City walk Vancouver — Victoria day trip, Canada

Victoria in a day from Vancouver

British Columbia's capital as a long day trip: the ferry through the Gulf Islands, Butchart Gardens, and a walk around the Inner Harbour from the Parliament Buildings and the Empress to the Royal BC Museum and Canada's oldest Chinatown.

Duration: 1 day
Distance: 6 km
Ascent: 40 m
Difficulty: Easy
Best season: May to September for gardens in bloom and long evenings

Print day cards Packing list

Victoria sits at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver, and it is a different city in almost every way: smaller, slower, older, and built around a harbour where floatplanes land in front of the legislature. It is also the most rewarding day trip from Vancouver, provided you accept that it is a long day. The ferry crossing is a sightseeing cruise in its own right, threading Active Pass between Galiano and Mayne islands, and the walkable core means that once you arrive you can see the essentials on foot.

This route does it in the classic order. Take an early ferry, stop at Butchart Gardens on the way into the city, since the gardens sit between the ferry terminal and downtown, then spend the afternoon on foot around the Inner Harbour: the Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress, the Royal BC Museum and Thunderbird Park, and finally Chinatown and Fan Tan Alley. The walking part is about six kilometres, all of it flat.

If you have more time, stay the night. Victoria rewards an evening on the harbour, when the Parliament Buildings are outlined in lights, and a second day lets you add Beacon Hill Park, Craigdarroch Castle or a whale-watching trip.

Getting there. BC Ferries sails from Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver, to Swartz Bay on the Saanich Peninsula; the crossing takes about 1 hour 35 minutes. By transit, take the Canada Line to Bridgeport and bus 620 to Tsawwassen, then BC Transit bus 70 from Swartz Bay to downtown Victoria (about 45 to 60 minutes; 32 km). Faster and pricier: Harbour Air floatplanes fly from the downtown Vancouver waterfront to Victoria’s Inner Harbour in about 35 minutes, and Helijet runs helicopters between the two downtowns in about the same time. A common combination is ferry one way, floatplane the other.

Tickets. Walk-on ferry passengers do not need a reservation; drivers on summer weekends should reserve. Butchart Gardens and the Royal BC Museum charge admission with seasonal pricing, and part of the museum has been closed for renewal in recent years, so check which galleries are open. Check the official sites for schedules and prices before you go.

Good to know:

Plan on 12 or more hours door to door from Vancouver by ferry and transit.
Getting from Swartz Bay to Butchart Gardens and on to downtown without a car takes planning: check BC Transit connections or book a tour or shuttle.
The Inner Harbour walk is flat, paved and wheelchair-friendly.
The ferry has cafeterias and outdoor decks; watch for orcas and seals in Active Pass.

Tips & Insights for this route Planning this route? Read our practical tips before you go — 8 tips. Read the tips

Download waypoints (GPX) Points of interest in walking order — not a trail trace.

Day by day

DayDistanceAscentDescentWalking time

Day 1 Hardest dayFerry, Butchart Gardens and the Inner Harbour

Distance6 kmAscent40 mDescentNot recordedWalking timeNot recorded

Day 1

Ferry, Butchart Gardens and the Inner Harbour

Tsawwassen ferry terminal → Fan Tan Alley, Chinatown, Victoria 6 km 40 m

Navigate this day Print day

A long but relaxed day: the crossing, the gardens, then on foot from the Parliament Buildings past the Empress and the Royal BC Museum to Chinatown.

Segments

The ferry through the Gulf Islands 0 km 0 m Map

Tsawwassen ferry terminal → Swartz Bay ferry terminal

Ferry crossing

Head for the outside deck as the ferry approaches Active Pass, the narrow, winding channel between Galiano and Mayne islands where the big ships pass each other close enough to wave. Watch for seals, eagles and, with luck, orcas. About 1 hour 35 minutes.

About this place

Active Pass is a strait separating Galiano Island in the north and Mayne Island in the south in the southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. It connects the Trincomali Channel in the west and the Strait of Georgia in the east. The pass stretches 5.5 km from northeast to southwest with two roughly right-angle bends, one at each end.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Miranda.Kopetzky · CC BY-SA 4.0
Butchart Gardens 1.5 km 20 m Map

Butchart Gardens entrance → Butchart Gardens entrance

Paved garden paths with some steps

A family's exhausted limestone quarry turned into the Sunken Garden in the early twentieth century, and the gardens grew around it into one of the most visited sights in British Columbia, now a National Historic Site. Walk the Sunken Garden from the lookout, then the Rose, Japanese and Italian gardens. About 2 hours.

About this place

The Butchart Gardens is a floral display garden in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive over a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: w4nn3s · CC BY-SA 3.0
Parliament Buildings 0.5 km 5 m Map

Inner Harbour causeway → British Columbia Parliament Buildings

Flat harbourfront promenade

Start on the harbour, where floatplanes taxi in front of the neo-Baroque legislature designed by Francis Rattenbury and opened in 1898, with a gilded statue of George Vancouver on its dome. Free guided tours have typically been offered; check the legislature's site for current times. About 45 minutes.

About this place

The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the lieutenant governor and the Legislative Assembly.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Ryan Bushby (HighInBC) · CC BY 2.5
The Fairmont Empress 0.3 km 0 m Map

British Columbia Parliament Buildings → The Empress hotel

Flat city sidewalk

Across the harbour corner stands the ivy-framed Empress, also by Rattenbury, opened in 1908 as a Canadian Pacific Railway hotel. Step into the lobby even if you are not staying for afternoon tea. About 20 minutes.

About this place

The Fairmont Empress, formerly and commonly referred to as The Empress, is one of the oldest hotels in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Located on 721 Government Street, it is situated in Downtown Victoria, facing the city's Inner Harbour. The hotel was designed by Francis Rattenbury, and was built by Canadian Pacific Hotels, a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is presently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, part of AccorHotels since 2016. It is owned by Nat and Flora Bosa of Vancouver.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0
Royal BC Museum and Thunderbird Park 0.3 km 0 m Map

The Empress hotel → Thunderbird Park

Flat city sidewalk

The provincial museum covers the natural and human history of British Columbia; some galleries have been closed or reworked in recent years, so check what is open. Next door, Thunderbird Park holds a collection of totem poles and the carving shed. About 1.5 hours.

About this place

The Royal British Columbia Museum, founded in 1886, is a history museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The "Royal" title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by Prince Philip in 1987, to coincide with a royal tour of that year. The museum merged with the British Columbia Provincial Archives in 2003.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0
Chinatown and Fan Tan Alley 1.4 km 15 m Map

Thunderbird Park → Fan Tan Alley

Flat downtown streets

Walk north along the harbour and Government Street to Fisgard Street and the Gate of Harmonious Interest, the entrance to Canada's oldest Chinatown. Fan Tan Alley, which once led to gambling dens and opium factories, is barely wider than your shoulders at its narrowest point. About 45 minutes.

About this place

Fan Tan Alley is an alley in the Chinatown neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that is known for being the narrowest commercial street in North America, being less than 0.9 m (3.0 ft) wide at its narrowest point. It runs south from Fisgard Street to Pandora Avenue at the block between Government Street and Store Street. Named after the Chinese gambling game Fan-Tan, the alley was originally well known for opium factories that produced opium until it was made illegal in 1908.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0