Best Things to Do in Victoria

Victoria pairs the walkable elegance of a historic maritime capital with immediate access to Pacific marine life and botanical gardens. Here are the ten experiences that define a visit.

1. Stroll the Inner Harbour Causeway, tour the BC Parliament Buildings & visit the Fairmont Empress. Watch floatplanes splash down in the middle of the city, take a free 45-minute tour inside the 1897 Legislative Assembly and indulge in Afternoon Tea.
2. Wander the 55 acres of The Butchart Gardens in Brentwood Bay. Descend into a 1904 limestone quarry transformed into the breathtaking Sunken Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Garden and Ross Fountain.
3. Board a Salish Sea Orca & Humpback Whale-Watching Excursion. Sail out from the Inner Harbour or Fisherman's Wharf to spot Bigg's killer whales, humpback whales, sea lions and bald eagles.
4. Ride a green 'Pickle Boat' water taxi to Fisherman's Wharf and watch the Harbour Ferry Water Ballet. Walk the wooden docks among 33 colourful floating homes, spot wild harbour seals and eat fresh halibut fish and chips.

5. Squeeze through 90cm-wide Fan Tan Alley in Canada's Oldest Chinatown (1858). Pass beneath the ornate Gate of Harmonious Interest on Fisgard Street and explore historic Market Square and LoJo.
6. Explore the Royal BC Museum & the Totem Poles of Thunderbird Park. Admire monumental First Nations cedar carvings, Kwakwaka'wakw Mungo Martin's 1953 Big House and historic 1852 Helmcken House.
7. Climb the 87 oak stairs of 1890 Craigdarroch Castle and visit Oceanfront Hatley Castle. Tour two opulent Victorian mansions built by Vancouver Island's richest coal-mining dynasty (and recognize Hatley Castle as the X-Men School!).
8. Walk through Beacon Hill Park to Mile 0 and the Dallas Road Waterfront Trail. See the world's fourth-tallest free-standing totem pole, Mile 0 of the 8,000km Trans-Canada Highway and the Ogden Point Breakwater.

9. Spiral 32 metres above the forest at the Malahat Skywalk and Goldstream Park. Walk a 600-metre cedar canopy ramp to a 10-storey timber spiral tower overlooking Finlayson Arm fjord and Mount Baker.
10. Hike the wild Pacific coast at East Sooke Park or Mystic Beach (Juan de Fuca). Forty-five minutes west of downtown, walk rainforest trails above crashing ocean swells and sea stacks.