Information on Greater Victoria

Information on Victoria

Victoria, BC is located on Vancouver Island, on the southern tip, below the 49th parallel. Victoria is located approximately 100kms from British Columbia's largest metropolitan city, Vancouver, and is only accessible from the mainland by Ferry.

Named after Queen Victoria, the city was initially settled in 1841. Due to the age of the city, many character and historic buildings can still be found around the city centre, near the inner harbour. Also found at the inner harbour are the BC Parliamentary buildings and the Empress Hotel, which opened in 1908.

Nicknamed "The City of Gardens", Victoria and the surrounding municipalities put great time and effort into keeping the city clean, well cared for, and well landscaped. Victoria is also home to world-renowned The Butchart Gardens, which was originally founded as a cement plant in 1888.

Getting to Victoria

Victoria is located on Vancouver Island, just to the west of the British Columbia mainland. As there are no bridges between Vancouver Island and the mainland, the only ways to Victoria are by plane or boat. For air travel, Victoria International Airport offers airline travel via such airlines as Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and WestJet. For ferry travel to Victoria, Black Ball Ferry, Victoria Express, Clipper Vacations, and the BC Ferries are the ferry lines of choice.

Vancouver Island Weather

Although Vancouver is one of the wettest cities in Canada, being only 100kms away from Vancouver makes all the difference for Victoria. Victoria has one of the mildest winters in BC, with very little snow accompanied with plenty of rain, and has relatively dry and warm summers. Victoria is also one of the sunniest places in BC, which aides in sustaining all the lush gardens and surrounding forests. Many plants found in Victoria are unique in Canada as not many other Canadian cities boast the same optimal growing conditions as BC's capital city. To view current Victoria weather visit The Weather Network.

Recreation Activities

Being heavily park-laden, Victoria is great for walking, biking, running, and talking the dogs out for a stroll in a nearby park. Victoria also is home to the start of the Galloping Goose Trail, and is only a 1-hour drive to the start of the Juan de Fuca Trail. In addition to walking the well-kept trails and parks, downtown Victoria is considered one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. Although Victoria does not boast any winter-sports activities beyond indoor skating rinks, it is only 250km south of Mount Washington, which is one of the best ski and snowboard destinations in Western Canada.

Sports & Athletics

Since hosting the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Victoria's sports presence has greatly increased. Victoria is home to two semi-pro hockey teams, the Victoria Salmon Kings, (who are the farm team to the Manitoba Moose) and the Victoria Grizzlies. In addition to these two teams, Victoria also has a professional lacrosse team, the Victoria Shamrocks, and a semi-professional baseball team, the Victoria Seals.

Victoria not only hosts some of the best amateur sports teams in BC, they also have some of the best facilities available to the general public to use. Commonwealth Pool is an Olympic-sized pool complete with wave pool, 5 and 10m diving boards, and waterslide. The YMCA of Victoria also has an indoor swimming pool, weight room, and plenty of classes to register in. The University of Victoria has both CIS Sports Teams to watch as well as a world-class gym facility with indoor and outdoor pools, squash courts, weight rooms, and large basketball courts.

Arts & Culture

The Arts and Entertainment industry in Victoria is a booming industry. With some of Canada's leading artists and performers residing in Victoria, there is no shortage of shows, plays, gigs, or indi-films to catch. The Royal Victoria Theatre and McPherson Playhouse are two of the largest performing venues in Victoria that host many visiting musicians, comedians, or plays. In addition to these two venues, the inner harbour is also used for local street performers, the Symphony Splash, and is only a stone's throw from Bastion Square and Market Square.

Education

The education available in Victoria is some of the best in Canada. In addition to supporting 3 public elementary and highschool districts, (Victoria, Saanich, and Sooke) Victoria also has some of the highest-rated post-secondary institutions in the country. The University of Victoria is consistently ranked as one of the top three universities in Canada, and to complement their education there is Camosun College, Royal Roads University, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.