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by Carolyn B. Heller


  Victoria

  TOP EXPERIENCE

  The British Empire lived long and prospered in British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria. British explorer James Cook became the first non-aboriginal person to set foot in what is now British Columbia, when he landed on Vancouver Island’s west coast in 1778. Sixty-five years later, the Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post on the island’s southeastern corner, naming it Fort Victoria, after the British queen.

  Victoria is still known for its British traditions, particularly elegant afternoon tea, and as Canada’s warmest region, Victoria has been a popular destination for retirees. These days, though, Victoria has shed its reputation as a destination for “the newly wed and the nearly dead.” It’s an increasingly modern, multicultural community that’s drawing entrepreneurs, passionate foodies, and other independent types, with cultural attractions, vibrant restaurants, and plenty to do in the mild outdoors.

  SIGHTS

  DOWNTOWN

  S Victoria’s Inner Harbour

  Victoria’s harbor is the center of activity downtown, with ferries and floatplanes coming and going, buskers busking, and plenty of tourists soaking up the scene and the sun. Many companies offering whale-watching tours and other water-based excursions have their offices along the waterside promenade, and Tourism Victoria (812 Wharf St., 250/953-2033, www.tourismvictoria.com; 9am-5pm daily) runs a visitor information center here, with public restrooms.

  Victoria Harbour Ferry (250/708-0201, www.victoriaharbourferry.com) operates a water taxi (11am-5pm daily Mar. and Oct., 11am-7pm daily Apr.-mid-May, 10am-9pm daily mid-May-mid-Sept.) around the Inner Harbour in cute colorful boats, with stops at Fisherman’s Wharf, the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort, and many other waterside points. Fares vary by distance; a basic one-zone trip, which includes many Inner Harbour points, is $6 per person. They also offer 45-minute harbor tours (10am-5pm daily Mar.-Oct.; adults $26, seniors and students $24, under age 13 $14), departing every 30 minutes from the Causeway Marina in front of the Fairmont Empress.

  Fairmont Empress

  A landmark on the Inner Harbour, the Fairmont Empress (721 Government St., 250/384-8111, www.fairmont.com) has cast its grand ivy-covered visage across Victoria’s waterfront since 1908. Architect Francis M. Rattenbury designed and built the hotel as one of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s majestic château-style lodgings. British royals have slept here, including Prince Charles and Camilla in 2009, as have U.S. presidents and numerous celebrities, including Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope, John Travolta, Harrison Ford, and Barbra Streisand.

  Even if you’re not staying at the Empress, you can walk through its public spaces, dine in its restaurants and lounges, or take afternoon tea (a Victoria tradition). On the front lawn, check out the beehives where Fairmont staff harvest honey to use in the property’s kitchen.

  S Royal British Columbia Museum

  Tracing British Columbia’s cultural and natural history, the Royal British Columbia Museum (675 Belleville St., 250/356-7226, http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca; 10am-5pm daily late Sept.-late May, 10am-5pm Sun.-Thurs., 10am-10pm Fri.-Sat. late May-late Sept.; adults $24, seniors, students, and ages 6-18 $17) was founded in 1886. A highlight is the First Peoples Gallery, with totem poles, masks, regalia, and other indigenous objects, along with exhibits that illuminate the lives of Canada’s first inhabitants.

  totem pole, Royal British Columbia Museum

  You can take a one-hour guided tour (included with museum admission); check the calendar on the museum’s website or in the lobby for tour times and topics. To spread out your museum meanderings over two consecutive days, buy a discounted two-day ticket (adults $36, seniors, students, and ages 6-18 $25.50).

  The museum has an IMAX Theatre (IMAX only adults $11.95, seniors and ages 6-18 $9.75, students $10.75, with museum admission adults $34, seniors and ages 6-18 $27, students $28), showing a changing selection of movies on the big screen.

  Adjacent to the museum, several totem poles stand in Thunderbird Park. Also outside is the 1852 Helmcken House, the oldest public building in B.C. still on its original site; the Hudson’s Bay Company built the cabin for Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken and his wife, Cecilia Douglas. A physician and politician, Helmcken helped bring B.C. into the Canadian Confederation, though he allegedly once said that Canada would eventually be absorbed into the United States.

  B.C. Parliament Building

  Although Vancouver, on the mainland, is a much larger city, Victoria has been the provincial capital since British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871. The seat of the provincial government is the B.C. Legislative Assembly, which convenes in the stately 1897 Parliament Building (501 Belleville St., 250/387-8669, tour information 250/387-3046, www.leg.bc.ca; tours 9am-5pm daily mid-May-early Sept., 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri. early-Sept.-mid-May; free), overlooking the Inner Harbour.

  Thousands of twinkling white lights illuminate the Parliament Building, making the copper-roofed stone structure even more photogenic at night than it is during the day. British-born architect Francis M. Rattenbury (1867-1935) designed the building, winning a design competition and his first major commission less than a year after he arrived in B.C. from England at age 25.

  On 30- to 45-minute tours of the grand building, you’ll learn more about the province’s history and governmental operations. In the legislative chambers, for example, desks are set two sword-lengths apart so that no one would get injured during the years when members of parliament carried swords.

  ONE DAY IN VICTORIA

  Catch an early-morning ferry from Vancouver to Swartz Bay and head straight for Butchart Gardens to wander the blossom-lined paths. When you’ve had your fill of flowers, drive to downtown Victoria and get oriented with a quick stroll around the Inner Harbour. Continue up Government Street to the narrow lanes of Chinatown, then browse the boutiques along Lower Johnson Street.

  Wander into the grand Fairmont Empress for a glimpse of the city’s Victorian past; for the full Empress experience, book afternoon tea in the hotel’s elegant tearoom. Or if you’d rather a more contemporary lunch, Zambri’s serves fine Italian fare.

  After lunch, visit the Royal British Columbia Museum to learn more about the region’s cultural and natural history, take a short tour of the Parliament Building, or stop into the Robert Bateman Centre to explore the work of this noted B.C. artist. If you’d prefer an outdoor adventure, go whale-watching; plenty of tour boats depart from the Inner Harbour.

  Unwind over drinks in one of Victoria’s lounges, or do a beer crawl to sample the city’s craft breweries. Then enjoy dinner at Brasserie L’Ecole if you’re in the mood for a French bistro experience or OLO if you prefer more adventurous cuisine paired with creative cocktails.

  After dinner, settle into your hotel or take the late ferry back to Vancouver, after your very full Victoria day.

  Other notable features include a cedar canoe in the rotunda that Steven L. Point, the first aboriginal lieutenant governor of British Columbia, carved in 2010, and stained-glass work commemorating Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.

  Tours are free, but reservations are required. Book your tour at the tour information kiosk, which is outside the building during the summer season and inside the main entrance fall through spring. On weekdays, visitors can also explore the building on their own (9am-5pm Mon.-Fri.).

  Robert Bateman Centre

  Artist and naturalist Robert Bateman is a notable Canadian wildlife painter. Born in Ontario in 1930, he made an epic round-the-world journey in a Land Rover before returning to Canada to teach and paint, eventually relocating to B.C.’s Salt Spring Island. View his paintings and learn more about his interesting life at the Robert Bateman Centre (470 Belleville St., 250/940-3630, http://batemancentre.org; 10am-9pm daily June-Sept., 10am-5pm daily Oct.-May; adult $12.50, seniors and students $8.50, ages 6-18 $6), in the 1924 beaux arts Steamship Terminal on the Inner Harbour.

  Victoria Bug Zoo

  If you’re not afraid of ants, tar
antulas, and other crawling, flying, or wriggling insects, visit this fascinating little museum devoted to the world of bugs. The Victoria Bug Zoo (631 Courtney St., 250/384-2847, www.victoriabugzoo.ca; 10am-5pm Mon.-Thurs., 10am-6pm Fri.-Sun.; adults $12, seniors, students, and ages 5-17 $8) houses more than 40 insect species, as well as Canada’s largest ant colony, which you can view through a clear wall. Guides are on hand to share fun bug facts.

  Fisherman’s Wharf

  Can you imagine yourself living on the water? With your house in the water? The residents of the 30 compact floating houses in the Float Home Village at Fisherman’s Wharf (1 Dallas Rd., www.fishermanswharfvictoria.com) do just that. Wander the docks and envision life in this colorful waterfront community; these are private homes, though, so do respect residents’ privacy.

  Fisherman’s Wharf

  Fisherman’s Wharf has several outdoor eateries, including ever-popular Barb’s Fish ’n’ Chips, touristy shops, and kayak rentals. From the Inner Harbour, it’s a lovely walk along the waterfront on the David Foster Harbour Pathway, or you can catch a Victoria Harbour Ferry (www.victoriaharbourferry.com).

  Emily Carr House

  Known for her paintings of British Columbia’s landscape and its native people, artist Emily Carr (1871-1945) is considered one of Canada’s most important early-20th-century painters. Unusually for a woman of her era, she made several solo trips to remote First Nations communities, where she wanted to document what she believed was the disappearing indigenous culture. She didn’t begin seeing commercial success until late in her life, after a 1927 National Gallery of Canada exhibit featured some of her work; the now-famous artist managed a Victoria apartment building for 15 years to support herself.

  Set in a Victorian home in Victoria’s James Bay neighborhood where she was born and spent her childhood, Emily Carr House (207 Government St., 250/383-5843, www.emilycarr.com; 11am-4pm Tues.-Sat. May-Sept.; adults $6.75, seniors and students $5.75, ages 6-18 $4.50) is a museum about her life and work and about B.C. society during her era.

  Beacon Hill Park

  Established in 1882, the 200-acre (81-hectare) Beacon Hill Park (bounded by Douglas, Southgate, and Cook Streets and the Dallas Road waterfront, www.beaconhillpark.ca; free) is Victoria’s urban green space, with flower gardens, walking paths, and several attractions, including one of the world’s tallest totem poles, measuring nearly 128 feet (39 meters) tall, and the Mile 0 marker, in the park’s southwest corner, which denotes the start of the 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometer) Trans-Canada Highway.

  Near the center of the park, Beacon Hill Children’s Farm (Circle Dr., 250/381-2532, www.beaconhillchildrensfarm.ca; 10am-4pm daily Mar.-Apr. and early Sept.-mid-Oct., 10am-5pm daily May-early Sept.; free) has wandering peacocks, furry alpacas, and a petting zoo. A highlight is the daily goat stampede (10:10am and 5:10pm daily summer, 10:10am and 4:10pm daily spring and fall), when the farm’s goats race between their sleeping barn and the petting area. It’s one of those things you just have to see!

  TWO SCANDALS AND A MURDER

  Architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury became one of British Columbia’s most notable architects at the turn of the 20th century, designing Victoria’s Parliament Building, the Empress Hotel, and the Vancouver Court House, which now houses the Vancouver Art Gallery. Yet Rattenbury became enmeshed in two marital scandals that tarnished his reputation and eventually led to his grisly murder.

  In 1898, not long after he completed work on the Parliament Building, Rattenbury married Florence Nunn, and they had two children. However, as his professional stature grew, his personal life deteriorated, and by the early 1920s, he and Florence were living in different sections of their Oak Bay home, communicating only through their daughter.

  At a reception at the Empress Hotel in 1923, Rattenbury met a young musician, Alma Pakenham, nearly 30 years his junior, and they began a very public affair. Florence initially refused Rattenbury’s request for a divorce, agreeing only after he moved Alma into their home, where Florence still lived.

  Rattenbury’s indiscreet behavior scandalized Victoria society. Even after he and Alma married in 1925, they were never accepted in the community.

  In 1929, they moved to England to start fresh. Instead, they became embroiled in another scandal. Rattenbury had begun drinking, and when they settled in England, his alcoholism worsened, triggering depression and, reportedly, impotence. After they hired 18-year-old George Stoner as a chauffeur, Alma began an affair with the teenager.

  Apparently jealous that Alma had any relationship at all with her husband, Stoner attacked Rattenbury in their home, hitting him repeatedly on the head with a mallet. When Rattenbury died not long after the attack, both Alma and Stoner were charged with murder.

  After a public trial at London’s Old Bailey that mesmerized the city, Alma was found innocent and Stoner guilty, sentenced to die by hanging. Four days later, apparently distraught by the scandal and by her lover’s sentence, Alma committed suicide by stabbing herself to death.

  Despite the trial’s verdict, Alma became the villain in the court of public opinion, accused of corrupting an innocent boy. Stoner’s death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

  For the murder of the eminent B.C. architect whose life deteriorated into scandal, George Stoner served only seven years in jail.

  The Cameron Bandshell, near Arbutus and Bridge Ways, hosts summertime Concerts in the Park (250/361-0500, www.victoria.ca; 1:30pm Fri.-Sun. mid-June-mid-Sept.; free), with performances ranging from classical to swing to jazz and blues.

  Legacy Art Gallery

  The Legacy Art Gallery Downtown (630 Yates St., 250/721-6562, http://uvac.uvic.ca; 10am-4pm Wed.-Sat.; free), a small satellite of the University of Victoria’s art collections, has changing shows that typically feature contemporary artists with British Columbia connections.

  Chinatown

  Settled in the 1850s, Victoria’s Chinatown (Fisgard St. at Government St.) is the oldest in Canada. Although it has now shrunk to a couple of blocks around Fisgard Street, where the neighborhood’s gateway, the Gate of Harmonious Interest, stands, the district was once Canada’s largest Chinese settlement.

  Gate of Harmonious Interest, Chinatown

  After B.C.’s gold rush drew the first Chinese immigrants, the community really began to grow as Chinese workers arrived in Victoria on their way to jobs on the Canadian Pacific Railway. More than 17,000 Chinese immigrants came to Canada between 1881 and 1884.

  Today, you’ll find a few Chinese-run shops and restaurants and many non-Asian boutiques and eateries. One remaining landmark is narrow Fan Tan Alley (between Fisgard St. and Pandora Ave.), a lane just three to six feet (1 to 2 meters) wide, where, somehow, several shops have managed to squeeze in.

  Breweries

  Victoria’s craft beer scene has bubbled up in recent years, with a cluster of breweries in an industrial district north of the downtown core, and other microbreweries and brewpubs scattered around the city. Here’s where to find the suds:

  ▪ Swans Brewpub (506 Pandora Ave., 250/361-3310, http://swanshotel.com; 11am-1am Mon.-Fri., 9am-1am Sat., 9am-midnight Sun.)

  ▪ Phillips Beer (2010 Government St., 250/380-1912, www.phillipsbeer.com; store 10am-5pm Mon., 10am-6pm Tues.-Thurs. and Sat., 10am-7pm Fri.; tours 4pm Tues.-Thurs., 2pm Fri.-Sat.; $6, reservations recommended)

  ▪ Vancouver Island Brewing Co. (2330 Government St., 250/361-0005, http://vanislandbrewery.com; store 11am-6pm Tues.-Sat., tours 4pm Fri.-Sat.; $7)

  ▪ Moon Under Water Brewery and Pub (350 Bay St., 250/380-0706, www.moonunderwater.ca; 11:30am-11pm Mon.-Thurs. and Sat., 11:30am-midnight Fri., 11:30am-8pm Sun.)

  ▪ Hoyne Brewing Co. (2740 Bridge St., 250/590-5758, http://hoynebrewing.ca; noon-6pm Mon.-Fri., 11am-6pm Sat.)

  ▪ Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub (308 Catherine St., 250/386-2739, www.spinnakers.com; 11:30am-11pm daily)

  EAST OF DOWNTOWN

  Abkhazi Garden

  The story of this manicured garden is a love stor
y between a British woman born in Shanghai and an erstwhile prince from the Republic of Georgia. Marjorie Pemberton-Carter, known as Peggy, first met Prince Nicholas Abkhazi in Paris in the 1920s. Although they wrote to each other over the years, circumstances kept them apart; during World War II, each spent time in prisoner of war camps—Nicholas in Germany and Peggy in Shanghai.

  En route from China to Britain in 1945, Peggy stopped to see friends in Victoria. Her visit turned more permanent when she purchased an overgrown lot and decided to build a summer home. Peggy had lost contact with Nicholas, but he wrote to her in early 1946; they met later that year in New York, and by November, they had returned to Victoria and married.

  The home and garden that the newlyweds built on Peggy’s property, and where they lived for more than 40 years, became the Abkhazi Garden (1964 Fairfield Rd., 778/265-6466, http://conservancy.bc.ca; 11am-5pm daily Apr.-Sept., 11am-5pm Wed.-Sun. Oct.-Mar., last admission 1 hour before closing; $10 donation). The compact garden, just over one acre (0.4 hectares), features a rhododendron woodland with large Garry oak trees, a winding path known as the Yangtze River, and a variety of other plantings around the site’s natural rock formations.

  Peggy’s 1947 summer home is now The Teahouse at Abkhazi Garden (778/265-6466, www.abkhaziteahouse.com; 11am-5pm daily May-Sept., 11am-5pm Wed.-Sun. Oct.-Apr.; $11-18), which serves soups, salads, and light meals as well as traditional afternoon tea ($30).

 

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