Victoria Travel Forum

Hi all and thanks for reading.

The reviews of Butchart Gardens make it sound like the best spot in Victoria and to absolutely not miss it. I'd certainly like to see it, but I'm only there for one day (ferry from PA about 10am, out at 4pm). I could certainly take the bus, but it appears that it requires a transfer at off-peak hours which means that the trip would realistically be 1 hour one-way.
I'm not a gardner in any way, but certainly appreciate flora and fauna and typically enjoy botanical gardens.
Should I go for this, or just bide my time in the city with the other things to do Downtown?

Since you don't have much time and you've never been to Victoria before, I would just hang around the city. The Gardens are beautiful but save it for another trip when you have more time. I vote for the city instead of the gardens.
Jeannette

i say take the ferrybus to the north shore and take public transit up to grouse mtn and see the view - its spectacular!!! or spend your day taking the water bus to granville island...tc

FUNYGRL would have great suggestions if you were going to the city of Vancouver, but since you're going to the city of Victoria, I too would say, stick to Victoria. Victoria's small enough to get around on foot. I'd highly recommend the Royal BC Museum over any other paid-admission attraction in Victoria, unless wax museums are your thing. The Royal BC Museum is located between the BC Legislature building and the Empress Hotel, two of the city's most famous architectural landmarks.

My mum raves about the Butchart Gardens. She had a day trip to Victoria and came back with photos only of the gardens. But then, she IS a keen gardener!

Stay in Victoria

I would stay in Victoria too. The gardens are really nice, but they're not a life-changing experience or anything like that.

Wow, thanks for the responses!
Okay, so Butchart Gardens is off. I have been to Victoria before, but when I was about 15. I went with my dad but don't recall really doing anything there. Which is why I'm going back!
And I would LOVE to go up to Vancouver, but I want to make that its own trip since I know there's so much to do there (only went once when I was 12). I did get to Bellingham for a night last year though, and that was amazing.
Grouse Mountain sounds interesting, but I'm going in a couple of weeks. Would it be too cold or would I even be able to see anything up there?

Thanks again for the advice.

You might want to go to the Lieutenant Governor's House (see my Victoria tips). You can walk there from downtown in about twenty-five minutes, or bus (#14 or #11) from downtown and then walk in about fifteen minutes. They are probably the best gardens near downtown, and the neighbourhood is nice too!