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Victoria Attractions
Boat Tours
Sightseers using Victoria as a base for their travels can explore the Gulf Islands and Vancouver by ferry from Swartz Bay, north of Victoria via Hwy. 17; for schedule and toll phone the British Columbia Ferry Service at (250) 386-3431.
Opportunities for whale watching are offered by several boating companies, the oldest of which is Seacoast Expeditions, 146 Kingston St.; phone (250) 383-2254.
Bus and Carriage Tours
Guided tours of the city in red double-decker buses from London enhance Victoria's British atmosphere. Many of these tour operators are found along Belleville and Menzies streets by the harbor. Gray Line, 4196 Glanford Ave., (250) 388-6539 or (800) 663-8390, conducts bus tours.
The Tallyho offers horse-drawn narrated tours of the city from late March through September (weather permitting); phone (250) 383-5067. The tours leave from the corner of Belleville and Menzies streets.
Driving Tours
The Greater Victoria Visitors Information Centre has information about such scenic drives as Marine Drive along the shoreline, a trip to Sooke Harbour on the west coast and the Malahat Drive, which runs along the east coast and reaches an elevation of 381 metres (1,250 ft.). The trip to Butchart Gardens is one of the most popular drives, following Hwy. 17 and Hwy. 17A through the rural communities and pastoral valleys of the Saanich Peninsula.
Walking Tours
Victoria is the perfect size for visitors keen on walking. A favorite thoroughfare of strollers and shoppers is Government Street, graced by banners and five-globe Victorian lampposts supporting baskets of geraniums and petunias.
Sports and Recreation
The English spirit still is manifest in such games as lawn bowling at the corner of Belleville and Douglas streets and cricket at Beacon Hill Park. Any notion, however, that Victoria's sports are too staid is dispelled quickly by a box lacrosse game. This offspring of the Indian game of baggataway is a rough-and-tumble version of field lacrosse confined to a smaller, enclosed area. Canada's Parliament designated boxla, as it also is called, the national sport in 1867. The game is played from April to August at Memorial Arena, 1925 Blanshard.
All-star wrestling and ice hockey, two other spectator sports that hardly could be considered sedate, also are held at the arena.
Water sports have obvious appeal in this island city. The wide variety of game fish around southern Vancouver Island includes rockfish, lingcod, sole and flounder; fishing licenses are required. Surf fishing often yields rewarding catches of salmon and black sea bass. Clamming and oyster harvesting are popular activities on any of the Gulf Islands, which are accessible by ferry from Swartz Bay.
Oak Bay Marina, 1327 Beach Dr., offers fishing charters at an hourly rate. Fishing equipment, a tackle shop and marine store are available; phone (250) 598-3369. Other nearby marinas include Anglers Anchorage Marina, 933 Marchant, Brentwood Bay; North Saanich Marina, 1949 Marina Way, Sidney; and the West Bay Marina, 453 Head St.
Boating is enjoyed in the Strait of Georgia and the Saanich Inlet. Uplands Park on Oak Bay is equipped with boat ramps. Fine beaches border Dallas Road and Beach Drive.
With its scenic coastal location and balmy climate, Victoria offers excellent playing conditions for golf. On a peninsula jutting into the Juan de Fuca Strait, Victoria Golf Club is open to members of other clubs.
Other golf clubs include Ardmore (nine holes), 930 Ardmore Dr., North Saanich; Cedar Hill (18 holes), 1400 Derby Rd.; Cordova Bay (18 holes), 5333 Cordova Bay Rd.; Glen Meadows (18 holes), 1050 McTavish Rd.; Green Acres (nine holes), 3970 Metchosin Rd.; Henderson Park (nine holes), 2291 Cedar Hill Crossroad; Mount Douglas (nine holes), 4225 Blenkinsop Rd.; Olympic View Golf Course (18 holes), 643 Latoria Rd.; Prospect Lake (nine holes), 4633 Prospect Lake Rd.; and Royal Oak Golf Club (nine holes), 540 Marsett Pl.
Many parks are scattered throughout Victoria and its surrounding municipalities of Oak Bay, Saanich and Esquimalt. Some offer swimming, such as Thetis Lake Park, Mount Work Park, Elk/Beaver Lake Park, Willows Beach Park and Island View Beach Park. Swimmers also might wish to try the Crystal Pool in Central Park.
Hiking, nature and horse trails are found at several parks. For more information contact Victoria Downtown Park; phone (250) 361-0600. Bamberton Provincial Park offers developed recreational facilities, including camping.
Hiking trails and floating walkways weave through the Swan Lake-Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, 6.5 kilometres (4 mi.) north via the Patricia Bay Hwy. Excellent views of Victoria and the sea are at Mount Douglas, Mount Tolmie and Beacon Hill Park.
Shopping
Lined with shops carrying English tweeds and fine china, Government Street maintains Victoria's heritage as a trading post of the British Empire. Such shops as E.A. Morris Tobacconist have distinguished Government Street since the 19th century. Established in 1833, Rogers' Chocolate Shop is a Victoria institution that counts British royalty in its clientele. The Rogers' factory, behind the store at 913 Government St., still produces its renowned bittersweet chocolate according to a guarded recipe.
Shoppers determined to bring home something other than a few extra pounds might want to explore the craft and specialty shops in the renovated squares and malls off Government Street. More than 30 quaint stores and restaurants in revitalized old buildings highlight Market Square, bounded by Johnson, Pandora and Store streets.
Trounce Alley, in the downtown core, is a hideaway of eclectic shops. Shops of mid-19th-century architecture display modern items in Bastion Square, once a hangout for prospectors and drifters. An attractive shopping arcade is in Centennial Square off Douglas Street. Nootka Court between Courtney and Humboldt streets contains small arts and crafts shops.
Popular items available in Victoria include handwoven woolens from Ireland and England, hand-knit Cowichan Indian sweaters, Eskimo jade sculpture and Northwest Indian masks and prints. The Bay department stores, 1150 and 3125 Douglas St., sell authentic Cowichan sweaters. Also in Victoria are Hillside Shopping Centre, 1644 Hillside Rd.; Mayfair Shopping Centre, 3147 Douglas St.; and Sears, 3190 Shelbourne St.
In keeping with its Victorian image, Victoria has more than 50 antique shops. Many are found along Government and Fort streets and Oak Bay Avenue.
Performing Arts
McPherson Playhouse in Centennial Square is the center of Vancouver Island's regional and professional theater. The restored old theater regularly presents noontime concerts and musical comedy productions in the evening; phone (250) 386-6121 or (888) 717-6121. The Pacific Opera Victoria, (250) 385-0222, performs at the Royal Theatre.
The Royal Theatre on Broughton Street is the home of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, (250) 385-6515, which offers a pop and masterworks series September through May. The Victoria Conservatory of Music sometimes offers performances; phone (250) 386-5311.
Comedy revues and music hall shows also are staged frequently at the Belfry, (250) 385-6815, 1291 Gladstone, and the Royal Theatre, (250) 386-6121, 805 Broughton. The University of Victoria Auditorium on Finnerty Road also presents various cultural events; phone (250) 721-8480. Butchart Gardens mounts musical stage shows during the summer. Kaleidoscope Theatre, an open-air theater at the Inner Harbour, also offers summer productions.
Top-name entertainers, rock groups and other performers draw large audiences to Memorial Arena, 1925 Blanshard. A carillon at the Parliament Buildings can be heard daily at 3 during the summer. The Royal BC Museum's National Geographic IMAX Theater offers big-screen films complementing the museum's natural and human history themes; phone (250) 356-7226.
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