Top 10 in VICTORIA - Top 10 Tourist Attractions

Art Gallery of Victoria Featuring West Coast artists; Emily Carr exhibit. Telephone: 250.384.4101 Hours of Operation: Monday - Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Thursdays: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm Sundays: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

BC Forestry Museum
Get back to nature and enjoy 100 acres of BC forest heritage. Explore numerous exhibits, demonstrations and historical collections.
Telephone: 250.715.1113
Hours of Operation: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm
Train runs between 10:30 am - 5:00 pm

Beacon Hill Park Beacon Hill Park is located along the south shore of Victoria and the Juan de Fuca Strait. At the petting farm, you can pet and play with a variety of mild-mannered farm animals. Just a 5-minute walk away is the Beacon Drive In. Petting Zoo Telephone: 250.381.4422 Hours of Operation: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (seasonal attraction, call for hours during off season) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible. More Info on Beacon Hill

Butchart Gardens Butchart Gardens is 130 acres of horticulture beauty. The Gardens provide entertainment, night illuminations, fireworks (Saturday nights in July and August only), gift store, visitor services, and two restaurants on-site. It is suggested that visitors allow at least two hours to tour the Gardens. Telephone: 250.652.4422 Located 45 minutes from the hotel Transportation: Guests can take a taxi to the Gardens; approximate cost is $30.00 per way, or they can take a shuttle bus (Grey Line Tour Desk, which is located in the Tea Lobby) for a rate of $25.00, but not more than $42.00 per person, which includes admission to the Butchart Gardens. Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (winter) 9:00 am - 10:30 pm (June 15 - August 31) 9:00 am - 9:00 pm (until September 15) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Butterfly Gardens Butterfly world is a lush, indoor tropical garden where flowers are always blooming and butterflies are always flying. If bright colours such as red or pink are worn, a butterfly may land upon you. Telephone: 250.652.3822 Hours of Operation: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

CFB Esquimalt Visitors will be taken on a free historic tour of CFB Esquimalt. Telephone: 250.363.2000 or 250.363.4312 Hours of Operation: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, daily Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Crystal Gardens From the exotic to the serene, stop by and admire the unique plants and animals in this historic conservatory. Study the bats in their darkness, dance with butterflies in their den or try standing on one leg with the pink flamingos. Located right behind the hotel. Telephone: 250.381.1277 Hours of Operation: 10:00 am - 4:30 pm (winter) 9:00 am - 6:00 pm (April 4 - mid-June) 8:00 am - 8:00 pm (summer) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Centre of the Universe Come out and see the stars and the magical wonders of the evening sky. Guided tours, planetarium, exhibits, stargazing. Telephone: 250.363.8262 Hours of Operation: Most days - 10 am - 6 pm Saturdays - 10 am - 11pm, April - October Wednesdays and Sundays - 10 am - 11 pm, July and August Please Note: this attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Emily Carr House Come visit the birthplace of the famous Canadian artist and author, Emily Carr. Telephone: 250.383.5843 Hours of Operation: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (May 19 - October 12) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible, but there are no wheelchair-accessible washrooms. More on Carr House

Craigflower Manor
110 Island Highway
Telephone: 250.387.4697
Completed in 1856, this building was constructed with materials from one of the original settlement's four farmhouses

Empress Hotel
721 Government Street
Telephone: 250.384.8111
Victoria's elegant, turn-of-the-century hotel serving high tea every afternoon

Fort Rodd Hill Take a step inside Canada's oldest West Coast lighthouse. This lighthouse which was built in 1860 is one of the few lighthouses that has a museum / interpretive centre inside it open to the public. Fort Rodd Hill protected the Victoria - Esquimalt harbour from naval attack between 1878 and 1956. Telephone: 250.387.2080 Hours of Operation: Weekends: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (November - February) 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, daily (March - October) Please Note: This attraction has some difficult areas for wheelchairs. Virtual Tour of Fisgard Lighthouse

Government House Wander through the gardens of this beautiful property. There is no admittance to the residence. Telephone: 250.387.2080 Hours of Operation: From dawn till dusk Visit the Government House web site

Helmcken House Take a step back in time and discover the home that Dr. John Helmcken built for his bride in 1852. Enjoy listening to audio tapes of the doctor describing what Victoria was like in the old days. Telephone: 250.361.0021 Hours of Operation: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm (February - April) 11:00 am - 5:00 pm (May - September) 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm (October - November 15) Please Note: Only the main floor of this attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Horticulture Centre of the Pacific
Come visit the beauty of 110 acres of property, gardens and beauty. The gardens are operated by the members formed into a non-profit function, almost entirely operated by volunteers.
Telephone: 250.479.6162
Hours of Operation:
From dusk till dawn
Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Parliament Buildings Free tours are offered during the week. Visitors will be walked through the Legislature Buildings and given history and details of Canada's legislature. Call for tour times. Telephone: 250.387.3046 Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Maritime Museum For the sailor in everyone, this historic building offers an important pictorial and model exhibit of the maritime history of the Canadian West Coast. A short stroll up Government Street. Telephone: 250.385.4222 Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible, but there are no wheelchair-accessible washrooms.

Mattick's Farm 5325 Cordova Bay Road Be sure to arrive with your appetite intact as this is home to one of Victoria's best tearooms.

Mineral World Explore the world of minerals. Visitors can purchase a scratch patch and fill their bags with gems, or pan for fool's gold. Telephone: 250.655.4367 Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm (March - June) 10:00 am - 9:00 pm (July and August) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Miniature World Step into the future as you float through the solar system on your way to the historic battles of yesteryear, across Canadian landscape, through the Big Top and fairgrounds, to downtown and the beautifully decorated doll houses of an era gone by. Located on the north side of the Empress Hotel. Telephone: 250.385.9731 Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm, daily Weekends: 9:00 am - 7:00 pm (in May) 8:30 am - 9:00 pm (June 15 - September 15) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Point Ellice House Point Ellice House was home to the O'Reilly family for over 108 years. Visitors will experience the unsurpassed collection of Victorian and superbly-restored gardens. Telephone: 250.380.6506 Hours of Operation: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (Victoria Day - Labour Day) Tea: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Royal BC Museum Rated one of the best in North America, this facility offers an incredible learning experience of the natural history of BC. The Ice Age, First Nations, and Early Settlement displays provide valuable insight into our past. Summer "whales" exhibit is a winner with everyone. Telephone: 250.387.3701, or 250.387.3014 Hours of operation: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Visit the museum's website

Royal London Wax Museum Just around the Inner Harbour from the Empress Hotel, in front of the Parliament Buildings, is the home of many of the world's most famous faces. Fairy-tale characters, British royalty, politicians, and celebrities and the "House of Horrors" come to life in this attraction. Telephone: 250.388.4431 Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 7:30 pm (mid-May - September) 9:30 am - 5:00 pm (October - April) Sundays: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm (October - April) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Sidney Museum This is the only museum devoted to marine mammals, as well as historical artifacts of the surrounding communities. Hours of Operation: Weekends: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm (January and February) 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, daily (March - May) 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, daily (June - Labour Day) 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, daily (September - December) Please Note: This attraction is wheelchair accessible.

Sooke Regional Museum The Sooke Regional Museum also serves as a visitor information centre. The museum offers dramatized historical tours, as well as local history. Hours of Operation: Tuesday - Sunday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (September - June) 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, daily (July and August) Please Note: Only the Main Floor is wheelchair accessible.

Undersea Garden Do you want to see the wonders of the ocean, but do not want to get wet? Stop by this exhibit, a short walk across the harbour from the hotel, and see the resident octopus in his full tentacle glory. Dive shows every 30 minutes starting at 10:30 am ending at 8:30 pm. Hours of Operation: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm (May - September) 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (October - April) Please Note: This attraction is not wheelchair accessible, and there are no public washrooms.