Yvon and I went to Vancouver Island for a trip in April and May 2016. He had never been, I had visited twice when I lived in Vancouver, but I had almost no memory of the city, and no photos. On this visit, we were graced with sunny, warm, weather, in a year where spring weather in the rest of Canada was fairly unpleasant. I found Victoria to be remarkably pretty and well maintained, and it was fascinating to be in a place so verdant so early in the year. Many of these photos below are of gardens and parks, because it was hard not to take photos and then more photos of the greenery all around, from the parks in Victoria to gardens around public buildings, to beautiful lawns.
Photo List (Total 471 Photos)
Click bolded headers below to view, or click "just the best" for quick tour
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Around the Inner Harbour in Victoria (63 photos) - This gallery shows the central sights of the city, clustered around the Inner Harbour. It starts at the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, then moves onto the Royal BC Museum, Thunderbird Park, some shots of the Inner Harbour, and ends at the Empress Hotel.
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Downtown Victoria (95 photos) - This gallery captures commercial Victoria, moving north from the Inner Harbour on streets like Government, Wharf and Douglas. It starts with a few churches and historical buildings like St. Ann's Academy that were close to our hotel, but mostly has commercial architecture and street scenes. It also includes cultural buildings such as theatres and playhouses, the City Hall, some shots of Chinatown. It ends at Store Street.
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Three Walks in Beacon Hill Park and the South Shore (122 photos) - Yvon and I took three walks to the south. The first was through Beacon Hill Park, returning through the James Bay neighbourhood. The second was past Criagdorroch Castle and through the grounds of Government House, returning through Beacon Hill Park. The third was around Laurel Point Park with views of the harbour and along the water to Fisherman's Wharf and then to the breakwater, returning through James Bay. This gallery also includes parks like Clover Point and Holland Point, the Ross Bay Cemetery, and views of the distant mountains in Washington State.
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Lois and Alan and Hatley Castle (70 photos) - Our friends Lois and Alan came over from the mainland to spend a day with us. We first had lunch at Rebar, and then the four of us went to see Hatley Castle and its gardens on the campus of Royal Roads University. It was quite beautiful, fantastic day together, and Lois was very pleased with the lovely Japanese garden. A few photos at the end capture our tea in Chinatown afterwards.
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Butchart Gardens (62 photos) - I felt a bit funny about going to Butchart Gardens. Maybe I thought it would be too touristy, or crowded, or that the process would somehow be noxious. But, we had warm sunny weather and it seemed like everything in Victoria was blooming madly, so I thought it would be folly not to go see the gardens. And they were quite spectacular, in the warm May weather. Of course, the Sunken Garden is the overwhelming moment, coming right at the beginning of the visit, but everywhere in the gardens is pretty beautiful.
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Outside of Town (59 photos) - This is a catchall for a few groups of photos. It starts with some photos from the ferry ride from Vancouver to Victoria. It also includes a visit to the Thetis Lake Regional Park on the western edge of Victoria that Yvon and I visited after the Butchart Gardens, and some photos of the coast at Oak Bay. On the following day, we drive along the south shore of the island as we left town, and then celebrated my birthday with a lunch in Duncan.
