Government Street

Government Street is arguably Victoria’s most famous and iconic street. It’s full of restaurants, touristy souvenir shops and city landmarks.

The street runs from the Inner Harbour up through the core of the city’s old part of town. It also goes in the other direction through a residential area to Holland Park which is on Dallas Road by the ocean.

Landmark places you’ll find along Government Street are the James Bay Inn, Parliament Buildings, Royal BC Museum, Inner Harbour, Empress Hotel, Bastion Square and Chinatown. Also along the street is the Bay Centre shopping mall and a number of high-profile bars and restaurants including the Irish Times Pub.

Government Street Events

A number of events take place along or near Government Street each year. In the spring there is Franco Fest and the Victoria St. Patrick’s Day Festival. Around Halloween there is Wicked Victoria in October.

Government Street Video

Below is a video that shows what Government Street looks like in March when the Victoria’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival takes place. The street doesn’t always look like this, with vendor stalls and bouncy castles in the middle of the road. The video does though show what the buildings in the area look like.

Government Street always has lots of pedestrians. On occasion it does become a pedestrian-only zone, including in the summer and on days when there are festivals.

The scenes in the video are of Government Street between around Fort Street and Yates. In the video you’ll get a glimpse of the Bay Centre as well as the Irish Times Pub by the entrance to Bastion Square.