Victoria Travel Guide

Butchart Gardens is a world-famous horticultural masterpiece on Brentwood Bay near Victoria, designated a Canadian National Historic Site in 2004. This about 20-hectare brilliant garden was once an abandoned limestone quarry—in the early 20th century, Jennie Butchart, wife of the cement plant owner, with extraordinary imagination and perseverance, transformed the barren pit into the world-renowned "Sunken Garden", and successively added themed areas like the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden and Italian Garden. Flowers rotate through the seasons in full bloom, colorful and exquisitely designed—from spring blossoms to summer roses and autumn hues, each with its own beauty. Summer nights have lights and fireworks; the Christmas season becomes a dreamy sea of lights. Butchart Gardens, turning ruins into paradise, is unquestionably Victoria's signature.

Victoria's Inner Harbour is the heart of the Vancouver Island capital, framed by the neo-baroque Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress and the Maritime Museum—the postcard image of this thoroughly British-feeling city. By day gulls wheel as ferries and whale-watching boats come and go; at dusk the water mirrors the lights. Summer brings street performers; winter, a Festival of Lights. A harbour stroll, miniature train or seaplane tour each offers an easy new angle on Victoria.

Beacon Hill Park is a 74-hectare large Victorian-style urban park in Victoria, located at the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. The park features the Mile Zero monument (the highway's starting point marker), the world's tallest free-standing totem pole, the giant Moss Lady sculpture, ornamental garden beds, pond waterfowl, free-roaming peacocks, a children's petting zoo, and various sports facilities. Parts of the park offer views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Craigdarroch Castle is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and is a Victorian-era mansion built in the late 19th century. Built by coal magnate Robert Dunsmuir, the castle features Romanesque Revival style with ornate interiors, including exquisite woodwork, stained glass windows, and antique furniture. The castle has four floors and 39 rooms and is now open to the public as a historic house museum. Note: The castle is a historic building with no elevator or ramps, making wheelchair access difficult.

Abkhazi Garden is a small, historic private garden in Victoria created by a princely couple from Georgia. Famed for its century-old rhododendrons, rock gardens and Japanese-inspired styling, it is recognized as one of the world's fine boutique gardens and includes an on-site tea house.

Located in the national capital Ottawa, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum is Canada's largest aviation and space museum. Its collection of more than 100 complete, flyable aircraft and artifacts spans a century from early flight to modern space exploration, including the famous Avro Arrow jet fighter prototype and other prized machines, along with extensive displays of Canada's contributions to world aviation and aerospace.