By air
Victoria International (YYJ), ~25 km
North America · Canada
Victoria, Canada
Gardens and a harbour on Vancouver Island
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to September — dry and mild
Don't miss
The Butchart Gardens
The Inner Harbour
The Parliament Buildings
The Royal BC Museum
Things to do
The Butchart Gardens
Whale watching
Afternoon tea
The Inner Harbour
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Layers
A quieter corner
The floating homes of Fisherman's Wharf
Questions travellers ask
What time of year suits Victoria?
May to September, when it's dry and mild. Pack layers.
How should I spend my time in Victoria?
See the Butchart Gardens, go whale watching, stroll the Inner Harbour, and visit the Parliament Buildings and the Royal BC Museum.
Where do I fly into for Victoria?
Victoria International (YYJ), about 25 km away.
What's a lesser-known sight in Victoria?
The floating homes of Fisherman's Wharf. For food, try afternoon tea and seafood.
About Victoria
- Coastal
- Island
Where it is
Victoria, the capital of British Columbia in Canada, lies at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the Olympic Mountains of Washington State visible across the water.
History
The Lekwungen peoples, today's Songhees and Esquimalt nations, lived here when the Hudson's Bay Company built a trading post, Fort Victoria, in 1843. It boomed as the supply base for the Fraser River gold rush of 1858, became the colonial capital in 1868 and remained the capital when British Columbia joined Canada in 1871.
People
Victoria is a city of government workers, students and retirees, with Canada's Pacific naval base at nearby Esquimalt, and its gardens and tea rooms keep a strongly British flavour. The Songhees and Esquimalt nations, Lekwungen-speaking Coast Salish peoples, live on their own lands around the harbours.
Known for
- The Butchart Gardens
- The Inner Harbour and Parliament Buildings
- Afternoon tea at the Empress hotel
- Whale watching
- The Royal BC Museum
Did you know?
Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway stands at the south-west corner of Victoria's Beacon Hill Park, by the sea.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.