by Alan K. Lee
Victoria, British Columbia has long been my favorite Pacific Northwest city. It has always been the most British city in British Columbia, but it also has a distinctly Pacific Northwest/Canadian vibe. The city certainly reflects its British heritage, but it has also been influenced by the Native American/First Nations cultures that preceded the British and exhibits its own unique version of Pacific Northwestern cross-border culture. Think British charm without the stiff upper lip formality of Old England.
Victoria’s British charm may have been diluted a little over the years as it has grown and become a more cosmopolitan city, but it retains enough of that charm that so captivated me the first time I visited that I keep coming back. My wife and I have traveled to Victoria many times and will visit again soon.
The following is an updated and slightly edited version of a 2018 post on this site.
The Royal British Columbia Museum will probably always be my first choice of places to visit in Victoria. Too many museums are stodgy and boring, but the Royal BC has always been immersive and captivating. It’s expansive enough and interesting enough that spending a full day there is not out of the question.
If you’re visiting Victoria, the Royal BC Museum should be near the top of your must see list. If you’re not as captivated by it as I am, and don’t want to spend a half a day, or more, there, there are half a dozen other places worth visiting in close proximity. The British Columbia Parliament buildings are next door. On the other side, Thunderbird Park has a collection of totem poles and several historic structures. The Empress Hotel (officially the Fairmont Empress) is a block away. And Beacon Hill Park is just a few blocks to the south. Then there is the Victoria Bug Zoo, just north of the Empress. I would probably enjoy seeing that, but I don’t think there’s any way I could drag my wife there.
The BC Parliament Buildings and grounds are open to the public. Free guided tours of the buildings lasting 30-45 minutes are conducted daily in the summer and on weekdays the rest of the year. You can also take a self-guided tour, and tour books are available in a variety of languages. Self-guided tours are not available on weekends and holidays, though. The grounds are free and open to the public at all times. For more information, click here.
Thunderbird Park, next door to the Royal BC Museum, is a nice place to relax in the harbor area. It has a nice collection of native totem poles, and three historic structures: the Mungo Martin House, built by native carver Chief Mungo Martin in 1953; the Helmcken House, built by Dr. John Helmcken in 1852; and St. Anne’s Schoolhouse, built in 1844.
Beacon Hill Park, stretching from a block south of Thunderbird Park to the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is a beautiful 62-acre parcel of land dedicated as a city park in 1882. It is home to a totem pole carved by Chief Mungo Martin, David Martin, and Henry Hunt that was the world’s tallest (160 feet) when it was erected in 1956. It is still billed as the world’s tallest free standing totem pole. Park facilities include hiking trails, including a trail along the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a petting zoo (officially the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm), a wading pool, water fountains, picnic areas, sports fields and playgrounds, and a band pavilion.
The harbor front has a number of restaurants and hotels, the most famous of which, by far, is the Empress Hotel. Built in 1908 by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Chateauesque style similar to other CPR hotels such as the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise, the Empress was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981.
The Inner Harbor is a busy place, and if you like to people watch, the harbor front is the place go. You can also book whale watching trips, seaplane flights, and carriage rides at the harbor front. Small water taxis, also called pickle boats, are also available that will take you to various waterfront locations, including many of the waterfront hotels and restaurants. Harbor tours are also available. And if you’re there on a weekend morning in the summer, you can catch a group of these little, very maneuverable boats putting on a water ballet, with the boats’ maneuvers choreographed to music broadcast from the shore. It’s fascinating and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Performances are conducted every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. from late May to late September, and on Saturdays at 10:45 a.m. in July and August.
There is much more to Victoria than what can be found near the harbor front, of course. Tour Craigdarroch Castle, an ornate Victorian mansion located a mile east of the inner harbor area, and Government House, just a few blocks to the south. Take in a performance at the Royal Theatre, on Broughton St, a few blocks north and east of the Empress. Or relax in one of the area’s other parks, such as Saxe Point and McAulay Point in Esquimalt, Uplands Park in Oak Bay, or Gorge Park on the Gorge Waterway.
The Emily Carr House, pictured above, is another place worth visiting. Emily Carr (1871-1945) was a renowned artist, writer, and advocate for social justice.
Eating and drinking spots are abundant in downtown Victoria. Afternoon Tea at the Empress is one of Victoria’s most iconic experiences, and high on the list of Victoria’s premier attractions. If the cost of high tea at the Empress (currently 78 Canadian dollars, approx. 60 US dollars, per person) is too rich for your blood, other slightly less expensive (and sometimes more highly rated) tea services can be found at the Tea House at Abkhazi Garden, White Heather Tea Room, and Pendray Inn and Tea House (formerly known as the Gatsby Mansion).
If a pint is more to your liking than a cuppa, there are many quality pubs near the Inner Harbor. Try Spinnakers Gastro Pub, across the Johnson Street Bridge in the Outer Harbor area. On Government Street, a few blocks north of the Empress you’ll find Bard and Banker, The Churchill, Garrick’s Head Pub, and Irish Times Pub, all rated highly and all within a block and a half of each other.
For an upscale dinner in the Inner Harbor area, Little Jumbo Restaurant and Bar is hard to beat. Catch their happy hour for a more affordable menu and cocktails. Il Terazzo, Brasserie L’Ecole, Il Covo, OLO Restaurant, and Saveur Restaurant all get rave reviews as well. For breakfast, try John’s Place (eight different versions of Eggs Benedict), or Jam (popular and crowded, but well worth it).
If you haven’t experienced Victoria yet, go! You won’t regret it.
Originally posted 11-15-18. Most recent update 4-29-23.
All photos © Alan K. Lee, except as noted