Choose Victoria Tours To Help You See The Best Of The City
October 22nd, 2010 by Juliette Clemons, under Vacation Destinations. No Comments
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia in Canada. Its located on Vancouver Island on Canada’s west coast. Its a very beautiful city and has a reputation for being more English than the English. Victoria tours are a very good way to familiarize yourself with the city, and will help you to get best out of any trip.
It did not start out as a city or even a town, but was originally called Fort Victoria after Queen Victoria. It became a town in eighteen forty nine, before becoming the capital in the colony, and a city, in eighteen sixty two. This was the Edwardian era and everything was very genteel. Victoria set out to become the most genteel of all.
A lot of construction was completed during this era, so much of this city is Edwardian. The world famous Empress hotel was built as the start of the twentieth century, and is an iconic image of Victoria. It has seen many famous people pass through its doors, including royalty and film stars. A popular past time is to go there for afternoon tea. This does need to be booked well in advance and there is quite a strict dress code.
You would expect a city that is rich in history to have good museums and you would not be disappointed. The Royal BC museum is a great place to visit. It has a life sized woolly mammoth in a display that features ice. A museum curator may encourage you to touch the ice just to check that it is real. You can also wander around a cobbled street in the Old Town, and peer into shops. Be sure to walk down the little side alley into China town.
Another popular pastime in Victoria is to go whale watching. There are lots of companies to choose from, and you can either go on a covered boat with washroom facilities or on an open zodiac which zips over the water. You may see the resident killer whales or maybe humpbacked or minke whales.
If you can you should not miss the world famous Butchart Gardens. Its fifty five acres of amazing floral displays. It is open all year round, but during the summer is famed for its evening firework displays. There are lots of themed gardens including a Japanese garden and an Italian garden.
Victoria is a very sophisticated city and you will find many top restaurants there. The ingredients may well be local, especially some of the seafood. The wine may also be from the island as there are a lot of wineries producing very good wine. If you enjoy wine you may wish to do a Victoria tours wine tasting trip.
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