According to hyperrestaurant, Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located almost on the southernmost cape of Vancouver Island. This is a city of quite solid size and stunning beauty. It is also called the garden city because of the incredible Butchart Gardens that are located here, as well as many other green areas. In addition, Victoria is considered to lie in the northernmost zone where the Mediterranean climate persists – at 48.5 ° north latitude.

Victoria is one of the most “British” cities in Canada, and is proud of it. This shows up in British pubs, British cuisine, British architecture in some of the city’s notable buildings, and the British Five-O-Clock at the British Empress Hotel. See allcitycodes for area codes of countries in North America.

How to get to Victoria

The main way to get to Vancouver Island and Victoria is by car ferries BC Ferries. They also run from Tsavwassen (south of Vancouver, near the Delta) to Schwartz Bay, half an hour north of Victoria. Other ferries run to Victoria from Seattle (jet catamarans), Port Angeles (Washington), Anacorta and Sydney via the San Juan Islands (summer season only). Large cruise ships go to Victoria from San Francisco and Seattle. Victoria International Airport is located half an hour from the city and receives almost hourly flights from Vancouver.

History

Exploration of the northwest coast began with the visits of Juan Pérez in 1774 and James Cook in 1778, but it was not until 1841 that Fort Victoria was founded on the site of the current city. After gold was discovered in British Columbia in 1858,, Victoria became a transit point and base on the way to the Fraser Canyon, and the population of the city in just a few days increased from 300 to 5,000 people. After the gold was finished, the base of the navy was arranged here; subsequently, the city became the largest opium port (up to the ban on the potion trade in 1908). The commercial and building boom ended in the city just before the First World War, leaving Victoria with many fine Edwardian buildings.

Entertainment and attractions in Victoria

Victoria is one of the most “British” cities in Canada, and is proud of it. This shows up in British pubs, British cuisine, British architecture in some of the city’s notable buildings, and the British Five-O-Clock at the British Empress Hotel.

Butchart Gardens in Brentwood Bay is a vast green area in Brentwood Bay, built on what was once a limestone quarry. It combines several gardens known throughout the country, and deservedly so: walking in the garden, you can see rare and simply very beautiful flowering plants, many statues and amazing sculptural and landscape fountains, ponds and flower beds. In the summer and on holidays, fireworks are arranged here to the music, and on winter evenings, the garden is illuminated, and displays are placed here, which mark the 12 days of the Christmas holidays. The gardens can be reached by public transport from Victoria or the Schwartz Cove ferry terminal, or from one of the organized tours.

3 things to do in Victoria:

1. Rent a bike and ride the Goose Road, which runs along dismantled railroad tracks from downtown Victoria to Souk, the island’s southernmost town.
2. Go whale watching. During the year you are likely to see killer whales, and in the summer you will also see humpback and gray whales.
3. Tasting wine and drinking tea with cream and rolls.

The Inner Harbor is full of performers, acrobats and musicians in summer. Musicians are not allowed to stay in one place for too long, so the “entertainment program” is constantly changing (although in the case of bagpipers it may seem that it doesn’t change often enough). During the summer, the harbor is full of flowering plants, and among them it is simply delightful to watch seaplanes taking off and landing. And besides, here is the neo-baroque parliament building, the building is surprisingly impressive and beautiful. In the evening, the building is illuminated by 13,000 lights. You can go through it with a free half-hour group tour, more than interesting: it ends with an ascent to the gallery for listeners, from where you can see how the parliament actually works.

Miniature World is on Humboldt Street, behind the Empress Hotel. This is a large exposition of micro-landscapes with cities and other things. Some look rather strange, and some are comical due to the mismatch of scales. Here is the world’s smallest working sawmill on a scale of 1:12.

Chinatown occupies a block on Fisgard Street between Store Street and Gavenment Street. This part of the street is decorated with Chinese motifs, including the Gate of Harmonious Interest. There are several excellent restaurants of national cuisine, green and fruit shops, bubble tea shops, and coffee houses. And besides, here is the narrowest street in Canada.

Feng Teng Alley was originally quite a business place with restaurants, shops and opium dens, but has now become purely touristic. At its narrowest point, the alley is 90 cm wide.

The Royal British Columbia Museum is located near the Inner Harbor and focuses on the period from 1850 to 1920. Here you can see amazingly detailed exhibitions, the detailed study of which can easily take half a day. Three permanent exhibitions are dedicated to the modern history of European settlement, the first people and natural history – the ocean, large animals and climate. The British Columbia Museum is one of only two museums in Canada to be awarded the title of Royal Museum.

Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum is located in Rockland. The castle was built in 1890 by a wealthy and influential Scottish family, who at that time owned a quarter of Vancouver Island. The architecture of the castle with columns, turrets, chimneys, arches and other things is really amazing. It can be reached in 25 minutes on foot from the city center or by bus to Fort Street.

The Victoria Beetle Zoo is a fantastic place, albeit a small one. It would seem, what is so interesting in beetles? But the museum has guides who are extremely knowledgeable and willing to share information; and besides, it is here that you can see many very strange creatures of nature, collected in one place.

The Emily Carr House is dedicated to one of Canada’s greatest and most beloved artists. The museum house is easily accessible on foot from the Inner Harbor or Beacon Hill Park.

The pretty Beacon Hill Park is bounded on the south by Dallas Road and on the west by Douglas Street. Its southern part comes ashore, a path has been laid here, from which a view of the Olympic Mountains opens. The park is also home to the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm.

Love works wonders, and the Abkhazi gardens on Fairfield Road are another proof of this. The Prince and Princess of Abkhazia, together with designer John Wade, created a garden overlooking the Olympic Mountains, which took more than 40 years. The prince and princess began landscaping the garden in 1946, the year they married and moved to Victoria, and continued to do so throughout their lives together. Today in the garden you can see century-old rhododendrons and Japanese maples, carpets of flowers and alpine slides, coniferous trees and oaks among stone terraces; and five o’clock tea here is rumored to be even tastier than at the Empress (and much cheaper).

Victoria’s Cuisine

Victoria ranks second among all cities in North America in terms of the number of restaurants per capita. In the tourist area near the water there are a huge number of them, including English-style pubs. Try fish ‘n’ chips or shepherd’s pie for a taste of good old England in Canada. And be sure to check out the Ocean Island Cafe Lounge. This is probably the cheapest place in town to eat and one of the cheapest to drink. It is visited by backpackers, locals, students and bohemian personalities. Live music is played here several nights a week. Another favorite place for locals is John’s Place. The staff here is excellent, and for the local eggs “Benedict” of a dozen different types with hollandaise sauce, some are ready for anything.

There is a law in Victoria according to which any alcoholic drink in a bar or other establishment cannot cost less than 3 CAD. This also applies to beer.

Vicinity of Victoria

Within a 45-minute drive from Victoria, on the Saanich Peninsula, there are five wineries. Here they make wine from their own grapes, imported grapes and fruits. Those who wish can visit three wineries with a three-hour tour and, of course, tastings.

A five-hour drive west from Victoria is Tofino, the “surf capital of Canada”, famous for its natural environment and great surfing and kayaking spots. With a population of just 1,700, this former village of fishermen and lumberjacks has become a hub for ecotourism and outdoor activities such as whale watching, surfing and camping. Tofino is located in Clayoquot Sound, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. For those who don’t like long sandy beaches, high waves and untouched forest areas with bald eagles and bears, several annual events take place here. These are the Whale Festival in March, the Summer Festival in July, the Food and Wine Festival in June, and the Lantern Festival at the Tofino Botanical Garden in late August.