Victoria Tourist Attractions and Sightseeing

(Victoria, British Columbia - BC, Canada)

One of the main tourist attractions in the city is undeniably Victoria's whale watching opportunities, which are quite exceptional and have long been a major draw card. However, tourists visiting Victoria will soon realise that many further attractions vie for your attention, such as the sandy beaches along the Western Shore, the harbour cruises, and the tours of the local vineyards, where wine tasting is a particular highlight.

Tourist attractions for families are especially plentiful around the city, with favourites always including the Miniature World, the IMAX Theatre at the Royal British Columbia Museum, and the Victoria Bug Zoo, which is teeming with giant creepy crawlies. For something different, climb aboard the Pacific Undersea Gardens boat and view the marine life beneath the water's surface.

Beaches / Western Shore

Address: Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Both Highway 1 and Highway 14 lead you directly out of Victoria and to a very scenic stretch of appealing coastline, where a series of inviting beach attractions await. These beaches are a mere 5 km / 3 miles away from the city and simple to reach. However, many simply prefer to pay a visit to Beacon Hill Park, where a popular pebbly beach is sited on its southern side, with the adjoining waters being highly suitable for swimming. Alternatively, 2 km / 1 mile east of Victoria is Oak Bay, where Willows Beach lies alongside a busy esplanade and is amongst the best options. The sandy stretches at Island View Beach and along Dallas Road also deserve a mention.
Open hours: daily - 24 hours
Admission: free

Harbour Tours

Address: Victoria Harbour Ferry Company, 1234 - N Wharf Street, Victoria, V8W 3H9, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 708 0201
With such a beautiful harbourfront to hand, many tourists choose to take a cruise around the Inner Harbour. Local harbour ferries have become the city's number one tourist attraction and offer a variety of packages, offering different views of the Fisherman's Wharf, the Point Ellice House, the West Bay Marine Village, various shipyards and native marine wildlife. The Victoria Harbour Ferry Company was established in 1990 and currently features 12 passenger ferries, which regularly transport passengers around the Gorge Waterway and the Selkirk Waterway, making a number of stops en-route.
Open hours: daily - hours vary according to cruise
Admission: charge, discounts available

Wineries and Wine Tasting

Address: Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 888 5748
The Saanich Peninsula is just relatively short drive away from central Victoria and extremely popular with tourists, who regularly come here during the summer to tour its five winery attractions. Package guided tours of the three most popular wineries are available and last around three hours, offering visitors the opportunity to sample and purchase Canadian wine, which is often produced at local vineyards and makes the perfect holiday souvenir.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free, charge for wine tasting

Miniature World

Address: 649 Humboldt Street, Victoria, V8W 1A7, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 385 9731
Situated next to the Empress Hotel and easy to find, the attractions at the Miniature World are particularly suitable for families with young children. As you walk around Miniature World you will encounter almost 100 different scene, which depict a number of local sights, fairy tale settings, and scenes from the world of Charles Dickens, with tremendous attention to detail. Look out for the scale model of train, which illustrates the progression of the Canadian Pacific Railway from the late 19th century onwards.
Open hours: daily, June to August - 08:30 to 21:00; May and September - 09:00 to 19:00, October to April - 09:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, discounts for students and children

IMAX Theatre / National Geographic IMAX Theatre

Address: Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM), 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, V8W 9W2, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 356 7226
The National Geographic IMAX Theatre is part of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) and this cinema screen is of epic proportions, measuring no less than six storeys high. With state-of-the-art digital surround sound and many exciting films, which transport you under the sea and into worlds of science fiction, the IMAX Theatre also regularly screens movie blockbusters in the evening, offering you the chance to experience films such as Harry Potter and Spiderman as never seen before.
Open hours: April to September, Sunday to Thursday - 09:00 to 17:00, Friday and Saturday - 09:00 to 22:00; October to March - 09:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge

Victoria Bug Zoo

Address: 631 Courtney Street, Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 384 2847
Home to enormous stick insects, hairy spiders and giant beetles like you've probably never seen before, the Victoria Bug Zoo is an extremely popular attraction and resides within the city centre. Actually the biggest collection of tropical insects in the whole of North America, the Bug Zoo contains over 50 different species, including an enormous colony of busy leaf-cutter ants. Tour guides will even let you hold some of the bugs, including friendly tarantula spiders and cockroaches.
Open hours: June to September, Monday to Saturday - 10:00 to 18:00, Sunday - 11:00 to 18:00; October to May, Monday to Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 11:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, discounts for groups, seniors, youths and children, children three years old and under are free

Russian Submarine

Address: Harbour Canoe Club, Swift Street, Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 382 3022
The city's rather unexpected Russian Submarine is docked directly outside of the Harbour Canoe Club, where it is hard to miss, measuring over 80 metres / 262 feet in length. Dating from the seventies, this huge Soviet submarine has surprisingly become somewhat of a popular local tourist attraction, with guided tours offering an insight into how its former crew of 78 once lived and worked onboard, and the missions once assigned to the Russian Submarine.
Open hours: daily, June to September - 09:00 to 21:00; October to April - 09:30 to 17:30
Admission: charge, discounts for children

Pacific Undersea Gardens

Address: 490 Belleville Street, Victoria, V8V 1W9, British Columbia (BC), Canada, CA
Tel: +1 250 382 5717
Close to the Parliament Buildings and within the Inner Harbour, the Pacific Undersea Gardens have become one of Victoria's leading family attractions and is actually a large floating vessel. Tourists arriving here will be able to walk down the stairs and experience actual native life living in the waters of the harbour itself. A series of viewing windows are available, along with a series of aquariums, housing in excess of 5,000 different species of marine life from around the British Columbia area. Children will particularly enjoy the diver in the Undersea Theatre, and the tidal pond, where the exhibits of starfish and crabs can be handled and enjoyed up close.
Open hours: daily, September to April - 10:00 to 17:00; April to June - 10:00 to 18:00; June to August - 09:00 to 20:00
Admission: charge, discounts for seniors, youths and children, children five years old and under are free