Victoria (British Columbia) Sights

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Peacock, Beacon Hill Children's Farm

• Emily Carr House, 207 Government Street, +1 250 383-5843, www.emilycarr.com. Fee $5, students $3.50, families $15. Emily Carr is one of Canada's greatest and most loved artists. Her house is within walking distance of the Inner Harbour and Beacon Hill Park.
• Inner Harbour In the summertime the Inner Harbour is full of artists, buskers and other entertainers. The music performers are not permitted to stay in one place for very long, so the entertainment is constantly changing. It still may seem too long with some of the Bagpipers. Many find it fascinating to watch the float planes taking off and landing also. In the springtime, the inner harbour is filled up with many beautiful flowers.
• Undersea Gardens, 490 Belleville St (on the inner harbour, across from the Legislature), +1 250 382-5717, www.pacificunderseagardens.com.
• Royal London Wax Museum, 470 Belleville St, (on the inner harbor, across from the The Legislature), +1 250 388-4461, www.waxmuseum.bc.ca.
• Chinatown, Fisgard St. between Store St. and Government St. The street is decorated with Chinese ornaments including The Gates of Harmonious Interest. There are some great Chinese restaurants, Chinese fruit and vegetable stores, bubble tea and coffee shops and Canada's smallest 'road', Fan Tan Alley!
• Beacon Hill Park, bounded by Dallas Rd on the south, and Douglas St. on the west. The south end is on the waterfront, with walking path and a view of the Olympic Mountains across the straight. Beacon Hill Children's Farm, which features a goat petting area, is located within Beacon Hill Park www.beaconhillpark.ca/childrenspark.
• Butchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave. in Brentwood Bay (at the westernmost point of Keating X Rd, 866-652-4422, www.butchartgardens.com. A large garden planted in what was formerly a limestone quarry. Quite remarkable. During the summer they have fireworks set to music and during winter evenings, the gardens are lit up and include displays illustrating the twelve days of Christmas. You can reach Butchart Gardens from Vancouver and Victoria on several bus tours and also by public transit www.bctransit.com/regions/vic/schedules/explore/attractions.cfm from Victoria or the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.

Rotunda of the Provincial Legislature

• Legislative Buildings, at the Inner Harbour, +1 250 387-3046, www.legis.gov.bc.ca. At night it is lit up with 13,000 lights. Free public tours are excellent.
• Miniature World, 649 Humboldt St. (at the back of the Empress Hotel), +1 250 385-9731, www.miniatureworld.com. An extensive display of miniature landscapes, cities etc., some rather bizarre or at comically mismatched scales. Includes the world's smallest working saw mill at a scale of 1:12.
• Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Bellville St. (between the Legislature and the Empress hotel, near the Inner Harbour), ☎ +1 250 356-7226, www.rbcm.gov.bc.ca. Daily 9AM–5PM. This tell's BC story, especially from 1850 to 1920. It has amazing exhibits, and is easily worth half a day. There are three permanent galleries: Modern History, story of the European settlement; First Peoples, pre-contact and post-contact; and Natural History, mainly oceans, large animals, and climate. All are explained with phenomenal immersive exhibits. This is one of two museums in Canada holding the 'Royal' designation. $15 adults, discounts for students and seniors, prices vary for special exhibitions.
• IMAX Theatre, 675 Bellville St. (part of the Royal BC Museum), +1 250 953-4629, www.imaxvictoria.com. A variety of shows on the IMAX screen. $9.75 adult admission, $7.50 for seniors, students and youth, $5 for children. Tickets are not included with regular museum admission but discounted combo tickets are available.
• Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum, 1050 Joan Crescent (in the Rockland area), +1 250 592-5323, www.craigdarrochcastle.com. This castle was built in 1890 by a wealthy and powerful Scottish family who at that time owned a quarter of Vancouver Island. Great architecture. About 25 minutes' walk from the downtown core, or else take buses 11 or 14 up Fort St.
• Victoria Bug Zoo, 631 Courtney Street, +1 250 384-2847, www.bugzoo.bc.ca. Open daily except Christmas and New Years, 10AM-6PM (extended summer hours). Fee $8 (several discounts). Looking at bugs while on holidays doesn't sound like it'd be appealing, but this is a fantastic little place filled with very knowledgeable and friendly guides, and where else would you get the chance to hold so many crazy creatures?
• Abkhazi Gardens, 1964 Fairfield Road, +1 250 598-8096‎, www.conservancy.bc.ca/content.asp?sectionack=abkhazi. Love affairs make great stories, and this one resulted in a great garden. Prince and Princess Abkhazi along with designer John Wade came together and created a garden that took over 40 years to come together on a beautiful property overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains.