June 3 & 4, 2022, Victoria, British Columbia.
If you have been following along you probably know that in June we took a vehicle ferry to Vancouver Island. Our first stop was Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.
What can I say, Victoria is amazing. It’s a lovely city, full of culture, art, architecture, green spaces, good food and drink, lovely views, museums, history, civic action, monuments, and more. There is free parking on the weekends and many things one would want to see are all within walking distance from each other. I’m sure we missed lots of things in Victoria but here are a few pics of where we went and what we saw.
(All pics are click to enlarge. Once you have them enlarged you can view them in a slide show. Also, you can hover over the pics to see captions.)
The coat of arms of British Columbia.
A view of the Legislative Assembly building from across the harbor in the heart of downtown Victoria.
The 200-acre Beacon Hill Park is just a short walk from the Legislative Assembly.
Beacon Hill Park.
Peacock in Beacon Hill Park.
World’s Tallest Free-Standing Totem Pole at 127 feet in Beacon Hill Park.
At the southern end of Beacon Hill Park is the Dallas Road Waterfront Trail.
Going east on the Dallas Road Waterfront Trail you come to Clover Point Park.
Even on a cloudy day, you can see Washington State across the water from Clover Point Park.
A walking-friendly street in downtown Victoria.
Darth!
Other street musicians in downtown Victoria.
Musicians in an Irish Pub in downtown Victoria.
Another Victoria Street.
Colorful building.
Civic protest in downtown Victoria. We ended up seeing these folks a little later in the legislative plaza. They were holding a rally to bring attention to police violence against indigenous Canadians.
Chinatown.
Fan Tan Alley – the narrowest street in Canada. Plaques posted on the building tell stories about the area’s history.
Really narrow street.
Restaurant in Chinatown.
Chinatown school.
Chinatown mural.
The Royal BC Museum. During our visit only the Natural History floor was open. It was informative and we learned lots. But unfortunately, the Human History floor with its archeology and First Nationals collections was closed for renovations.
Mungo Martin House in Thunderbird Park.
Topiary.
Statue of Emily Carr, a Canadian artist. Her early work focused on First Nations people of the Northwest Coast. There is an Emily Carr Museum in Victoria. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to go.
The Legislative Assembly (what would be called the capitol building in the US). We went on a free tour here.
Inside the Legislative Assembly. This is Shxwtitostel, a traditional inland river canoe, carved by the first indigenous Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, Steven Point, and master carver, Chief Tony Hunt. BTW – Unlike in the US where Lieutenant Governors are second in line to the Governor, Lieutenant Governors are second in line to only the Queen.
Legislative dome.
Our guide tells us about the Legislative Chamber. We couldn’t go in because a session was going on.
The Ceremonial Entrance to the Legislative Assembly. This entrance is only used by the Queen, foreign heads of state, including indigenous leaders, and the Lieutenant Governor on special occasions. The Prime Minister of Canada wouldn’t use this entrance.
The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Window.
The Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Window.
And we took another free tour at the Legislative Assembly. This one was a play and tour combined. We joined actors as extras in a play about a school group touring the assembly grounds when suddenly everyone finds themselves transported back in time.
First transported back to 1947 to learn about the Candy Bar Protest.
And then further back to the 1920s where we met the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly, Mary Ellen Smith. Everyone learned a little history and valuable lessons along the way. It was a whole lot of fun.
Haven’t been to Victoria in about 40 years so really enjoyed seeing how the city has changed and how little I remembered it. Had completely forgotten it had a Chinatown and had thought that Canada’s narrowest street was in Quebec City not Victoria! What a great tour you had that also incorporated learning first hand about the history, something other cities should also do.
I’m glad you enjoyed seeing the city again. Maybe the narrowest street is in Quebec City but I can’t imagine a street narrower than Fan Tan Alley. I’m glad that Victoria was our first stop in Canada. It was great to learn a bit about the city. Every city should have a play tour. I’d go to them all.
It’s fun to reflect on a place my wife and I visited. We were in Victoria the year before the pandemic started. Looking through your photos makes me realize that Chinatown is one main section of town we didn’t explore.
It is such a fun city. And Chinatown was small but especially colorful, too bad you missed it. I’m sure we missed lots but I hope we can return someday.
Dear Duwan and Greg, I can’t tell you how much we are enjoying your Vancouver/ road to Alaska blogs. Ed and I took the trailer from Port Angeles to Vancouver Island and then the ferry to Prince Rupert and on up to Watson Lake and beyond. We wound up in the Northwest Territories before going on to Alaska; didn’t want to come home. Such a wonderful place to wander.
So very glad you are having the opportunity to do a trip of a lifetime.
Love, Meredith and Ed
Yes, I can see how people fall in love with it up here. But I don’t think I could do the cold in the winter. The journey north was a good adventure. You’ve taken that trailer everywhere! I hate that our time is so short here. We will have to come back – especially to the Northwest Territories which we won’t see at all.
Your photos are fabulous. It’s all so colorful – both the man made and the natural. Victoria seems like a terrific place to set up for a couple weeks and really explore, but I agree with you, it could only be done in summer. The cold and the gray would be deal killers for me any other time of year.
Thanks Laura! British Columbia was often grey and rainy while we were there and our last day in Victoria was a but rainy. In fact we did the tour play in a drizzling rain. But it is a lovely city and probably does need more than two days to soak it all in. It is worth a return.
Wonderful gallery about Victoria! That tour/play concept looks interesting. I immensely enjoyed exploring this city as well. Since then, I follow and “met” a blogging friend who lives there. Wish I knew her when we passed through.
The play/tour was definitely a highlight. Would love to do something like that again in another city.
It would be great to have a connection in a city like Victoria. It is always cool to have that inside knowledge of a local.