This past weekend I took The Girl and one of her BFF’s to Victoria, BC for our last girls trip before they girls head off to college. I took your advice and decided it would be a good destination with plenty to do.
There’s about a million things to do, once you start digging around, but here’s my top 10:
- Royal BC Museum – This museum has a little bit of everything, but it’s pretty darn cool to get a little Canadian history. The Viking exhibit was totally worth the trip. And the stuffed mammoth? Totally awesome.
- The Butchart Gardens – You know I had to include at least one garden. It is full of almost shocking colors. Plus, if you can’t convince the fam to stroll through the gardens, you can plan your trip just right and catch one of the concerts they have going on during the summer. You can soak up the ambiance and enjoy life music on a bed of grass.
- Craigdarroch Castle – The castle was built by one of the richest men in Canada, Robert Dunsmuir, in the 1800’s. It’s massive, and seriously a architectural mind-blower. You can tour the grounds and the inside of the castle–the tour will give you the scoop on the Dunsmuir Family.
- Inner Harbor – The harbor is a bustling hub of activity. You can stroll along the water, do some shopping, or choose from tons of great restaurants.
- Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel – The Empress is located at the Inner Harbor–and you know where there is afternoon tea, I’m gonna be there. Tea isn’t just tea here, it’s an experience, complete with china, scones, and service.
- Victoria Pier – This is another pier that is complete with the maritime scene, local street performers and quaint little cafes. We ended up going kayaking and had a blast!
- Old Town – Old Town is full of specialty shops catering to Scottish and Irish imports. You can totally get a sense of B.C.’s immigrant influence. It’s not huge, so walking it is totally possible. In the 1800’s it was the center and hub of B.C., now it is a bit more touristy, but still worth seeing. Oh, and they have pastries. Lot’s and lot’s of pastries. 😉
- Parliament Buildings – The parliament buildings will be hard to miss if you get anywhere near the area. They are impressive to say the least. I recommend making it a destination instead of just strolling past, though. You can take guided tours that only last about 30 minutes, but are totally worth it.
- Juan de Fuca Provincial Park – If you’re into venturing out of the city and exploring Vancouver Island, this park boasts miles of pretty amazing hiking trails. You can even look for sea critters in the many tide pools.
- Miniature World – You can walk here from Inner Harbor. It houses 85 miniature displays all with different themes {circus, the future, etc.}. They are basically dioramas with unbelievable detail. Kids will love getting lost in the tiny displays.
How about you? Have you been to Victoria, B.C.? What was your favorite thing?
Mavis
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Norma Neeson says
I live here so am so glad you enjoyed it. It is an awesome place to live and my 3 girls have loved growing up here too.
Tiffany says
We lived in Washington State for a while which made it easy to visit BC. The Empress Hotel was my favorite! I love how you take theses mom/daughter trips. What a excellent example of keeping a great relationship with your daughter!
Kari says
I second all your choices. Here are a few to add to the list: Beacon Hill Park and Beacon Hill Children’s Zoo, a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city (the tour guides are a wealth of information about the history,) and evening food/spirits/live music at the Irish Times Pub. I also have a thing for churches, and there are some gorgeous ones to walk through, especially Christ Church Cathedral and Pioneer Square. It is a gorgeous city with so much to do!!
Ellen in Clackamas says
I love Victoria! We lived across the Straits in Sequim and it was the destination of many end-of-year trips (Girl Scouts; band, etc). One of my favorite thingfs was the Wax Museum. Some folks think its kind of cheesy (well, yes it is!), but I always enjoyed it. Another thing…don’t know if you sawthem but in the Empress Hotel there are some wonderful art exhibits/galleries. Many have lots of First People arts and crafts for sale that are just wonderful. And often the sales people are like museum curators with histories and backgrounds of the artists. And the Double Decker buses..of course you saw the originals in London but they are pretty fun to see in our part of the world.
Camille says
We loved walking away from town on the path over the blue bridge and along the water to Esquimalt. It’s just under 3 kms and has gorgeous views. The highlight of our most recent trip was taking the seaplane from Vancouver and back again. Wanna see the post I did on it? Find it here ~ http://flowersinhisgarden.blogspot.ca/2014/07/every-quarter-century-so-far.html SO fun that you were there just a few days after we were. Now…when you coming to visit me?? 🙂
Camille says
Actually…that is an invitation to visit with me at my house…not my blog…thought I’d clear that up. You are welcome any time. Hugs to you! Camille
Mavis Butterfield says
We don’t have plans to go up to the Vancover area but if we do I will be sure and email you. How fun would that be? 🙂
Susan says
Holy Cow! I had the same pastry while I was there (a month ago) and it was DELICIOUS! I LOVE Victoria!
Helen in Meridian says
When I stayed at the Empress, we had a BOGO coupon from that national coupon book they sell everywhere. We ate pastry and fudge and candies everyday when I was there with my mom. Who need protein when you have unlimited tea, candy and pastry shops to explore. The one other thing I didn’t see mentioned was the Butterfly house with lots of pupae that would open every few minutes.
Mavis Butterfield says
I agree. Who needs protein when you can have tea and pastries. 🙂
Britt says
What a lovely place to visit! Wish I wash going to you part of the world. (Live in Norway, where you can hardly find such mass of flowers.) By the way, the white flower is Bacopa. I love it, to!