Victoria Vancouver Island BC Canada

Why Come to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, in BC Canada?

Victoria has an endless supply of things to see and do and the mildest climate in Canada. It doesn't matter what time of day or what time of year - whether you want to be indoors or out, active or a spectator, spend a lot of money or none at all – Victoria has it all!

Victoria's temperate climate has also added to its reputation as the "City of Gardens". With its mild temperatures and plentiful sunshine, it enjoys an average winter day temperature of 5.5°C (42° F), summer 16.1°C (61° F), and annual rainfall of only 68.5 cm (27”) and an average of six hours bright sunshine daily throughout the year.

Victoria Harbour The all-season activities in Victoria are almost endless: golf, whale watching, cycling, mountain biking, mountain climbing, surfing, running, beachcombing, ocean fishing, fly-fishing, hiking, scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, walking, kite flying, roller-blading, skateboarding, windsurfing, horseback riding and even beach volleyball.

Thousands of visitors come from all over the world to experience the Victoria area’s scenic trails leading through old-growth forests, along ocean shores and up mountains. Regional and provincial parks provide well-maintained and safe trails for hiking, as well as biking. The Galloping Goose trail provides almost 60 km of BC’s finest scenery to hike, bike or horseback-ride. Starting in Victoria, it travels through back roads, rolling hills, canyons, and rainforests through the communities of Victoria, Saanich, Metchosin, Colwood, Langford, View Royal and Sooke.

Just north of downtown Victoria is Elk Lake, home to the Canadian Rowing Team and also a popular place for swimming and fishing. Along with Durrance Lake, Thetis Lake, Beaver Lake and many others, there are kilometers of ocean beaches and no shortage of opportunities for outdoor aquatic activities.

Numerous recreation centers are situated throughout the city, so when the weather isn’t agreeable outdoors, they are the place to go. Most of them are equipped with full size gyms, free-weights, treadmills, bikes, rowing machines, stair-climbers, elliptical cross trainers, saunas, hot tubs and lap pools.

The downtown core is the largest of the shopping areas in Greater Victoria. It contains some substantial shopping areas within it, such as Victoria Bay Centre, Chinatown, Market Square and hundreds of shops, services, accommodations, theatres, businesses, night spots, and restaurants. The area from the Inner Harbour to several blocks north is known as Old Town and is characterized by heritage buildings and lots of shopping.

Victoria is home to many award-winning breweries and micro-breweries, most are within walking distance of the downtown core. Many of them also double as live music venues, so you can expect to run into groups of music lovers indulging in pints of beer while listening to live musicians playing jazz, folk, acoustic, Irish or bluegrass tunes. Specialty ales and lagers such as, stout, cherry blossom ale, ginger-ginseng cream ale, hefweizen and India pale ale can be sampled throughout many of the city’s unique brew pubs. Spinnaker’s and Swan’s are two of the finest pubs the city has to offer, both making their own trademark lagers.

Southern Vancouver Island is now known as one the best wine growing areas in North America. World class wineries are scattered throughout the rolling hills of the Greater Victoria area and provide the opportunity to sample some of the finest wines in Canada while exploring the local country-side. Island wines tend to be crisp and fruity. Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot, Gewurztraminer, Mueller-Thrugau and Ortega are some of the traditional and unique wines made by Vancouver Island vintners.

The city's architecture and picturesque scenery also attracts film makers from around the world. It is a common occurrence to see feature films, TV Pilots, mini-series, documentaries, and commercials being shot on location in and around Victoria.

Greater Victoria, which includes the adjoining municipalities of Saanich, Oak Bay and Esquimalt, has a population of over 300,000. The city is ocean front on the south and east and on the north and west is bounded by farm lands stretching back into the great forests of Vancouver Island.

The oldest (and most intact) Chinatown in Canada is located within Victoria. In the heart of downtown are the Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress Hotel and the acclaimed Royal British Columbia Museum, with large exhibits on local Aboriginal peoples, Natural History and Modern History. In addition, the heart of downtown also has the Royal London Wax Museum, Victoria Bug Zoo, the BC Experience at the Crystal Garden and the Pacific Undersea Gardens, which showcases, marine life of British Columbia. North of the city on the Saanich Peninsula are the Butchart Gardens, one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island, as well as the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria Butterfly Gardens and Centre of the Universe planetarium.

There are also numerous National Historic Sites, like Fisgard Lighthouse, Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse, Hatley Castle, Hatley Park and Fort Rodd Hill, a coastal artillery fort built in the late 1890s, located west of the city in Colwood. Also located west of the city you will find Western Speedway, a 4/10th-mile oval and the largest in Western Canada.

Beacon Hill Park is the city's main urban green space. It comprises more than 620,000 square meters along Victoria's southern shore, and includes numerous playing fields, manicured gardens, exotic species of plants and animals such as wild peacocks, and a petting zoo. The park also includes a few areas of natural Garry oak meadow habitat, an increasingly scarce ecosystem that once dominated the region.

Victoria keeps its spirit alive with year-round festivals; from the BC Festival of the Arts to the Annual Victoria Shakespeare Festival to the Annual Dragon Boat Festival, both art and culture are a cornerstone of the city’s social activity. Each summer, Beacon Hill Park plays host to several outdoor concerts, and the popular Luminara Community Lantern Festival.

A safe and friendly haven for all visitors, with a clean environment and charming ambience, it is no surprise that Victoria, BC is one of the world's favorite destinations.

VSBT

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Why Come to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, in BC Canada?

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