Last updated on July 24th, 2026
Butchart Gardens
Visit Victoria BC – Butchart Gardens
The Butchart Gardens are the premier tourist attraction when you visit Victoria BC. The gardens are about a half hour from the inner harbor. Land based visitors can take a double decker bus from the inner harbor or a private vehicle. Cruise ship passengers will do better to book directly from their cruise ship. The Butchart Gardens were built in 1904 in the basins created by a former cement plant. Fireworks can only be seen Saturday’s during the summer.
Oak Bay Golf Course
Visit Victoria BC – Inner Harbor
Victoria BC Inner Harbor is home to the Fairmont Empress Hotel, famous for serving afternoon tea at around $50 per person. Next to the Empress is the Royal BC Museum and Thunderbird Park with its totem poles and clan house. Walk along the inner harbor past the Parliament Buildings and Laurel Point Inn. You will eventually reach Fisherman’s Wharf. Check out our Victoria BC Self Guided Walking Tour Map. Alternately take a water taxi around the harbor. Or take a horse drawn carriage ride – BC Carriage Tours operates from the inner harbor and the cruise ship terminal.
Inner harbor tourist destinations include Miniature World and Bug Zoo. You can also walk north from the inner harbor along the tourist shops on Government St until you reach China Town. Don’t miss Fan Tan Alley and Dragon Alley there.
Beacon Hill Park
Beacon Hill Park
Beacon Hill Park begins near the inner harbor and extends to the waterfront on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The park is a short distance from the cruise ship terminal. It includes a children’s petting zoo and peacocks wandering through the park. Don’t miss the Beacon Drive In at the edge of the park for the best soft ice cream in town.
Dragon Boat Festival
Victoria Inner Harbor Events
- The Symphony Splash was a regular Victoria Symphony fund raising concert performed on a barge in the inner harbor on the first Sunday in August, but this hasn’t resumed since it was suspended during the pandemic. In recent years the Symphony in Summer Festival has offered opportunities to enjoy the symphony outdoors at some locations in Victoria with concerts sometimes being held at Butchart Gardens.
- Victoria Dragon Boat Festival – in late August.
- Swiftsure International Yacht Race – in May.
Victoria Harbor at Christmas
See the Sights Near Victoria BC
- Search for killer whales with a Prince of Whales Whale Watching excursion or try a Whale Watching Tour.
- See a salmon run in Goldstream Park in November. Goldstream is located at the western edge of the city.
- Travel west of town to China Beach or hike the West Coast Trail.
- Travel north to Parksville and Cathedral Grove then on to the west coast of Vancouver Island to visit Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach, Tofino and Ucluelet.
Fairmont Empress Hotel before the ivy was removed.
Visit Victoria BC – Other Sights
- Take a Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off tour of the city in a double decker bus.
- Christ Church Cathedral – the place of worship for the Queen of England and the Royal Family on visits.
- Government House – the British Royal Family stays here during visits. The grounds are open to the public.
- Emily Carr House – childhood home of the well-known painter.
- Craigdarroch Castle – build by the Dunsmuirs.
- St Anne’s Academy National Historic Site
- Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site and Fisgard Lighthouse
- Hatley Park National Historic Site
- Abkhazi Garden – no, this isn’t Harry Potter.
- Buttefly Gardens – near the Butchart Gardens.
Fisgard Lighthouse, Fort Rodd Hill, © Can Stock / imagex
Visit Victoria BC – Hotels
- Fairmont Empress Hotel – right on the inner harbor in the heart of the tourist district
- Abigail’s Hotel – close to the inner harbor
- The Grand Pacific – on the inner harbor opposite the ferry landing
Parliament Buildings
Victoria BC Weather
Victoria BC weather has two distinct seasons. The dry season extends from May to September with ideal weather occurring in July and August. Summer is the height of the tourist season. The rainy season extends from November to February. During this period temperatures can reach highs of 50 F or 10 C during heavy rainfall. If the skies briefly clear, temperatures can drop slightly below freezing. Snowfall is extremely rare.
Flowering Trees, April
Get to Victoria BC
With the increased popularity of ocean cruising, one of the most common ways to get to Victoria BC is on an Alaska cruise starting from Seattle. The Victoria BC inner harbor is a pleasant walk from the cruise ship terminal. Check out the Victoria BC Self Guided Walking Tour Map.
Fisherman’s Wharf
You can also get to Victoria BC on a number of different ferries to Vancouver Island:
- the Coho (Black Ball) Ferry – vehicle service between Port Angeles, Washington and the Victoria BC inner harbor.
- the Victoria Clipper ferry – passenger-only service between Seattle, Washington and the inner harbor.
- BC Ferries – hourly summer vehicle service between Vancouver, BC and Swartz Bay near Victoria.
- Washington State Ferry – service from Anacortes, Washington was discontinued in 2020.
The Victoria BC International Airport is about a half hour north of the downtown area.
Getting Around Victoria
For transportation from the Cruise Ship Terminal to Victoria Inner Harbour, Pacific Northwest Transportation Services offers an unlimited day pass for $15 US. The service runs every 15 minutes while ships are in port and you cannot buy tickets in advance. Instead, we recommend taking a cab for the 8 minute trip, because it is less expensive and provides a better drop off point.
You will also find the Hop On – Hop Off right at the cruise terminal or near the Inner Harbour. The most popular shore excursion at the cruise terminal wil be the tour to Butchart Gardens, which includes a 45 minute charter bus ride each way to the gardens and back.
Pedicabs
Pedicabs have taken off in popularity for cruise ship passengers in recent years. You can book these right at the cruise terminal. The tours typically travel through the James Bay community to visit Beacon Hill Park, the Inner Harbour and Fisherman’s Wharf. While locals might tell you these tours are very expensive, cruise ship passengers will find they are good value for the money. Don’t expect to see Chinatown or Craigdarroch Castle by pedicab as these locations are a challenge due to traffic and distance.
Victoria City Buses?
In 2026 the Victoria bus system (BC Transit) finally implemented credit card tap on its buses. You tap on, but don’t tap off. If you need to transfer, you tap on the next bus and the system will decide if you are eligible for a free transfer or not. If you weren’t eligible for the regular free transfer because you took too long to try, the system will charge your credit card for a second ride, but will also convert you to a day pass automatically. So, from then on, you can tap on all day long and the card reader will always show that you won’t be charged. Very nice.
Unfortunately, the bus system is pretty slow. The trip to Butchart Gardens will take 1.5 hours instead of the 45 minutes on a tour bus. For other trips around Victoria, the Hop On – Hop Off is probably a better bet than the bus.
Visit Victoria BC – Background
Victoria BC is the capital of British Columbia. About 300,000 people live there. Victoria BC is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and is within 60 miles of both Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver Island was inhabited by Coast Salish First Nations, including the Songhees, when European explorers arrived in the late 1700s. Among the early explorers were Captain James Cook and Captain George Vancouver who were seeking a northwest passage through the Arctic for the English. Spanish explorers included Quadra and Juan de Fuca. The city of Victoria BC was founded as Fort Victoria during the fur trade in 1841 by the British. The Parliament Buildings were completed in 1897 and the well-known Empress Hotel was completed in 1908. These two buildings dominate the inner harbor. Butchart Gardens is Victoria’s biggest tourist attraction.
