Castle St – where the band Six60 first formed in a flat 18 years ago.
Tourist Anne Liou told 1News she "took a lot of picture[s] of it".
"And I'm going to go back and study about what Six60 is."
The drive-bys started on request, as part of a wider tour of Dunedin.
Armalyte-Ghidella said: "When we had a pandemic, we had lots of North Islanders visiting us and doing city tours.
And they all wanted to make sure before booking that we would go to Castle St, so we actually changed the itinerary."
Over the decades the street full of Scarfies has seen riots, couch-burning and more recently fireworks shot at police last year.
Police also say three people partying last weekend were taken to hospital in varying states of consciousness – hit in the head by thrown objects.
While Castle St is a public place, Armalyte-Ghidella said she tries to respect privacy.
"We normally don't stop for photos, we just drive past, but some visitors from [the] North island want sometimes to take selfies so we kind of do exceptions … Because if we don't, they will come back again anyway and take photos."
Students who spoke to 1News had mixed views.
One Castle St resident, Lilly Holmwood said when she first noticed the tour groups: "I thought it was quite interesting because we were pulling all the cardboard out of the flat because we just moved in, and we were like, are we animals in an attraction right now?"
Visiting the street is also sometimes treacherous for tour companies after big parties.
"I sometimes tell people about the parties and how much rubbish there is and glass, and once I couldn't even drive there," Armalyte-Ghidella said.
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