The Canadian City You’re Probably Overlooking

Hero Image of Malahat SkyWalk Courtesy of Tyler Cave and Destination Greater Victoria

It’s been a minute since I was last in Victoria, British Columbia. My first trip to Victoria was short and a gateway to adventures on the island in Tofino. It still left an impression. It’s where I had my first official afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress and my first Canadian Thanksgiving. (It’s also where I discovered that people might go to fisticuffs over how to pronounce scone.) 

But this year I returned. I was there for IMPACT, a sustainable travel conference, but I also finally explored the city’s culinary scene and had a chance to sail the chilly Salish Sea during a private trip with Eagle Wing Tours, learning from Indigenous guides along the way. And while I didn’t get to do everything possible there, I’ve learned the Greater Victoria region offers enough rainforest hikes, ziplining, kayaking, and Indigenous paddle excursions to make my bucket list grow and keep me coming back. As a base for the outdoors, a world for culinary adventure, the city is underrated. But more importantly, it’s sustainable.

Here’s how to have a sustainable getaway around Victoria without cutting back on the adventure.

The Greater Victoria area is the first urban destination in North America to receive the prestigious Biosphere Certification, and their tourism focuses on being eco-friendly and culturally diverse. Their tourism partners, from hotels to outdoor adventure operators and restaurants, also focus on sustainable practices. The city even has bottle-fill stations available (with a map) throughout as a way of ensuring tourists avoid single-use plastics.

Getting to the island usually starts in Vancouver on the mainland, where you can catch a flight from the airport or by floatplane with Harbour Air or helicopter with Helijet from Vancouver’s waterfront, or board BC Ferries, which include the ability to bring a bike or car, or join by motorcoach.

Victoria’s most iconic stay is the award-winning The Empress, Fairmont’s luxury hotel and home to the ever popular Empress 1908 Indigo Gin. The Fairmont Empress ranks third in the top 15 hotels in Western Canada, and booking a Fairmont Gold room comes with an elevated experience. Its Q restaurant serves a Pacific Northwest menu, and its Q Bar is a top shelf spot for cocktails. They have BIOSPHERE certification for their sustainability efforts, like producing their own honey and having a rooftop garden, and they’ve received a MICHELIN One Key three years in a row. 

My most recent stay in Victoria was at the Inn at Laurel Point, with rooms that offer stunning views of the bay and generous space with balconies. The Inn at Laurel Point is Biosphere Certified and focused on increasing their sustainability goals, by offsetting their carbon emissions and working toward being zero waste by 2030. Their award-winning restaurant, Aura, has panoramic views and curated local ingredients and West Coast menu to go with it.

Vancouver Island is full of temperate rainforests, and Victoria has average temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s year-round. Which means you can make your way here any time of the year and know how to pack. Victoria sits on the south eastern end of the island and has easy access to nearby outdoor activities. 

The top adventures you can have in the Greater Victoria area will take you out on the water, into the forest, and across Indigenous history. Rainforest Tours—yes, real rainforests!—offers incredible day hikes along the rugged coast and into Vancouver Island rainforests. You can go searching for humpbacks and other marine life that decorate the coasts of British Columbia with the cleverly named, Prince of Whales tours and Eagle Wing Tours.

Songhees Tours will take you out into Victoria’s Inner Harbour for canoe and walking tours. It’s a chance to learn about the region from authentic Indigenous voices and to paddle in incredible replicas of traditional canoes. And a mere 40 minutes away is Adrena LINE, a zipline and treetop adventure waiting to get you soaring through the canopy.

But if hiking or heights isn’t your cup of tea, have a nice walk through the city’s acclaimed Butchart Gardens, take a bike tour, or go golfing.

I’m like any other guy who loves the outdoors. I like to hike, and I don’t mind sweating through everything I wear. But if I can add to that a great place for creative, sustainable cuisine at the end of the day, why would I ignore the opportunity? As my last visit showed me, Victoria has those options in spades. 

Check out places like End Dive, an ambitious, locally sourced seafood restaurant and bar. Their bar has an evolving menu of creative cocktails and frankly, the best zero-proof Old Fashioned I’ve ever had. Wind Cries Mary in Bastion square also uses local sourcing, and wonderful cocktails. If you’re vegetarian, be sure to visit Be Love for some fantastic foraged organic cuisine and great cocktails. If beer is more your thing,  Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. has craft beers to quench your thirst after a day out, and they use island grown ingredients. 

And then there’s The Drake, a local favorite with beer and craft cocktails. But the big thing to not miss on that menu is their kimchi grilled cheese sandwich. It still lives in my dreams.

And lastly, if you’re like me, you love seeing cities that highlight their local artists. A new mural installation is a hidden gem in the city, with part of it found in Commercial Alley and part under the Johnson Street Bridge. Which includes pieces like, “The Salish Sea Remembers,” a mural focused on Camossung, an important lək̓ʷəŋən figure and protector of the waterway, designed by Melissa Barnhard of Songhees Nation. 

I’ve been to cities across the world and the ones that stay with me are those like Victoria. The city can be a day trip from Vancouver or a gateway to the rest of the Island, but if you miss the many opportunities around Victoria itself, then you’re missing out on an adventure. They have something for everyone, and this island getaway should be on your bucket list.