Lesson 2: About Victoria and District Municipalities

Victoria

Please open the Victoria Map

Named after Queen Victoria, this is the largest city on Vancouver Island (pop. 326,000) and is the capital of British Columbia. Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, where you can look out over the Straits of Juan de Fuca to see the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. Victoria boasts the mildest climate in Canada and that is why it is aptly named the City of Gardens. Established in 1843 as a fur-trading post, Victoria became a route for miners in the Gold Rush Era 15 years later. It was named the capital city in 1866. Victoria is known for its British atmosphere preserved in heritage buildings, double-decker buses and quaint shops.

The mild climate is due to the warming influence of the Pacific Ocean. Most of coastal British Columbia is rainy but Victoria has an advantage. It is protected by the Sooke Hills to the West. The Hills deflect the storms across the Juan de Fuca Straight to the mainland. There are occasional snowfalls in the winter but they do not last very long. Even with the brief visits of winter weather, Victoria still boasts the mildest climate in Canada.

The downtown area of Victoria is where you will find most of the heritage buildings in addition to the restored homes in the residential areas close to the city core. The Inner Harbour is the hub of activity with numerous attractions within the radius of a few blocks. The streets are lined with flowers in the summer and outdoor cafes. Many small shops are tucked away in narrow side streets and alleys. There are shopping malls in Victoria too and they are not very far from the Inner Harbour. Visitors can walk to the exhibits and poke around the stores without having the need to drive a car. There are some attractions that are not within walking distance but if you don't feel like driving, you can take public transportation or shuttle buses provided by the attraction hosts. I know that you can catch a shuttle bus in front of the Empress Hotel to go to Butchart Gardens. There are inexpensive city tours that are worth taking so you can plan your daily sightseeing trips.

For more information on Victoria, please look at the British Columbia.com website.

There are several municipalities, which form the Victoria region, and each of them has unique qualities and attractions.

We will examine each one in the remainder of this lesson.

Here is the route, I'm going to take you. Let's start with Victoria as the starting point. First we will head up north through the Saanich Peninsula and end up at North Saanich. Second, back to Victoria as a starting point and go west through Esquimalt and end at Port Renfrew.

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