Destination day · park once and walk

Victoria — three distinct days

Drive: 1 h 10 via the Malahat
Park: Downtown parkades; Johnson St or View St
Walking: Flat downtown; castles need the car
Best day: Full day each; book tea and tours ahead

BC's capital is too much for one day, so this guide splits it into three. Each stands alone; each starts and ends over the Malahat, so check DriveBC before you leave and allow for the return.

Schematic map of the route with numbered stops — Open this route in Google Maps ↗Schematic map; numbered stops match the list below. The link gives turn-by-turn directions.

Victoria A: Inner Harbour & Old Town

Park once and walk. The Parliament Buildings (1897, by Francis Rattenbury, who won the competition at 25) run free guided tours. The Empress (1908, also Rattenbury) serves its famous afternoon tea; reserve well ahead. The Royal BC Museum and Thunderbird Park, with the Mungo Martin big house, sit between them. Then Government Street north to Bastion Square's 1880s warehouses, the Market Square courtyard, and Canada's oldest Chinatown with Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest commercial street in North America. Finish at Fisherman's Wharf for fish and chips among the float homes, by water taxi or a 20-minute walk. Whale-watching tours leave from the Inner Harbour roughly May through October.

Victoria B: The Dunsmuir Castles & Fort Rodd Hill

Two coal-baron castles and a Victorian-era fort, all on the west side, so leave the Malahat at the Colwood exit. Hatley Castle (1908, Samuel Maclure) at Royal Roads University is James Dunsmuir's Edwardian estate with formal Italian, Japanese and rose gardens; the grounds are open daily and castle tours are seasonal. Next door, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse (1860, the first permanent lighthouse on Canada's west coast) are a National Historic Site with 1890s gun batteries and a shoreline walk. Cross town to Craigdarroch Castle (1890), Robert Dunsmuir's Scottish Baronial mansion with original stained glass and 87 steps to the tower view. Lunch in Oak Bay Village or at the Fairmont's lobby bar; the drive through Rockland passes Government House's free public gardens and Maclure's Arts & Crafts houses.

Victoria C: Butchart Gardens & the Saanich Peninsula

Leave the highway at Keating Cross Road. Butchart Gardens, 55 acres built in a worked-out limestone quarry from 1904, is worth half a day in any season: the Sunken Garden, Rose Garden and Japanese Garden, with evening illuminations in summer and lights at Christmas. Combine with the Saanich Peninsula's farm gates and tasting rooms: Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, Church & State Wines, and the Saturday Moss Street or Sunday Sidney markets in season. Sidney-by-the-Sea has a bookshop district, a seaside walk and the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea aquarium. The Brentwood Bay–Mill Bay ferry (25 minutes, small, first-come) is a scenic way home that skips the Malahat; check the schedule, as it runs infrequently.