Royal British Columbia Museum

When we think of Victoria, we think first of the Royal British Columbia Museum, surely one of the most impressive regional museums anywhere. Plan to spend several hours; it’s an extraordinary place and you shouldn’t miss it. Through four exceptional “galleries”—much too subtle a term—the museum showcases the human and natural history of British Columbia from prehistoric times to the present. Highly realistic and thoroughly compelling displays—not entirely unlike living museum formats—provide visitors with a very real sense of traveling back in time. Galleries are themed: First Peoples, Modern History, Natural History, and Open Oceans, all in the permanent collection. Located at the corner of Belleville and Douglas Streets, the museum is close to both the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel. (Open daily from 9 am to 5 pm; 250-356-7226 or 888-447-7977, royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.) A National Geographic IMAX theater inside is also open daily, from 9 am to 8 pm.