The 17 Best Things To Do in Victoria, BC Today

Victoria is the province of British Columbia’s capital city. There are many fun and crazy things to do in Victoria Bc with family and kids. The city is at the southern end of Canada’s Vancouver Island.

Victoria is a major attraction on Vancouver Island. It is a popular place for both local and international tourists. I suggest you stay for at least two or three days to see a lot.

During this time, you can visit the following popular destinations.

Best Things To Do in Victoria BC

Whale Watching

Victoria, British Columbia, is one of the best places in the world to go whale watching. Whale-watching tours in Victoria are most popular from April to October when whales are most likely to be seen there. There are different kinds of whales in the water around Vancouver Island. Such as harbour porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, and gray and pacific white-sided dolphins. But the following three types of Whales are most common:

1. Orcas (also known as killer whales): Dolphins’ largest member; these are the most frequently seen whales in the area.
2. Humpback whales: It is the largest Whales in Vancouver Island’s water, and these beautiful creatures are known for their songs, which can be heard from miles away underwater. Whales are easy to spot because they have a large hump on their backs and 270 to 400 dark baleen plates on each side of their mouths.
3. Minke whales are the smallest baleen whales, and you can often see them swimming alone or in small groups in the area.

Most whale-watching tours in Victoria start at the Inner Harbour and last between two and five hours.

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens is a world-famous garden that is the best thing to see in Victoria, BC, Canada. Robert Pim Butchart and his wife, Jennie Butchart, started the gardens in the early 1900s. With five main gardens, Butchart Gardens covers over 55 acres and 900 varieties here. People can walk through the different themed gardens and see the beautiful designs and displays. These are some of the most popular gardens:

• The Sunken Garden is the oldest and largest of the gardens on the original quarry site. It has a central pond, several terraced levels, and many trees, shrubs, and perennials with flowers. 
• The Rose Garden: This garden has over 2500 rose plants with over 280 different types of roses. From summer to early fall, this beautiful garden comes to life.
• The Italian Garden: With its symmetrical layout, statues, and ornamental plants, this garden was made to look like a traditional Italian garden. It has a large fountain in the middle, a pool that goes down into the ground, and many Mediterranean plants.
• The Mediterranean Garden: In this garden, you can see plants from places like Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East with climates similar to the Mediterranean.

Parliament Building

The Parliament Buildings are one of the most important parts of the Inner Harbour that must see in Victoria, BC. It’s the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, which is the body that makes laws for the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are on a 5-hectare piece of land on the water in Downtown Victoria, BC.

The structure was planned by Francis Rattenbury, a notable British architect who won the contract to create the structure in a nationwide design competition. The building’s construction began in 1893 and was completed in 1898.

Victoria is also a popular tourist attraction. Visitors can view the exterior of the building, which is one of the cool things to do in victoria bc at night when it is lit up in different colors, making it a picturesque sight against the backdrop of the Inner Harbour.

Inner Harbour

The Inner Harbour is a popular tourist destination where you can find one of the best things to do in victoria, bc.

Historic landmarks include the Parliament Buildings, the Empress Hotel, and the Royal BC Museum.

During the summer, many festivals and events exist in the Inner Harbour. The Victoria Symphony Splash is an event that happens every year. The Victoria Symphony Orchestra plays on a barge in the harbor while fireworks and other fun things are happening around them.

Royal BC Museum

Royal BC Museum is one of the best things to do in Victoria, BC, known for its extensive collection of artifacts and exhibits.

Since it opened in 1886, the museum has become one of the most well-known in Canada. Between the Parliament Buildings and the Fairmont Empress Hotel is where the museum. The building is a masterpiece of architecture, combining old and new design elements. 

There are three permanent galleries at the Royal BC Museum:     

•   Natural History Gallery
•   The Becoming BC Gallery
•   The First Peoples Gallery

The price to get into the Natural History gallery is $5. 

The gallery has displays about the First Nations people of British Columbia and the European explorers and settlers who came to the area in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are also displays about the province’s social and political history, from the gold rush to the present day.

Read more: Best Places in Canada in The Summer

Fairmont Empress Hotel 

The Fairmont Empress Hotel is historic and luxurious in the Inner Harbour. The hotel was built in 1908 and has had many renovations and additions since then. The most recent one was finished in 2017. National Geographic Traveler magazine has named it one of the 21 most famous hotels in the world.

The Fairmont Empress Hotel has almost 437 rooms for guests, including suites and specialty rooms. Each room is elegantly decorated and has modern amenities.

The most famous thing about the hotel is its famous Afternoon Tea, which has been served since 1908 in the elegant Tea Lobby. A variety of teas, scones, sandwiches, and pastries are served on tiered silver trays as part of the tea service.

Willows Beach

Willows Beach is a popular place for locals and tourists. It has fantastic views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca & the Olympic Mountains in the distance.

The beach is approximately 1.6 kilometers long and is a famous swimming beach in Victoria. From the beach, you can see mount baker.

Beacon Hill Park

There are many things to do in Victoria, BC, such as Beacon Hill Park is a popular public park covering 740,000 square meters and beautiful natural areas.

The hill that rises at the park’s southern edge and offers a fantastic view of the city and the Juan de Fuca Strait is where it gets its name. At first, the hill was a lighthouse for sailors and helped ships find their way into Victoria’s harbor.

Beacon Hill Park is a popular place for both locals and visitors. There are many gardens, including the world-famous Children’s Farm and Petting Zoo, where visitors can pet and feed farm animals.

The park also has many places to walk, picnic, play, and do sports, such as tennis courts and a cricket pitch. Several ponds in the park, like Goodacre Lake, are home to many types of waterfowl.

Beacon Hill Park is where kids can find many fun things to do in Victoria, BC.

More than 330 parking stalls are open at Heywood Way, Circle Drive, Nursery Road, Douglas Street, Cook Street, and Dallas Road.

The Beacon Hill Park Bandshell, which has free concerts all summer, is one of the most popular things to do in the park.

The park’s natural areas have meadows, coastal bluffs, and Garry oak woodlands. These places are home to many birds and other animals.

Fisherman’s Wharf

Fisherman’s Wharf is a popular place for tourists and locals and is located near Victoria’s Inner Harbour, making it simple to reach by foot, bike, or vehicle.

The Wharf is known for its colorful float homes, fresh seafood, and lively atmosphere. These homes are built on floats anchored to the Wharf, making a unique and charming neighborhood. Fresh seafood like crab, salmon, prawns, and other local treats are available to tourists. Many restaurants have outdoor seating, so people can eat while enjoying the beautiful water views. The area is filled with a variety of attractions and activities, including an artisan gift shop, Victoria harbour ferry, restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and galleries.

There are also boat tours, kayaking, and paddleboarding at Fisherman’s Wharf. Visitors can rent kayaks and paddleboards from local outfitters and explore the water around them, and they can also take a guided boat tour to see the local marine life up close.

Fan Tan Alley

Fan Tan Alley is a small, pedestrian-only street known for its history and unique character. At its narrowest point, the alley is only 0.9 meters wide. This makes it the narrowest street in all of Canada. It is lined with tiny shops, cafes, and businesses, many of which have been operating for decades.

Fan Tan Alley’s history may be traced back to the late 19th century when it was a lively hive of activity in Chinatown. During the time, the alley housed multiple gambling establishments where people gathered to play fan-tan, a popular Chinese gambling game. This game inspired the alley’s name, meaning “repeated divisions” in Chinese.

Fan Tan Alley has become a lively place to shop, with dozens of small shops serving locals and tourists. People can walk through the narrow alley, looking at the old buildings and checking out the unique shops.

Craigdarroch Castle

Craigdarroch Castle is a designated National Historic Site of Canada, and you can find many things to do in Victoria, BC.

In the late 1800s, coal baron Robert Dunsmuir and his family built the castle. Between 1887 and 1890, it was built, and its architect was Warren Heywood Williams. Built-in the Scottish Baronial style, the castle, with turrets, gables, and a huge tower in the middle.

The grand staircase is one of the best parts of the castle. It is made of oak and goes up three stories to a skylight.

The famous landscape architect H.W. Helliwell also designed the castle’s beautiful gardens and grounds. The gardens have a fountain, a sunken garden, a Japanese garden, and a wide range of plants and trees from other parts of the world.

Robert Dunsmuir died in 1889, but his family stayed in the castle until 1908. The castle was used as a military hospital during World War I. After that, it was used as the Victoria Conservatory of Music. The castle was fixed up and turned into a public museum in 1979.

Throughout the year, the castle is the site of many different events, such as tours with a Christmas theme and musical performances. Craigdarroch Castle is a great place to go if you like history and architecture or want to see a beautiful place to walk around.

Goldstream Provincial Park

Goldstream Provincial Park is a beautiful natural park only 16 km northwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The park is 477 hectares big and popular for families, people who like nature, and people who like to walk.

Goldstream River runs through the park and is known for the salmon run it has every year. Thousands of salmon swim upstream in the fall to spawn in the river. This is a beautiful natural show that people can see.

Goldstream Provincial Park has a lot of wildlife, such as bald eagles, black bears, and otters. It is also where the salmon run. People can walk on the park’s many trails through old-growth forests and along the river.

Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site

It is a coastal artillery fort built in the late 1800s to protect the city and the Pacific fleet of the Royal Navy from possible attacks. The fort was built in 1895, and people lived and worked there until 1956. 

The fort is 225 acres big and has many historic buildings, such as barracks, gun batteries, command posts, and more. Visitors can learn about the fort’s history and its role in Canada’s military history by going on a guided tour or exploring independently.

The Coastal Artillery Museum is one of the best parts of Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site. It has a collection of artifacts and displays that show the history of coastal artillery in Canada. The museum is in a renovated barracks building. It has interactive exhibits and multimedia presentations about the history of the fort.

Mystic Beach

Mystic Beach is a beautiful, quiet beach in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, about 36 kilometers west of Sooke and about 76 kilometers west of Victoria.

The beach waterfall at Mystic Beach is famous. It is a small waterfall, the Mystic Falls, approximately 21 meters tall, running straight into the ocean from the cliffs. The only way to get to the beach is to walk 2 kilometers through the forest and over a suspension bridge. The trailhead for Mystic Beach is at the parking lot for the China Beach campground. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to hike to Mystic Beach.

People often stand under the falls to enjoy the cool water and refreshing mist.

East Sooke Park

East Sooke Park is a stunningly beautiful place. It is about 35 km west of Victoria and covers over 3,543,3 acres. It has a rocky coast, thick forests, and wide meadows.

The park has great hiking trails allowing people to see the area’s natural beauty. There are more than 50 km of trails in the park, from easy walks to hard hikes, so everyone can find something they like.

The Coastal Trail is one of the most popular hikes in the park. It goes along the rough shoreline and gives you amazing views of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains in the United States, which are on the other side of the water. The Interior Trail is another popular trail. It goes through dense forests and open meadows, allowing people to see deer, black bears, and bald eagles, among other animals.

Victoria Butterfly Gardens

Victoria Butterfly Gardens is a popular tourist attraction in Brentwood Bay, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is an indoor tropical rainforest conservatory with beautiful landscaping. 

The conservatory has a large indoor tropical garden that is more than 12,000 square feet and is home to more than 70 butterflies worldwide. Visitors can walk through the garden to get a close look at these beautiful creatures as they fly freely in their natural environment.

Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum of British Columbia is all about the maritime history of the Pacific Northwest. Its displays show stories and artifacts from the past and present of the region’s maritime life.

The museum has a lot of artifacts, like models of ships, navigational tools, and tools for building ships. It also has a large collection of photos, documents, and other historical items that show the area’s maritime history.

shajiaferdous

Hey, lovely folks out there! This is Shajia Ferdous, a traveller. Last few years I have been travelling with my partner or friends.
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