Victoria

Abkhazi Gardens

Love affairs make great stories, and this one resulted in a great garden. Prince and Princess Abkhazi along with designer John Wade came together and created a garden that took over 40 years to come together on a beautiful property overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains. There's also a teahouse that does afternoon tea and light lunches.

Apr-Sep: daily 11AM-5PM; Oct-Mar: Wed-Sun 11AM-5PM·By donation, $10 suggested

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Art gallery with some notable works from BC artist, Emily Carr, and one of the largest collections of Asian art in Canada. There are also rotating exhibitions. The outside grounds include an Asian garden and the only authentic Japanese Shinto Shrine in North America.

Mon-Wed Fri Sat 10AM-5PM, Thu 10AM-9PM, Sun noon-5PM (closed on Mondays mid-Sep to mid-May)·$13 (adult), $11 (senior, student), $2.50 (youth 6-17)

Beacon Hill Park

Large park close to downtown with trails, lakes, gardens, splash pads/playgrounds for the kids and sports fields. The south end is on the waterfront, with a walking path and a view of the Olympic Mountains across the strait. There are plenty of ducks, some wild peacocks running around and herons. Attractions within the park include the Beacon Hill Children's Farm, which features a goat petting area, Mile 0 (the western end of the Trans-Canada highway) and the Beacon Hill Park Story Pole, which, at nearly 39 m, was the tallest free-standing totem pole in the world when it was first raised in 1956.

Free

British Columbia Parliament Buildings

The legislative assembly for the province of British Columbia since 1898, the domed neo-Baroque and Romanesque Revival architecture is a distinctive feature of Victoria's waterfront. The free public tours (usually offered throughout the day) are considered excellent. Self-guided tours are available on weekdays, booklets can be picked up at the Parliamentary Tour desk or downloaded from the website. The buildings are equally nice to view at night night, when they are lit up with 13,000 lights.

Late May-early Sep: Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5PM, Sat Sun 9AM-5PM; Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM at other times of the year·Free

Butchart Gardens

A large garden planted in a former limestone quarry. Quite remarkable. During the summer they have fireworks set to music and during winter evenings, the gardens are lit up and include displays illustrating the twelve days of Christmas. You can reach Butchart Gardens from Vancouver and Victoria on several bus tours and also by public transit from Victoria or the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.

Varies by season: generally 9AM-5PM but open until 10PM in summer (mid-June to Labour Day in September)·Adults: April to mid-June $35.40, mid-June to September $39.50

Cadboro Bay Beach

Cadboro-Gyro Park

Popular park with a stretch of sandy beach, many picnic tables, tennis courts, playground, play sculptures and a small zip-line. The view of the bay is pretty, and on clear days, you can see across to the Olympic Mountains in Washington state.

Chinatown

The oldest Chinatown in Canada and second oldest in North America. At its peak in the early 1900s, there were over 3,000 people living amongst its narrow lanes, businesses, theatres, schools, temples and opium dens. Some of the distinctive architecture remains, and a new generation of restaurants, Chinese fruit and vegetable stores, bubble tea and coffee shops have taken over. Other landmarks include The Gates of Harmonious Interest (at the corner of Fisgard & Government) and Fan Tan Alley, Canada's narrowest "road".

Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum

This castle was built in 1890 by a wealthy and powerful Scottish family who at that time owned a quarter of Vancouver Island. Great architecture. Its 39 rooms are still furnished with Victorian-era furniture and the building is noted for its stain-glassed windows and intricate woodwork. The castle had five different occupants before it was repurposed as a museum in 1979. Its exhibits and educational panels cover a vast range of Canadian history linked to those occupants, including Canada's equivalent of the Gilded Age, Canada's involvement in World War I, the development of Victoria's early suburbs, and the evolution of the educational system on Vancouver Island.

Mid-June to early September: 9AM-7PM; other times of the year: 10AM-4:30PM·$20.60 (adult), 19.60 (seniors) $14.80 (student), $10.00 (child 6-12)

Dino Lab Inc.

A hands-on tour of dinosaur fossils. You get to use professional tools to uncover real fossils and touch actual dinosaur bones. There are adults-only sessions and mixed-age sessions. Booking required.

$40

Emily Carr House

Emily Carr is one of Canada's greatest and most loved artists. This is her childhood home, which has become a heritage site and museum on her art, writing and life.

May - Sep: Tue-Sat·$6.75 (adult), $5.75 (student/senior), $4.50 (child 6-18), $17 (family)

Hatley Park National Historic Site

This site in the Colwood area of western Victoria is home to historic Hatley Castle, which many movie fans will recognize as Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men and Deadpool films produced by 20th Century Fox. The castle's exterior gardens are open to the public from 10 AM to dusk. The castle interior is home to the offices of Royal Roads University. Only the first floor is available for public viewing, and it can be seen only during seasonal walking tours which must be booked in advance.

10AM-dusk (gardens only)

Maritime Museum of BC

Small museum with exhibits relating to Canada's or British Columbia's maritime history. There's also a gift shop with model ships, books, caps, prints and all things related to boats.

Late May-early Sept: daily 10AM-5PM; other times: Tue-Sat 10AM-4PM·$10 (adult), $8 (senior/student), $5 (youth 12-17)

Miniature World

An extensive display of miniature landscapes, cities, etc., some rather bizarre or at comically mismatched scales. Includes the world's smallest working saw mill at a scale of 1:12.

Mid-May to late Sep: 9AM-9PM; 9AM-5PM at other times of the year·$19 (adult 18+), $11 (youth 13-17), $9 (child 5-12), Tots under 5 (FREE)

Oak Bay Village

Oak Bay is an older suburb east of downtown Victoria. Its splash of Tudor-style buildings, boutiques, restaurants and the Penny Farthing Pub, lend the town center some "Olde England" charm and make it a pleasant place to stroll around or browse through shops.

Royal British Columbia Museum

This tells BC story, especially from 1850 to 1920. It has amazing exhibits, and is easily worth half a day. There are three permanent galleries: Modern History, story of the European settlement; First Peoples, pre-contact and post-contact; and Natural History, mainly oceans, large animals, and climate. All are explained with phenomenal immersive exhibits.

Daily 9AM–5PM (10AM-5PM in winter)·$32 (adult), $22 (senior, youth 6-18), $19 (student 19+ with ID). Prices vary for special exhibitions

Victoria Bug Zoo

Looking at bugs while on holidays doesn't sound like it'd be appealing, but this is a fantastic little place filled with very knowledgeable and friendly guides, and where else would you get the chance to hold so many crazy creatures?

Mon-Fri 11AM-4PM, Sat Sun 11AM-5PM; 10AM-6PM extended summer hours·$14 (adult), $8 (youth) $10 (senior, student)

Victoria Butterfly Gardens

The largest butterfly conservatory in Canada and located near the Butchart Gardens. Other than butterflies, there are a lot of tropical plants and some exotic animals to see. For those concerned, all the animals are rescues, donations, or adoptions, and they explicitly take a stance against trading and breeding exotic animals.

Willows Beach Park

The most popular hangout place in Oak Bay. The water is fairly shallow and the beach provides nice views of Discovery Island and Mt Baker (on clear days). There's also a small playground, picnic tables, lots of grass and a concession stand/tea room.

IMAX Theatre

The largest IMAX screen in British Columbia with a mix of Hollywood feature films and traditional IMAX films.

$9-12, Hollywood feature films are an extra $3.25. Tickets are not included with regular museum admission but discounted combo tickets are available