Victoria

Victoria has plenty of shoreline but very little sea swimming. Willows Beach in Oak Bay and the small sandy bay at Gonzales are sheltered and pleasant for a walk or paddling at the edge, but the water in the Strait of Juan de Fuca rarely gets above 13°C even in August, and most people who go in come straight back out. The beaches along Dallas Road are pebble and driftwood, made for looking at rather than lying on.

In summer, locals swim in lakes instead. Thetis Lake and Elk/Beaver Lake, both about 20 minutes from downtown, warm up enough for a proper swim, and the river pools at the Sooke Potholes are a favourite on hot days. Pleasant extras, but beach life is not part of a stay here.

Victoria eats well for a city its size. The cooking is built on Pacific Northwest produce: wild salmon, Dungeness crab, oysters and spot prawns from local waters, plus vegetables, cheese and wine from the farms of the Saanich Peninsula and the Cowichan Valley. Brunch is taken seriously, the coffee is good, and the city has a long-established craft beer culture, with brewpubs and taprooms spread around downtown and the harbour.

Afternoon tea, served in the grand style at the Empress, is a lasting part of the city's British image. Fish and chips by the water at Fisherman's Wharf is the casual classic, and the small Chinatown, the oldest in Canada, adds some range. Beyond that the choice is limited and fine dining is a small tier, and you won't find much late-night or street food.

The Inner Harbour is the city's postcard: the domed Parliament Buildings, lit up with outlines of bulbs at night, face the château-style Empress across the water, and together they make one of the most graceful harbour fronts in Canada. Next door, the Royal BC Museum covers the province's natural history and First Nations cultures, and Thunderbird Park beside it has a group of carved totem poles.

The rest is small but enjoyable. Craigdarroch Castle is a coal baron's Victorian mansion on the hill above Rockland, Chinatown has the narrow Fan Tan Alley, and the Emily Carr House and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria are good on the painter who is the region's best-known artist. Fort Rodd Hill and the Fisgard Lighthouse sit on the western shore. Two or three days are enough to see it all.

Nights in Victoria mostly mean the pub. Downtown has plenty of British-style pubs, craft brewery taprooms and a few good cocktail bars, many in old brick buildings around Wharf Street, Yates Street and Lower Johnson. Students from the university keep a small club scene going on weekends, but it is modest and closes early.

The city has a reputation as a gentle, older place, and its evenings match. Most visitors end the day with a drink by the harbour and are in bed before midnight, and outside summer weekends the streets are quiet by late evening. It suits a relaxed pint or a glass of local wine, not anyone looking to stay out until dawn.

Outdoor life starts at the edge of downtown. The Dallas Road waterfront path runs along clifftops and driftwood beaches looking across the strait to the snow-capped Olympic Mountains. Whale-watching boats leave from the Inner Harbour to look for orcas, humpbacks and sea lions, and calm, sheltered waters make sea kayaking around the Gulf Islands and Discovery Island easy for beginners. The Galloping Goose and Lochside trails are long car-free cycle routes through farmland and forest.

Thirty minutes west, Goldstream Provincial Park has old-growth cedar and a salmon run in autumn that brings in bald eagles. East Sooke Park has rugged coastal hiking, and beyond Sooke the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail follows a wild, rainforest coast. The climate is the mildest in Canada, so you can walk and cycle all year, though winters are grey and wet. There are no high mountains within easy reach.

Victoria's best-known outing is Butchart Gardens, about half an hour north. The century-old gardens, planted in a former limestone quarry, are spectacular in spring and summer and lit up at Christmas. Further up the Saanich Peninsula, the seaside town of Sidney has bookshops, a waterfront walk and an aquarium.

About an hour north over the Malahat, the Cowichan Valley has small wineries, cideries and farm stands, the totem poles of Duncan and the mural town of Chemainus. Ferries from Swartz Bay reach Salt Spring Island, known for its Saturday market and artists' studios. Vancouver is about 35 minutes by floatplane from harbour to harbour, or a long day by car ferry. Most trips involve a ferry, so outings take longer than the map suggests.

Victoria is a calm, safe and easy city for children, with short distances and plenty of green space. Beacon Hill Park has a petting farm, playgrounds and ponds, and the Royal BC Museum's natural history displays and full-size replica old town go down well with school-age children. The harbour is entertaining in itself, with seaplanes landing, little harbour ferries and street performers along the causeway in summer.

Whale-watching trips are a highlight for older children, and the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea in Sidney is a small aquarium of local sea life. Miniature World, beside the Empress, is a long-running collection of tiny model scenes. You won't find a zoo or a theme park, the sea is too cold for much beach play, and rainy winter days have fewer options.

Downtown Victoria is small and easy to walk. The Inner Harbour, Parliament, the museum, Chinatown, Old Town and Beacon Hill Park are all within about 20 minutes of each other on foot. Little harbour ferries hop between docks around the water, and the city is one of the best in Canada for cycling, with protected bike lanes downtown and long car-free trails out of town.

Public transport means buses only. They cover the city, the university and Butchart Gardens well enough but are slow for anything further out. The ferry terminal at Swartz Bay is half an hour north. Sooke, the Juan de Fuca coast and the Cowichan Valley are far easier with a car.

Shopping in Victoria is small-scale and independent. Lower Johnson Street, in the Old Town, is the most interesting stretch, with a row of restored heritage storefronts holding local clothing labels, design shops and outdoor gear. Market Square, a courtyard of old warehouses, and the narrow lanes of Chinatown add small shops and tea and curio stores.

Government Street is the main tourist strip, with Cowichan sweaters, maple products and plenty of souvenirs. The best things to buy are Northwest Coast First Nations prints, carvings and jewellery, sold in specialist galleries around downtown. Second-hand bookshops are another strength. You won't find luxury brands or a serious department store scene.

Victoria is an expensive place to stay, especially from June to September, when the harbour hotels and bed and breakfasts fill and rates climb sharply. Eating out costs about what it does in other Canadian cities, and tax and tip added to every bill make meals feel dearer than the menu suggests. Whale watching, Butchart Gardens and ferry trips are significant extra costs.

Costs fall in other areas. The compact centre means little spent on transport, the parks and waterfront are free, and the off-season from November to March brings much lower room rates. Pub meals, food trucks and Chinatown's cheaper restaurants help on a budget.

For a small city, Victoria has a steady arts calendar. The Royal Theatre and the McPherson Playhouse, both historic houses downtown, host the Victoria Symphony, Pacific Opera Victoria, ballet and touring shows. The Belfry, in a converted church, is the main stage for contemporary Canadian theatre. The symphony's free summer concert on a barge in the Inner Harbour is a long-standing local tradition.

Live music is mostly small: a jazz club, pub bands and singer-songwriter nights. Summer adds the jazz festival and the Fringe festival, with dozens of short shows in small venues. There's usually something worth attending, but the city has nothing of international standing.

Victoria's appeal for rest is its pace. The city is quiet and polite, and full of flowers and gardens. Long afternoon teas, morning walks along the seafront and unhurried days in Oak Bay or James Bay make it easy to slow down, and the mild climate keeps it pleasant out of season.

It has no bathing culture of its own, though: no thermal springs or public bathhouses. Spa treatments mean the spas in the grand harbour hotels and a scattering of day spas around town. A few waterfront resorts in Sooke and on the Saanich Peninsula offer quieter retreats with spa treatments.