Art buffs will be very happy in Victoria. The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s collections include works by Emily Carr, British Columbia’s most famous painter, and Canada’s best public display of Japanese art. Downtown and Old Town galleries carry pottery, glasswork, sculpture and paintings by local artists, as well as cedar carvings, masks, jewelry fashioned by British Columbia’s First Nations artists.

In Thunderbird Park next to Helmcken House, you can see traditional Northwest Coast totem poles and watch native carvers at work in a traditional longhouse. Also, numerous artists’ studios in the countryside surrounding Victoria welcome visitors. Victoria has several professional and amateur theater and dance companies that perform in historic venues around town.