More About Victoria, Canada
As befitting such a historic city, Victoria boasts plenty of fine museums. The Royal British Columbia Museum has excellent displays highlighting Victoria’s past, as well as natural history displays and a First Nations gallery. On Bastion Square, in the heart of Old Town, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia is housed in an 1889 building. Here you will find historical maps, navigational maps, model ships, and other exhibits related to maritime history.
Some of Victoria’s splendid old mansions have also been turned into museums. Helmcken House, built in 1852, brims with elegant Victorian furniture, and Emily Carr House was once the home of Victoria’s most famous painter. Craigdarroch Castle dates back to the 1890’s and is a symphony of elegant architectural styles. Point Ellice House serves afternoon tea in lavish Victorian gardens.
Thanks to its mild year-round climate, Victoria is a city of gardens. In Beacon Hill Park near downtown, paths wind through beautiful flower gardens. Crystal Gardens, behind the Fairmont
Empress Hotel, is a glass-covered Victorian conservatory harboring topical plants, birds, and monkeys. Buchart Gardens northwest of the city center sprawls over more than 50 acres.
Most of Victoria’s shops and restaurants can be found downtown and in Old Town. Victoria’s compact Chinatown, said to be the oldest one in North America, also has plenty of restaurants plus intriguing historic sites, such as Fan Tan Alley, which claims to be the narrowest commercial street in Canada.
Written by: John Mitchell
Newspapers are Victoria Times-Colonist , Victoria News
Victoria Sports teams are Kings,
Salsa, Shamrocks
Local Schools are University of Victoria , Royal Roads University
