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Victoria Overview
Wrapped around the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria proves a gentle blend of colonial England and up-to-date Western Canada. Wherever you venture, this famously dry and mild region reveals natural, historic, culinary and cultural delights.
Proud of its British influence, this jewel of a city will serve you an elegant High Tea, with all the trappings. At the same time, it urges you to enjoy its outdoorsy lifestyle.
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, and its grand Parliament Buildings, along with the gracious Empress Hotel, dominate the Inner Harbour. Adjacent inner-city streets are slow-moving and walkable. An area of handsome 19th-century brick buildings, richly textured flower baskets, and lively shops, restaurants and brewpubs, invites leisurely exploration.
Just beyond the downtown, luxuriant yet well-ordered parks and gardens and a rugged, wind-swept Pacific shoreline offer broader vistas.
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Other Alaska Cruise Ports:
Haines • Icy Strait • Juneau • Ketchikan • Petersburg • Prince Rupert • Seattle • Sitka • Skagway • Vancouver • Victoria • Whittier
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Best Souvenir
A two-pound box of Victoria Creams from Rogers Chocolates (913 Government St., www.rogerschocolates.com).
Where You're Docked
Cruise ships berth at Ogden Point, a short taxi ride or 15-minute walk from downtown. Most cruise ships offer shuttles or taxi service. Small passenger ships may dock or anchor in the city's Inner Harbour.
Currency & Best Way to Get Money
There's a Custom House Currency Exchange across the street from the visitor's center on Wharf Street, and others in Bastion Square and at 1140 Government St. Major banks, with ATM machines, are located at Douglas and Fort streets. The U.S. dollar currently delivers $1.25 CAD, but check at www.oanda.com or www.xe.com for the latest rate. Also note: Canada measures in metric.
Hanging Around
Tourism Victoria's information center is at 812 Wharf St. in the Inner Harbour (www.tourismvictoria.com). From here you can see the landmark Parliament Buildings and Empress Hotel; beyond, to the north, lies the inner city, easy to negotiate with a city map.
Everything is close: a slice of Old England, an evocative Chinatown, an Antique Row (along Fort Street), the Royal B.C. Museum and Imax Theatre, and fine hotels, tea houses, restaurants, pubs and shops -- both traditional and contemporary.
To the south and east, you will find lovely Beacon Hill Park and James Bay, as well as a picturesque road, walking paths and beaches along the shoreline to Oak Bay and beyond.
Getting Around
Tie up your shoe laces; this is a walking city. At the same time, taxis are numerous (Empress Taxi, 250-381-2222; Victoria Taxi, 250-383-7111). Rental car outlets include Avis (800-879-2847), Budget (800-668-9833) and Hertz (800-263-0600). Victoria is also happily endowed with cycle rickshaws that will whisk you around the inner city.
Don't Miss
 Inner Victoria is endlessly picturesque -- you only have to amble and enjoy. Highlights include the Parliament Buildings, Fairmont Empress Hotel, the Royal B.C. Museum (www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca), Bastion Square and the Maritime Museum of B.C. (Wharf and Fort streets), and Beacon Hill Park, which overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the mountains of the Olympic peninsula in Washington state.
Antique lovers can peruse the stores of Fort Street.
Garden aficionados will want to taxi 13 miles to the world-famous 50-acre Butchart Gardens (www.butchartgardens.com). It recently celebrated its 100th year.
Chinatown is a must: Begin at the entrance gate at Fisgard and Government streets, and don't overlook the oh-so-narrow Fan Tan Alley and its eccentric shops.
Numerous ships offer evening calls -- inquire from Tourism Victoria about a night-time lantern walking tour (or visit www.oldchinatown.com). A variety of city walking tours, including ghostly walks, can be booked at www.discoverthepast.com.
Of course, a visit to Victoria isn't complete without having tea at one of the city's numerous tea salons. Good bets include, of course, the Empress (www.fairmont.com/empress). But be warned, the cost of tea -- the full spread -- in one of the hotel's several delightful roomscan run as high as $50 (Canadian). A less expensive option is tea in the garden of Point Ellice House, a historic Victorian manse just outside the downtown (2616 Pleasant Street, 250-380-6506). Another is the White Heather Tea Room in Oak Bay (1885 Oak Bay Rd., 250-595-8020).
Another don't-miss experience is a libation in the Empress's evocative Bengal Lounge.
Been There, Done That
Visit the watery ocean hangout of resident orca whales, roughly 80 in all (www.princeofwhales.com or www.victoriawhaletours.com).
For more sedate ocean travel -- and perhaps whale sighting from a distance -- venture for the day to the Southern Gulf Island by public ferry (www.bcferries.com).
Another enticing destination is the coastal Sooke-Metchosin region, west of Victoria. Visit the Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery near the village of Sooke (www.tugwellcreekfarm.com) and try a glass of rare, barrel-aged mead -- the oldest fermented beverage known to man.
Alternately, head north to the pastoral Saanich Valley and the Marley Farm Winery (www.marleyfarm.com). Limited-edition vintages include pinot grigio and pinot noir. They make blackberry and other fruit wines. From rural Saanich, drive south again along winding oceanfront Beach Drive, and through the communities of Cordova Bay and Oak Bay. Stop in for a pint or a meal at the venerable Oak Bay Beach Hotel and Marine Resort (www.oakbaybeachhotel.com).
Active-minded travelers can rent a kayak, canoe or powerboat from one of many vendors in the Inner Harbour. Or hire bikes or scooters from Cycle B.C. (www.cyclebc.ca). The Galloping Goose Trail is an easy and scenic cycling route to Sooke (www.crd.bc.ca/parks/galloping_goose.htm). Or cycle the city's leafy streets eastward to Beach Drive and Oak Bay.
Golfers should check out the Bear Mountain Resort and its two 18-hole courses (www.bearmountaingolf.com) in suburban Victoria.
Lunching
Casual joints include Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub (308 Catherine St., just over the short Johnston Street Bridge, www.spinnakers.com). Another favorite is Canoe Brewpub and Restaurant (450 Swift St, close to the bridge, www.canoebrewpub.com) on the city side.
Pagliacchi's (1011 Broad St., 250-386-1662) is recommended for Italian fare, as is Il Terrazzo (555 Johnson St., www.ilterrazzo.com).
Other good bets include the Sauce Bar and Restaurant (1245 Wharf St., www.saucebar.ca), the Tapa Bar (620 Trounce Alley, 250-383-0013), and Ferris' Oyster Bar and Grill (536 Yates St., www.ferrisoysterbar.com).
The Re-Bar Modern Food (50 Bastion Square, 250-361-9223), is a funky vegetarian option, and a big success, with two locations, is The Noodle Box and Takeaway (626 Fisgard St. in Chinatown, and on Douglas Street, close to the Empress).
Of course, you can dine at the Empress -- perhaps in the Bengal Lounge, or, for a buffet lunch or dinner, at Kipling's (www.fairmont.com/empress/).
Staying in Touch
The Stain Internet Cafe (609 Yates St.), Victoria Cyber Cafe (1414 Douglas St.) and Cyber station (1113 Blanshard St.) should keep you connected.
For More Information
Tourism Victoria: www.tourismvictoria.com, 800-663-3883
Tourism British Columbia: www.hellobc.com, 800-HELLO-BC
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The Independent Traveler Message Boards: Canada
-- By Alison Appelbe, author of Secret Vancouver: The Unique Guidebook to Vancouver's Hidden Sites, Sounds & Tastes.
Images of the Parliament Building, the Inner Harbour at dusk, whale watching and Beacon Hill Park appear courtesy of Tourism Victoria.
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 Shore Excursions
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