Victoria (British Columbia)

The capital of British Columbia on Vancouver Island, with an English-style Inner Harbour, afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel, Butchart Gardens, a castle mansion and whale-watching trips for orcas.

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia (BC), Canada, at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Washington State in the US. It is one of the mildest-climate cities in Canada, with little snow in winter and dry summers, and is known as the "Garden City"; its Victorian architecture and English afternoon tea culture are well preserved. The best season is April–September: spring brings cherry blossoms and tulips, the gardens are at their fullest in summer, and it is also the peak whale-watching season; from late October to December you can watch the salmon run at Goldstream Park; winter is rainy but quiet. Sightseeing falls into three parts: ① the downtown Inner Harbour area, reachable on foot, with the Parliament Buildings, the Empress Hotel, the Royal BC Museum, Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf, plus whale-watching trips to see orcas; ② east of the city, Craigdarroch Castle, the Art Gallery, Government House Gardens and Oak Bay beach; ③ the outskirts, by car or bus: to the north, Butchart Gardens, the Butterfly Gardens and the Malahat SkyWalk, and to the west, Hatley Castle, Fisgard Lighthouse, Goldstream Park and the Sooke Potholes. Getting there: the BC Ferries sailing from Vancouver to Swartz Bay takes about 1.5 hours, or take a floatplane or helicopter directly to the Inner Harbour in about 30 minutes; Victoria International Airport has domestic flights; from Seattle there is the Clipper high-speed passenger ferry. Plan on 2–3 days. Notes: parking is tight downtown and the Inner Harbour area is best explored on foot; it is windy on whale-watching boats, so bring a jacket even in summer; popular afternoon teas and peak-season accommodation should be booked in advance.

Top sights

Butchart Gardens, Victoria – A 22-hectare world-class garden transformed from a disused limestone quarry. The Sunken Garden, Rose Garden and Japanese Garden have thrive…
British Columbia Parliament Buildings – A Neo-Baroque stone legislative building completed in 1897 on the Inner Harbour. A gilded statue of Captain George Vancouver stands atop it…
Inner Harbour & Fairmont Empress – Victoria's city living room: the ivy-covered Fairmont Empress, harbor walkways, seaplanes and small ferries. Afternoon tea at the Empress i…
Royal BC Museum – British Columbia's most important natural and human history museum. It features Indigenous culture, a reconstructed historic street and nat…
Victoria Whale Watching – Boat tours depart from the Inner Harbour into the Salish Sea and the Strait of Juan de Fuca in search of orcas, humpback whales and sea lio…
Fisherman's Wharf – Colourful floating houses, fish and chips stands and begging harbour seals; the most fun way to get there is by the little harbour ferry.
Victoria Chinatown & Fan Tan Alley – Canada's oldest Chinatown (founded in 1858), with the Gate of Harmonious Interest at its entrance and Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street i…
Craigdarroch Castle – A Victorian mansion built in 1890 for coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, with 39 rooms filled with stained glass and carved woodwork.
Beacon Hill Park & Mile 0 – A 75-hectare city park near downtown with strolling peacocks, lake gardens, a 39-metre totem pole, and at its south end the 'Mile Zero' sta…
Dallas Road Waterfront & Ogden Point Breakwater – A clifftop coastal trail and an 800-metre granite breakwater looking across the water to the Olympic Mountains in the United States, a favo…
Hatley Castle & Park – An Edwardian-style castle built in 1908 by the second generation of the Dunsmuir family, now part of Royal Roads University, with its Japan…
Fisgard Lighthouse & Fort Rodd Hill – Canada's first lighthouse on the Pacific coast (1860) and a late-19th-century coastal battery, both National Historic Sites with wide sea v…
Abkhazi Garden – A 'garden born of love': a small garden on a rocky slope created by an exiled prince and his wife, with rhododendrons, Japanese-style featu…
Government House Gardens – About 14 hectares of free gardens around the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor's residence, with an English rose garden, herb garden and…
Market Square & Lower Johnson – A courtyard shopping square enclosed by 19th-century red-brick warehouses, joined with the independent design boutiques of Lower Johnson St…
Victoria Butterfly Gardens – A tropical greenhouse in Brentwood Bay with thousands of butterflies alongside flamingos, tortoises and poison dart frogs, and it pairs wel…
Goldstream Provincial Park – Temperate rainforest of ancient Douglas firs and western red cedars, with chum salmon runs and bald eagles in autumn and winter, and trails…
Mount Douglas Park (PKOLS) – A 225-metre hilltop lookout with 360-degree views over Victoria, the Gulf Islands and the snowy peak of Mount Baker in the United States.
Willows Beach & Oak Bay Village – A sandy beach in the upscale Oak Bay neighbourhood facing Mount Baker, with Oak Bay Avenue nearby lined with English tearooms and small sho…
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria – Houses works by British Columbia's leading painter Emily Carr along with a large collection of Asian art, and its courtyard holds an authen…
Emily Carr House – The Victorian-style wooden house where Canada's most famous woman painter, Emily Carr, was born in 1871, furnished to recreate her childhoo…
Malahat SkyWalk – A 600-metre wooden walkway among the forest canopy leads to a 32-metre spiral tower overlooking Saanich Inlet and the Gulf Islands.
Sooke Potholes Provincial Park – A string of rock pools carved by the Sooke River, where locals cool off, swim and jump in during summer.

Where to eat

Red Fish Blue Fish – A shipping container seafood eatery on the Inner Harbour pier, famous for tempura fish and chips and hand-rolled tacone…
Marilena Cafe & Raw Bar – Vancouver Magazine's 2026 Victoria Gold Winner, renowned for its seafood towers, Wagyu raw dishes, and extensive wine l…
Pagliacci's – A downtown institution opened in 1979, famous for decades for its pasta, unlimited focaccia, and live music.
Ferris' Oyster Bar & Grill – A casual oyster bar on Yates Street in Old Town, popular with locals for freshly shucked oysters and happy hour deals.
Cafe Malabar – A Kerala restaurant that started as a public market stall, winning the 2026 Vancouver Magazine Victoria Bronze Award, l…

Itineraries

Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler – Use Vancouver as your base. Take a ferry to Victoria for one night, then drive the Sea to Sky Highway for a day trip to…
Vancouver Island Island-Hopping & West Coast – From Victoria via Salt Spring Island to Tofino, returning to Vancouver via the East Coast.
Pacific Northwest by Rail and Ferry, Car-Free – Ride Amtrak to link Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, then take a ferry to Victoria