The capital of British Columbia, Victoria, is a charming city surrounded by ocean and famous for its gardens, colonial-style buildings and natural beauty.
As a popular tourist destination it has a world-class museum, numerous parks, hundreds of restaurants and one of the finest gardens on the planet.
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria’s best places to visit include its gardens and parks, museums, historical sites, various other tourist attractions, and its different neighbourhoods and parts of town.
Greater Victoria has a population of close to 385,000 people and is actually made up of a number of different municipalities including Victoria (pop. 85,000), Saanich (pop. 114,000), Oak Bay (pop. 18,000), Esquimalt (pop. 17,000), Colwood (pop. 16,000), Langford (pop. 35,000), Central Saanich (pop. 16,000), and North Saanich(pop. 11,000). Not too far away are also the communities of Sooke (pop. 13,000) to the west and Sidney (pop. 12,000) to the north.
Below is a list of some of the different municipalities in Greater Victoria as well as some of the main attractions in or near each.
City of Victoria
Attractions and places of interest within the City of Victoria include the following:
- Abkhazi Garden
- The Bay Centre
- Beacon Hill Park
- Bug Zoo
- Craigdarroch Castle
- Empress Hotel
- Inner Harbour
- Lieutenant Governor’s House
- Mayfair Mall
- Miniature World
- Parliament Buildings
- Royal British Columbia Museum
Saanich
Places of interest within the Municipality of Saanich include the following:
- University of Victoria
- Mount Tolmie
- Mount Doug
- Cadboro-Gyro Park
- Cedar Hill Golf Course
- Hillside Mall
- Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary
- Elk Lake and Beaver Lake
- Gorge Waterway
- Camosun College
Oak Bay
Attractions and places of interest within the Municipality of Oak Bay include the following:
- Cattle Point
- Gonzales Hill Regional Park
- Oak Bay Village
- Uplands Golf Club
- Victoria Golf Club
- Willows Beach
Colwood
Places of interest within the community of Colwood include the following:
Langford
Attractions and places of interest within the Municipality of Langford include the following:
- Bear Mountain Golf Course
- Galloping Goose Regional Trail
- Goldstream Provincial Park
- Mount Finlayson
- Thetis Lake Regional Park
Central Saanich and Brentwood Bay
Places of interest within the communities of Central Saanich and Brentwood Bay include the following:
- Butterfly Gardens
- Saanich Fair
- Island View Beach
Sidney
Attractions and places of interest within the City of Sidney include the following:
- Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea
- Sidney Museum & Archives
- Swartz Bay (BC Ferries Terminal)
- Victoria International Airport
- Washington State Ferry terminal connecting Vancouver Island with Anacortes in the USA.
Sooke
Places of interest within the community of Sooke include the following:
- French Beach Provincial Park
- China Beach
- Juan de Fuca Provincial Park
- Sooke Potholes Provincial Park
- Sooke Marine Boardwalk
