Pacific N.W. - British Columbia

Victoria, BC, Canada

Now dust off your passport. It’s time to take a ferry ride across the Juan de Fuca Strait to the beautiful city of Victoria at the south end of Vancouver Island, the capital of Canada’s westernmost province, British Columbia. Citizens of the U.S. visiting Canada need to supply proof of citizenship with a valid passport. Ferry Travel: It is important to arrive at the Port Angeles ferry terminal well ahead of your scheduled sailing time. In summer months the wait can be several hours; in which case, you’ll want to leave your car in line and go off for a good meal somewhere. Local residents are the perfect sources for tips on cutting through the mystery that is ferry travel. Your innkeeper can call down to the terminal the day prior to your departure and advise you how early to arrive at the terminal. Whatever you do, plan this part ahead of time. There’s nothing to spoil your trip faster than arriving at the terminal, only to find that the queue is miles long, and the next ferry is not scheduled for several more hours, or worse: the next day! Fare and seasonal schedule information are available from Washington State Ferries. If you’re in Seattle, you can get timetables at their Information Desk, Colman Dock/Pier 52, between 8:15 am and 6 pm weekdays. Otherwise call 206-464-6400 (from anywhere), 511 (automated information, from Washington only), or 888-808-7977 (from Washington only), www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. Currency: The Canadian exchange rate is so favorable to the American pocketbook, you’ll have the option to stay in especially lovely places and pay only a fraction of the U.S. value. Check your local bank or our website (www.karenbrown.com) for the current exchange rate. Victoria has a decidedly unique personality. It’s rather small (325,000 residents) and very European (certainly British, named in 1843 for the then-recently crowned Queen of England); but also a reflection of its debt to native Coast Salish Indian, French, and—today—even Asian contributions. The mix of proud and colorful totem poles with venerable British architecture will keep you guessing, to be sure. As you approach the Inner Harbor on your ferry ride over from Port Angeles, you’ll know in a delightful instant that you are about to experience a unique and wonderful place. Very near the ferry dock at 812 Wharf Street, the Visitor Information Centre is a good place for gathering brochures about all the activities available to you: museums, whale-watching charters, harbor cruises, and the like. (Open from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm daily; 250-953-2033.) 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. Just east of the museum sits Helmcken House. Originally a three-room log house, this home was built in 1852 by Dr. John Helmcken, a surgeon with the Hudson’s Bay Company, who went on to become a statesman responsible for helping to negotiate the entry of British Columbia into Canada as a province. A tour of the house reveals many original furnishings and professional belongings. Now the oldest house in British Columbia still on its original site, the house offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of Victoria long ago. (Douglas and Belleville Streets; open May to October, daily, from 10 am to 5 pm, and on Thursdays through Sundays the rest of the year.) Take a self-guided tour (but mind you, there are nearly 100 stairs involved!) of Craigdarroch Castle Historic House Mansion. This impressive mansion was built between 1887 and 1890 for Scottish immigrants Robert and Joan Dunsmuir, who made their fortune from local coal. Now a national historic site, this 39-room castle features an extensive collection of stained- and leaded-glass windows, as well as magnificent woodwork. From the very top of the tower, you’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous view of the city and the Olympics. (1050 Joan Crescent; open daily between June 15th and Labor Day from 9 am to 7 pm, and from 10 am to 4:30 pm the rest of the year; 250-592-5323.) The Parliament Buildings at 501 Belleville Street will surely remind you of London. Victoria is the seat of the provincial government of British Columbia; and visitors are welcome to amble about these structures from June until Labor Day between 9 am and 5 pm, and between 9 am and 4 pm the rest of the year. There are also free, guided tours every hour. During assembly sessions, you may observe the proceedings from public galleries on the third floor. Lined in thousands of tiny, white lights, these buildings are particularly fetching at night. An imposing bronze likeness of Queen Victoria guards the plaza in front, and a gilt statue of Captain George Vancouver tops the central dome. The Empress Hotel is a landmark in Victoria (721 Government Street; 250-384-8111). It’s one of the most remarkable buildings, resembling a grand French château. Opening in 1908, the Empress earned an international reputation for its opulent guestrooms, beautiful gardens, afternoon tea service, and lavish evening entertainment. Today, many visitors throng to the Tea Lobby for a taste of history in an atmosphere of old-world sophistication and elegance. Keep in mind, however, that there are many wonderful tea rooms in Victoria, especially if you’re looking for something more intimate. We have it on good authority, for example, that the White Heather Tea Room is a favorite among the locals. (1885 Oak Bay Avenue; open from 9:30 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Saturday; and from 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday; 250-595-8020.) It’s located east of downtown in a neighborhood called Oak Bay, known for its distinctly British personality, stunning Tudor-style homes, meticulous landscaping, fine shops, and . . .a proper tea service. Consider a visit to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in the Inner Harbor. The colorful story of British Columbia’s marine history is told in a series of excellent theme galleries, from Early Exploration to Captain Cook, Canadian Pacific Steamships, and the Royal Navy. The stories told here are intriguing, right down to that of one John Antle, a missionary mariner who brought religion by boat to Victoria’s logging camps. (28 Bastion Square; open daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.) A pleasant way to see the lovely southern and eastern shores of Victoria’s waterfront communities is to take the Scenic Marina Drive, which starts on Dallas Road at Fisherman’s Wharf Park. Drive through the James Bay residential neighborhood; through Beacon Hill Park with its acres of gardens, lakes, and walking paths; past Ross Bay, Foul Bay, and MacNeill Bay; through the very British Oak Bay neighborhood and its Willows Beach; past Uplands Park estates; around Cadboro Bay, where the largest native village in the area once stood; past the University of Victoria; and on to Ten Mile Point. For spectacular 360-degree views of the city, the Gulf and San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Mountains, take a drive to the top of Mount Douglas Park (5 miles northeast of downtown off Royal Oak and Cordova Bay Roads). When it’s time to head back to Seattle, you’ll ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca in a picturesque 2½- to 3-hour sail to Anacortes, Washington. Your ferry will depart from the Canadian town of Sidney, just north of Victoria by about 20 miles, where the Washington State Ferry system operates flexible and convenient car ferry service. Make your ferry reservation either online or by phone at least 48 hours in advance (U.S. 206-464-6400 and Canada 888-808-7977, 7 am to 6 pm.) A non-refundable deposit, applied to either your MasterCard or Visa, will be taken to confirm your reservation. Once you’re in Anacortes, the drive back to Seattle is at most an hour and a half via 20 east, then I-5 South.

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