A Few Questions About Victoria, British Columbia, Canada?

Question

I'm going on a vacation and I'll be in Victoria for a little bit, and so I have a few questions about the place.

1. What are the main tourist attractions that you don't have to pay lots of money to see?
2. Can you give me the names of some relatively inexpensive restaurants in Victoria that serve food that is uniquely that of Victoria?
3. Do residents of Victoria drink tea in the afternoon like British people do? Where's a good place to go and have an authentic Victorian tea?
4. Is there a bank near the harbor where I can go and exchange currencies?

Answer 1

Hi there, I have lived in Victoria all my life (27 years) so I think I am a good resource.
1. I personally find most of the tourist attractions quite cheesy and not worth your money. I think you will be most entertained by just walking around the downtown area. Walk through the inner harbour - there are all sorts of local merchants. China Town is awesome and interesting, make sure you check out Fan Tan Alley (between Fisgard and Pandora streets). If you are in town on Sunday, check out the public market near China Town, there are some really neat things on sale by local artists, crafters, etc.
If you would like a bit of the cheese when it comes to tourist attraction, check out the Bug Zoo on Broughton, the Royal Wax Museum on Belleville and take a double decker bus ride. Shopping on Johnson and government street is FANTASTIC.

2. Some great and inexpensive restaurants can be found all over downtown, but my personal favorites are:
Ferris' Oyster Bar (lower Yates st), The Noodle Box (2 locations: Government st and Fisgard), Azuma Sushi (Fort St), Pagliacci's (Broad St), The Reef (lower Yates as well) These are all great! You can't walk two feet without coming to a restaurant downtown.

3.Afternoon tea is more of a tourist attraction, maybe seniors still have tea times but other than that, it's not really a big thing. Still, some great places for afternoon tea are, of course, The Empress (very $$$), and I like Murchies. For an alternative choice there is an awesome little Green Tea Cafe in Oak Bay Village.

4. There are tons of echange places downtown and several right by the harbour. Look for the Visitor info center on the corner of Wharf and Government st. There is an exchange place kitty corner from it and ATMs all over town.

Answer 2

The first answer is very good and spent a lot of time answering. So just to add and confirm some of hers.

1. The Inner harbour area - You have the harbour, and small marina walk. Then across the street is the legislative lawn and across the other side is the Empress. The Royal BC Museum is right there too, but not cheap. There are other tourist things to do close to here too. Butchart Gardens is $25 a person and a bit of a trip, so more if you have to take a bus tour to get to it. But worth it if you think you will like that kind of thing at all.

2. I don't really put Victoria as a cheap place to visit. There is lots of seafood, which is completely Victoria as it is on an Island. Cheap wise, I would say just go for the British style fish and chips. You find it on the average menu everywhere in BC.

3. Victoria prides itself as more British than the British, but I think more of the afternoon tea thing is more of a tourist thing. Fun to do when you are there though. Places include Empress, Butchard Gardens, and The Blethering Place in Oak Bay. The Empress is the easiest to get to. The Gardens is good enough if you decide to kill 2 birds with one stone, and th last one is the most difficult to get to unless you are driving and have supper directional skills and not afraid to use them.

4. Downtown is only a couple blocks away from the Inner Harbour area. Many Major Canadian Banks are there on or just off of Douglas Street.

Answer 3

Hi,

I live in Northern, BC, but have been to Victoria many times and have stayed there for a month.

1.) Well there are quite a few things to do for free or very close to it. The main one that comes to mind is the waterfront by the Empress Hotel. This is a great place to find freelance artists and their takes on our culture and scenery. As well as some Characatures and other vendors.
I think Bouchart Gardens is free also and they have a small fireworks show quite often.
Also is China Town, a very old place that has a great deal of history.
2.) Well there are places again along the waterfront that offer great seafoods as well as pubs that have our beer and traditional Canadian foods.
3.) LOL , that is a great question...No I don't think most people have tea with lunch like England or anything. There is a really great place in the Empress Hotel, which is a very old, huge hotel that is WELL worth the visit, and offers great gift stores with unique items from BC. Anyway they have an afternoon Tea and Crumpets, I have personally not gone to that, but heard it is a great experience. I don't know the cost of that....
4.) Well I think that most of the Harbors in Victoria have Bank Machines that take most cards. I guess it depends on where you are coming from. I know we used our cards in the US and it was ok. As far as Banks in Victoria, if there wasn't one close to the harbour there are lots of banks around. You will find one, maybe go to your bank and email them and ask if there is or where there is a bank for your exchanges, I'm sure they would help.

Victoria is a beautiful City and there is tons to see and do like the wax museum, bug museum, miniature world, crystal gardens, they have tea too. You will not be disappointed visiting there!!!!

Answer 4

Vacation in Victoria BC Canada is not the same as living and working long term there. Don't confuse the two or you'll be sorry. A 1-2 weeks holiday is ok, staying much longer is not so good. There are varied opinions about Greater Victoria. Newly wed and nearly dead is one such opinion. Many locals and others feel the entire local culture (economics, social, politics, people, etc) are very uptight, cold, distant, cliquey. If you don't belong to the same membership in something as connections, good luck with getting anything. Your merits don't matter without inside connections for everything. Just to know things, you should all read the people's comments about the total Victoria insider package on sites like www.ratemyemployer.ca, www.topix.com (Victoria BC Canada section), www.yelp.com, www.thedirty.com, Yahoo Answers, etc. You owe it to yourself to know things or get yourself screwed up from ignorance. Insider knowledge is power, huh?

Answer 5

There is a history of the area going back to pre-Confederation days and the War of 1812. Read about Laura Secord. Also, along the north shore of the Great Lakes water way - especially through Ontario - land was given by the Crown to those who had been loyal during the American Revolution. United Empire Loyalists settled in these regions. And, tourism does factor in, as well. The blue and white 'fleur de lis' flag often flies in Quebec.