Victoria Canada is a great city to spend a nice spring day. We stopped for a day in the Canadian town while taking a two day cruise on Holland America between Vancouver and Seattle. Victoria is located on Vancouver Island 60 miles to the southwest from the city of Vancouver, which lies across the Strait of Georgia. The Emerald City of Seattle is located another 62 miles to the southeast of Victoria, across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The city is the capital city of the province of British Columbia, and has a population of over 80,000 residents. The surrounding metropolitan area adds another 270,000 people, putting it at 15th overall on the list of the most populated areas in Canada. The city got its name from Queen Victoria of England, and was founded in 1843.
Victoria Canada things to do:
Victoria is well known for its collection of historic buildings, including the Provincial Legislature buildings from 1897, and the Empress Hotel completed in 1908. However, there are many other things to see.
Victoria Canada is probably most well known for The Butchart Gardens. The gardens welcome close to a million visitors every year, and has been designated as a Canadian National Historic Site. The gardens were created by Robert Prim Butchart, and his wife Jennie. The couple created their fortune from manufacturing cement. They moved to the Victoria area from their original home in the province of Ontario due to the heavy limestone deposits found in the area. They opened a quarry near their new home in 1904. In 1907, a Japanese garden designer named Isaburo Kishida came to Victoria to create a tea garden for the Esquimalt Gorge Park. The garden was a huge hit, prompting many other prominent citizens to commission Kishida to create a Japanese garden for their own estate, including Jennie Butchart. When the Butchart quarry ran out of limestone, Jennie set forth to turn it into the Sunken Gardens that were completed in 1921. You can discover more about the Butchart Gardens by visiting www.butchartgardens.com
The city has a great little Fisherman’s wharf area. The wharf is located just around the corner from Victoria’s Inner Harbour. There are allot of great restaurants at the wharf, including the famous Barb’s Fish & Chips. You can also catch a whale watching tour, or just hang out and watch the seals that like to “show off” for the tourists. The city’s Chinatown is also a great place to walk around for awhile. It is the oldest Chinatown in Canada, and second only to San Francisco in North America. The area came about from the massive inflow of gold miners from California in 1958. It is a very popular area with locals as well, with lots of restaurants and entertainment venues located along its maze of alleyways and courtyards.
