Vancouver Island is located off the western coast of Canada. The island can be reached by ferry (90 minutes) from the city of Vancouver, British Columbia as well as from other ports such as Seattle and Port Angeles. Victoria is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The Greater Victoria region includes the Saanich Peninsula, Victoria, Esquimalt, Colwood, Metchosin and Sooke.
Capital Victoria Island has what is sometimes called a cool-summer Mediterranean climate because of its typically dry summers and mild, damp winters. Victoria's mild weather allows visitors to comfortably engage in outdoor activities like hiking and picnicking year round. While it occasionally snows in winter, accumulation is uncommon because of the area's mild winter temperatures. Victoria's residents enjoy an 8-month frost-free season and on average 2,183 hours of sunshine annually.
Nearly half of the 750,000 people living on Vancouver Island live in and around Victoria, in the Capital Region District. The population of the city proper is 78,659. According to the official city of Victoria census data for June 2009, 17 percent of Victoria's population is 15 years old and under, and 17 percent of the population is over 65 years old, and the largest segment of the population is between 25 and 39 years of age. About 70 percent of residents have some level of post-secondary education. Approximately half the city's population is married, and single-parent families make up 16 percent of the population. Some 67 percent of city residents live in apartments, 16 percent live in detached homes and another 10 percent of the population live in townhouses and duplexes. The average family income was $69,215 in 2005.
Butchart Gardens: Possibly the best-known gardens in western Canada, open days and evenings, this green space has thousands of flowers on display in Sunken, Rose, Japanese and Italian-themed gardens.
British Columbia's Legislature: Another attraction is British Columbia's official legislature buildings. At night the buildings are lit up by 3,333 light bulbs. Tours of the buildings are informative and free of charge.
Fairmont Empress Hotel: Overlooking Victoria's Inner Harbor, this ivy-covered historic hotel is appreciated for its formal afternoon tea (call ahead and make reservations) and ornate public spaces.
Old town Victoria: The old city center of Victoria was built up between the 1860s and 1890s. This area offers shops, sidewalk restaurants, art galleries, historic town squares, a restored 19th-century courtyard, and Victoria's Chinatown.
Chinatown: Victoria's Chinatown may be small, but fierce lions guard its elaborate red-roofed gate. Victoria's Chinatown is the second-oldest on the North American continent after San Francisco's. Apart from a wide array of interesting restaurants and shops, Chinatown is also home to Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street in Canada (90 centimeters wide at its narrowest point).
Beacon Hill Park: James Douglas set aside this property--located in Downtown Victoria--in 1858, and it was established as a park in 1882. This immense 200-acre park combines a patchwork of landscaped areas with bridges, lakes, gardens and ponds, with considerable areas of natural habitat. From most areas of the park, visitors can enjoy impressive views of the Olympic Mountains. The park also houses the world's tallest free-standing totem pole (128 feet).
The Royal British Columbia Museum presents detailed dioramas of British Columbia's natural landscapes, full-scale historically accurate reconstructions and displays, as well as permanent and temporary exhibits.
Founded in 1843 by James Douglas, the City of Victoria was originally a fort for the British Hudson's Bay Company. The location was called "Camosack" (or rush of water) by the native people. Fearing an interruption in its fur trade because of proposed border changes between the American and British territories, the company moved their headquarters from mainland Vancouver on the Columbia River, built a new post on Vancouver Island and called it Fort Victoria. The Hudson's Bay Company eventually took down Fort Victoria to make way for commercial buildings. Victoria officially became a city in 1862. In April of 1871, it became the capital of the province of British Columbia.
Travelers often talk about Victoria Island, but they really mean Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, located on Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island is not to be confused with Vancouver city on British Columbia's mainland. There is a Victoria Island in Ontario, Canada, but it's tiny, and located in the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa.
