Victoria sightseeing question

[ute_fan]

Our ship will be in Victoria on 5/26 from 2 PM until 9 PM. We've been to Victoria a couple of times before, and have gone whale watching and done a sightseeing tour of the city. I've been thinking about renting a car and exploring a bit more of the island. Can any of you with knowledge of the area tell me if that makes sense?

 

My husband isn't a flower person, so we're not interesting in going to Buchart, and we've really enjoyed the flexibility of renting a car and going exploring in several other ports. If that's a reasonable thought, what are some sites we might consider taking in?

[Steve H]

If you want to rent a car why not drive out to Sidney. It is a cute town near the airport has lots of nice shops and a small pier .

[scottbee]

Our ship will be in Victoria on 5/26 from 2 PM until 9 PM. We've been to Victoria a couple of times before, and have gone whale watching and done a sightseeing tour of the city. I've been thinking about renting a car and exploring a bit more of the island. Can any of you with knowledge of the area tell me if that makes sense?

 

My husband isn't a flower person, so we're not interesting in going to Buchart, and we've really enjoyed the flexibility of renting a car and going exploring in several other ports. If that's a reasonable thought, what are some sites we might consider taking in?

 

Here's a few things most tourists don't see (I lived there for 25+ years) including a few a little off the beaten path:

 

• Fort Rodd Hill (W. of downtown)
  
• Hatley Castle/Royal Roads University (W. of downtown)
  
• Lt Governors mansion (if you want a quick, free, burst of nice gardens without committing a day to it). near downtown
  
• Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (N of downtown)
  
• Royal BC Museum (downtown)
  
• BC Parliament Buildings tour (downtown)
  
• Pub Crawl (there are a lot of great microbreweries in Victoria) - downtown
  

The three downtown/near downtown are actually easier to do w/o a car, it's a short walk, bus or taxi to them, w/o the hassle of parking.

[Sally Forth]

If you like looking at architectural details, I highly recommend the Parliament Buildings. Even the public bathrooms are pretty special because they've maintained a lot of the small details rather than rip them up over the years.

 

Viv

[avcruz]

One thing you might want to be aware of is that is the weekend of the Swiftsure Yacht Race, and the downtown core & Inner Harbour can be very busy that weekend. If you can rent a car at or near the pier at Ogden Point, avoid downtown. I'd head east from the pier along the waterfront and take a nice drive right around the oceanfront through Victoria, Oak Bay & Saanich. There are a number of beautiful sights along the way, with nice shops, retaurants & pubs in places like Oak Bay, Cordova Bay and even further up the Saanich Peninsula to Sidney as someone else suggested. Then you can head straight back down the Pat Bay Highway from Sidney to Victoria (avoid ferry traffic if you can) and back to your ship.