Victoria
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Victoria, British Columbia's photogenic capital, is a walkable, livable seaside city of fragrant gardens, waterfront paths, engaging museums, and beautifully restored 19th-century architecture. In summer, the Inner Harbour—Victoria's social and cultural center—buzzes with visiting yachts, horse-and-carriage rides, street entertainers, and excursion boats heading out to visit pods of friendly local whales. Yes, it might be a bit touristy, but Victoria's good looks, gracious pace, and manageable size are instantly beguiling, especially if you stand back to admire the mountains and ocean beyond.
At the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria dips slightly below the 49th parallel. That puts it farther south than most of Canada, giving it the mildest climate in the country, with virtually no snow and less than half the rain of Vancouver.
The city's geography, or at least its place names, can cause confusion. Just to clarify: the city of Victoria is on Vancouver Island (not Victoria Island). The city of Vancouver is on the British Columbia mainland, not on Vancouver Island. At any rate, the city of Vancouver didn't even exist in 1843 when Victoria, then called Fort Victoria, was founded as the westernmost trading post of the British-owned Hudson's Bay Company.
Victoria was the first European settlement on Vancouver Island, and in 1868 it became the capital of British Columbia. The British weren't here alone, of course. The local First Nations people—the Songhees, the Saanich, and the Sooke—had already lived in the area for thousands of years before anyone else arrived. Their art and culture are visible throughout southern Vancouver Island. You can see this in private and public galleries, in the totems at Thunderbird Park, and in the striking collections at the Royal British Columbia Museum. Spanish explorers were the first foreigners to explore the area, although they left little more than place names (Galiano Island and Cordova Bay, for example). The thousands of Chinese immigrants drawn by the gold rushes of the late 19th century had a much greater impact, founding Canada's oldest Chinatown and adding an Asian influence that's still quite pronounced in Victoria's multicultural mix.
Despite its role as the provincial capital, Victoria was largely eclipsed, economically, by Vancouver throughout the 20th century. This, as it turns out, was all to the good, helping to preserve Victoria's historic downtown and keeping the city largely free of skyscrapers and highways. For much of the 20th century, Victoria was marketed to tourists as "The Most British City in Canada," and it still has more than its share of Anglo-themed pubs, tea shops, and double-decker buses. These days, however, Victorians prefer to celebrate their combined indigenous, Asian, and European heritage, and the city's stunning wilderness backdrop. Locals do often venture out for afternoon tea, but they're just as likely to nosh on dim sum or tapas. Decades-old shops sell imported linens and tweeds, but newer upstarts offer local designs in hemp and organic cotton. And let's not forget that fabric prevalent among locals: Gore-Tex. The outdoors is ever present here. You can hike, bike, kayak, sail, or whale-watch straight from the city center, and forests, beaches, offshore islands, and wilderness parklands lie just minutes away. A little farther afield, there's surfing near Sooke, wine touring in the Cowichan Valley, and kayaking among the Gulf Islands.
Things to Do
Shopping
Cook Culture
Performing Arts
Belfry Theatre
Langham Court Theatre
Phoenix Theatre
The David Foster Foundation Theatre
Theatre Inconnu
Theatre SKAM
Victoria Fringe Festival
Victoria Visitor Information Centre
Other
Antique Row
Artina's
Bastion Square Public Market
Bay Centre
Breakwater Market
Cadboro-Gyro Park
Chinatown
Cordova Bay
Cowichan Trading
Haven Spa
Hill's Native Art
idar
Irish Linen Stores
James Bay Community Market
Le Spa Sereine
Lower Johnson Street
Monday Magazine
Moss Street Market
Munro's Books
Murchie's
Rogers' Chocolates
Ship Point Night Market
Sidney Thursday Night Market
Silk Road
Silk Road Spa
SORA Spa
Spa at Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort
Spa Magnolia
Summer in the Square
Trounce Alley
Victoria Jazz Society
Victoria Symphony
Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Empress Hotel
Willows Park Beach
Witty's Lagoon Regional Park
Activities
Beaches
Biking
Golf
Hiking and Walking
Kayaking
Scuba Diving
Whale Watching
Top Destinations
Brentwood Bay
The tiny seaside village of Brentwood Bay is best known as the home of the famous Butchart Gardens. From Brentwood Bay, BC Ferries sail to Mill Bay in the Cowichan Valley, so you don't have to backtrack to Victoria if you're touring the island.
Downtown Victoria
Home to the vast majority of Victoria’s sights, hotels, and eateries, Downtown is Victoria for most visitors. At its heart is the Inner Harbour. Busy with yachts, passenger ferries, whale-watching boats, and floatplanes, and framed by such iconic buildings as the Fairmont Empress hotel, this pedestrian-friendly area is busy with horse-and-carriage rides, street entertainers, tour buses, and, yes, tourists—all summer long. The south shore of the harbor, extending to the Dallas Road waterfront and Beacon Hill Park, is known as James Bay. Two key sites, the Parliament Buildings and the Robert Bateman Centre, are here, but if you stroll just a block south, you’ll find a peaceful residential district of modest historic homes, and such interesting historic sites as Emily Carr House. North of the Inner Harbour, a straight shot up Government Street leads to some great shopping and to more historic areas: Bastion Square, Market Square, and Chinatown. Founded in 1858, Victoria's Chinatown, along Fisgard Street between Government and Store streets, is the oldest such district in Canada. At just two square blocks, it’s much smaller than Vancouver's but still pleasant to stroll through, particularly as hip boutiques and eateries have moved into the district. If you enter from Government Street, you'll pass under the elaborate Gate of Harmonious Interest, made of Taiwanese ceramic tiles and decorative panels.
Fairfield
Bordered by Beacon Hill Park to the west and Dallas Road, a winding seaside drive to the south, this quiet residential district is home to heritage homes and seaside walks, bike paths, parkland, and Cook Street Village, a tree-lined stretch of cafés, restaurants, and independent shops on the edge of Beacon Hill Park. Moss Street Market is a popular summer weekend event, and Ross Bay Cemetery, with its deer, tombstones and tours, is a fount of historic information. A seaside path follows the waterfront from Beacon Hill Park to Clover Point Park, offering views across Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic Mountains.
Oak Bay
One of several urban villages around greater Victoria, Oak Bay is probably the oldest and best-known. Described as a place "behind the tweed Curtain" for its adherence to Tudor facades, pubs, and tea shops, this historically British area (with its own mayor and municipal hall) is home to the Penny Farthing Pub and White Heather Tea Room as well as sweet shops, bookstores, galleries, and antiques stores. Several more contemporary boutiques and eateries have moved in, too.
Rockland
The winding, shady streets of Rockland—roughly bordered by Fort Street, Richmond Avenue, Fairfield Road, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca—are lined with beautifully preserved Victorian and Edwardian homes. These include many stunning old mansions now operating as bed-and-breakfasts, and Victoria's most elaborate folly: Craigdarroch Castle. With mansions come gardens, and several of the city's best are found here.
Saanich
With its rolling green hills and small family farms, the Saanich Peninsular is also home to the BC and Washington State ferry terminals as well as the Victoria International Airport; its southernmost community is called, simply, Saanich. This is the first part of Vancouver Island that most visitors see. Although it's tempting to head straight for downtown Victoria, 25 minutes to the south, there are many reasons to linger here, including Mt. Douglas, which offers magnificent views of Victoria and the rest of the peninsula on a clear day.
Sidney
Sidney, short for Sidney-by-the-Sea, is an inviting seaside town just 30 minutes north of Victoria. Home to the Washington State Ferry terminal (vessels travel to Anacortes via the San Juan Islands), and just five minutes south of the BC Ferries terminal, it's worth a stop or even a weekend visit. The streets are lined with independent shops, including a wealth of bookstores—so many, in fact, that Sidney has earned a place as Canada's only official Booktown (www.sidneybooktown.ca). Sidney's parklike waterfront, which houses a marine ecology center as well as cafés, restaurants, and a wheelchair-accessible waterfront path, is a launching point for kayakers, whale-watchers, and ecotour boats heading out to explore the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve offshore.
Vic West
Close to Downtown—just across the Johnson Street Bridge—lies the residential neighborhood of Victoria West, or Vic West. Bordered by the Outer and Upper harbors, it's home to the Westsong Way seaside walking path, the Galloping Goose Trail (a long-distance hiking and biking path), and a brace of waterfront eateries warranting a trip across the bridge.
West Shore
West of downtown Victoria, along highways 1 and 14, are the rapidly growing communities of View Royal, Colwood, the Highlands, Langford, and Metchosin, collectively known as the West Shore Communities. Although its rural nature is quickly giving way to suburban development, the area is worth a visit for its wilderness parks and national historic sites.
