Victoria lies at the southern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Smaller than Vancouver, it’s a picturesque, charming city.
When I visited Victoria last summer, it was part of a trip to Seattle. In under three hours, you can take the Victoria Clipper from Seattle to British Columbia. It’s a scenic cruise, and not uncommon for passengers to see whales on their journey.
If you, like me, only have one day to enjoy Victoria, you’ll be happy to know it’s easy to get around the city and there are a lot of cafes, restaurants and shops to explore.
One thing you must do before leaving Victoria? The Butchart Gardens.
Photo via @TheButchartGardens Instagram
Covering 55 acres, the Butchart Gardens are a living kaleidoscope with an incredible number of flowers, shrubs and trees planted throughout.
Butchart Gardens are one of the most famous gardens in the world, walking through them is absolute heaven. Each garden has its own theme, I really enjoyed walking through the Japanese Garden.
You really can’t put into words how magical this place is. If you visit the gardens, don’t miss the Sunken Garden- it’s particularly stunning.
As part of my reservation on the Victoria Clipper, I opted to book a roundtrip bus tour to the Butchart Gardens. If you’re crunched for time while visiting Victoria, don’t plan on renting a car and want to see the gardens, I recommend this option. I got off the ferry and hopped on a bus waiting in the parking lot. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the gardens, during which time, we had a short city tour.
Once we arrived at the gardens, we had two hours to explore at leisure. Two hours was just the right amount of time for us to explore all of the gardens and spend a bit of time reflecting in the Japanese Garden.
If you plan on visiting, I’d recommend coming for a morning or afternoon- although it’d be lovely to spend an entire day in the gardens, it’s not necessary if you want to see other attractions in Victoria.
EXTRA KNOW BEFORE YOU GO INFO
- Admission (to the gardens): Fluctuates depending on the season, but generally ~$23-33 USD
- Identification (for Victoria, B.C.): Valid passport
- Currency: Canadian dollar
- Language: English
- Wifi: Signal is scare at the gardens, but a lot of restaurants and coffee shops in Victoria have wifi