Vancouver is a popular stopover for those travelling along the west coast of Canada, but if you’ve had enough of big cities, albeit beautiful ones, then Victoria, on neighbouring Vancouver Island in British Columbia (BC), should definitely be in your plans. Getting from Vancouver to Vancouver Island doesn’t take long, although your journey may need a little planning. You can jump on a ferry, take a scheduled flight (23 mins) from Vancouver airport, or get there in style by seaplane. And once you’re there, everything is within easy walking distance.
So get your walking shoes on and hit the streets to enjoy one of Canada’s most appealing cities. Debbie suggests low or no-cost attractions that make pounding the pavement fun:
- Fan Tan Alley is the narrowest street in Canada. A favourite pastime of visitors is seeing how many can squeeze through at once – what a great way to meet new friends.
- Take a self-guided food tour of Chinatown and marvel at the exotic food and vegetables, nibble on noodles and gorge on the succulent barbeque duck.
- Need a coffee fix? Habit Café and Culture sources the best fair trade coffee available, and each Tuesday at 2pm holds ‘cuppings’ – that’s free coffee tasting for you and me.
- Pick up the freshest seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf or simply sit and watch the boats sail by while enjoying fish and chips from Barb’s.
- Hike to the top of Mount Finlayson for a 360-degree view of Goldstream Provincial Park, just 20 minutes from Victoria.
- Get on your bike and head further a field – just CDN $24 will get you the hire of a bike for the full day.
- See Victoria from the water and venture to areas not accessible by foot. Hire a kayak or canoe from the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria for CDN $30 for two hours.
- Spend a day in Parliament – free guided tours of Parliament buildings are available each week day between 9am and 4pm, during autumn, winter and spring.
Victoria has so much to offer visitors, so get out there and mingle with the locals. For more information on Victoria, British Columbia, visit www.hellobc.com
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