Exploring Downtown Victoria is a 2-mile stroll that can take 2 to 6 hours depending on how much you stop to eat and/or tour. This stroll through Downtown Victoria includes the historic Fairmont Empress Hotel, the Museum of Vancouver, the B.C. Parliament Buildings, the architecture of local houses, beauty of local tulips and magnolia trees, Fisherman’s Wharf and Park, and Ogden Breakwater Lighthouse. I have included the map for that walk below. I’ve also included restaurant recommendations along with a travel FAQ of where to stay and how to travel on a budget.
General Downtown
Definitely take the time to walk around downtown or watch the sunset over the Inner Harbour. All of the buildings are so gorgeous. While we were there a movie was filming in a local alley. The winds were blowing strong and blew the cherry blossom petals everywhere- it was snowing flowers!
Fairmont Empress Hotel
The famous Fairmont Empress Hotel opened in 1908. The building incorporates Chateauesque architecture while including stone, brick, and steep roofs. It has a touch of French Renaissance and Medieval architecture with its roofed windows. You cannot go inside without a room reservation. Another option to view the inside is an afternoon tea at the Empress at $82 a person. The view of the building itself is still worth a stop.
Across the street, before you reach the B.C. Parliament Building, is the Museum of Vancouver. We did not have enough time to stop there, but definitely would want to stop there next time!
B.C. Parliament Building
The B.C. Parliament building is also located in Victoria, just a block away from the Empress Hotel, facing the Inner Harbour. It opened in 1897 and is intricately designed with stone carvings and gorgeous mint domes.
Adorning the grounds are three statues. One of Queen Victoria, that sits in the front, one of George Vancouver that resides in gold atop the building, and one to the front left which commemorates those who died in WWI and II, the Korean War, and Afghanistan
Free tours at the B.C. Parliament are offered on weekdays and reserved tours are offered on weekends. Reserved tours fill up fast which I, unfortunately, learned the hard way. The B.C. Parliament building lights up at night and is just as gorgeous to view in the evening as it is in the day time. Note that depending on the time of year the sun will stay out later. Even in April we had to wait until 9pm to see the lights!
Fisherman’s Wharf and Park
Victoria Fisherman’s Wharf is a floating pier consisting of small food and snack shops. It has everything from fish tacos to doughnuts. It is open 11am to 6pm but it a bit of a rocky ride for those who get motion sick.
Across the street is a park lined with Cherry Blossoms that overlooks the Inner Harbour and is a nice place to stop and rest.
Ogden Breakwater Lighthouse
Our last stop on this walk was the pier to Ogden Breakwater Lighthouse. Located here is also a sun dial at the beginning of the pier. The Lighthouse was built in 1916. Breakwater Lighthouse itself is small and not extremely impressive. But the walk on the pier lets you see the sea traffic and, if you’re lucky, marine life as well. You can even go below the pier onto the rocks. While we were there it was extremely, extremely windy.
Where to Eat
There are a lot of unique shops and eateries (including a few chocolatiers!). My favorites were Little Jumbo and Interactivity Board Game Cafe.
Places in Victoria close early, or open late. We had many breakfasts at the Starbucks across the street from the Parliament building. On our first night there we ate at Little Jumbo, a small new restaurant in downtown. It had a speakeasy atmosphere and although the food was a little more expensive it was absolutely delicious.
I LOVE boardgames so Interactivity Board Game Cafe was the cafe of my dreams. You walk in and the walls are lined with hundreds of games. It is essentially a game library. They are divided by genre and number of players needed. You pay $5 to sit and play as many games as you’d like for as long as you’d like. You also open a tab and order drinks, shakes, snacks, and food at any time. I legitimately spent about 4 hours here. A lot of sightseeing places and shops close early in Victoria, around 6-8pm. This is a fun place to stop for wholesome late night entertainment.
Travel FAQ
Stay:
We stayed at Ivana’s very clean Airbnb. It was very private we were separated from the rest of the house. It was also a quick bus stop away from downtown. It was very affordable and beyond my expectations for its value. 110% recommend.
USE THE LINK BELOW TO EARN $55 OFF YOUR FIRST AIRBNB:
https://www.airbnb.com/c/leannah584?currency=USD
Travel:
Flight: AirCanada.
Bus: $5 for a bus day pass in Victoria. The bus gets you just about anywhere but they only take cash. We exchanged currency in advance to be able to pay for our bus tickets. (This is different in Vancouver).
Ferry: To get from Vancouver to Victoria, and vice versa, we took a Ferry which is $17/person.
If you are completely running on public transportation you will also have to take a few busses with separate bus tickets for the Victoria system and the Vancouver system.
