Victoria BC

Walking tours, beer tasting, bird watching, museums, dining.... there is a lot to do in Victoria even during the winter. While we were unfortunate to pick a particularly cold (and snowy) weekend, there was enough to keep us busy. We arrived on the M/V Coho, a passenger/vehicle ferry operated by the Black Ball Ferry Line, which crosses the Strait of Juan de Fuca daily between Port Angeles, Washington and Victoria. The ferry line has a long history and Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters recorded a song about it in 1951.

M/V Coho at the Inner Harbour, Victoria

The first night we only had time to eat and sample a few of the local craft beers. We decided on Garrick's Head Pub where I ordered an amazing sweet potato, chickpea, and peanut burger with fries. There is an impressive selection of craft beers in Victoria and beer tourism was part of our agenda. we sampled

Tree Brewing's (Kelowna, BC) Hop Head IPA (ABV 5.6%, IBUs 64) 

Hoyne Brewing's (Victoria BC) Down Easy Pale Ale (ABV 5.2%)

The style of beer in Canada is different than Oregon and less to my taste. But, there were some very good options, and it's always fun to try something new. Afterwards we went to Bard & Banker and sampled the 

Driftwood Brewing (Victoria, BC) New Growth Pale Ale (ABV 5%)

Phillips Brewery (Victoria, BC) Octofox IPA

Innis & Gunn (Edinburgh, Scotland) Original Oak Aged Scottish Beer

First thing next morning we started off on three walking tours published by Heritage Walking Tours, which take readers through the oldest parts of Victoria. We like walking tours because they direct us to distinctive areas and sights within the city that we might otherwise miss. First on the list was the "Haunted Victoria" which begins at St. Ann's Academy. The school was built in 1871 and a convent was added in 1886 and 1909.  

St. Anne's Academy

I won't go through each stop, but a couple of the highlights for me were the Empress Hotel and Rogers' Chocolates. The Empress Hotel, built in Chateau style by Canadian railway companies, was constructed between 1904 and 1908 and is well known for its afternoon tea service.

The Empress Hotel

Christmas display inside the Empress Hotel

Built in 1903, the Rogers Chocolates building has a Queen Anne Revival style shop front and is a national historical site in Canada. There are beautiful glass fronted cabinets and Victorian style lamps. Apparently, the founder, Charles Rogers, was an eccentric man who was known for his lack of patience with customers. He would often ignore lines outside his shop and open only when he was ready. Rogers was from Massachusetts and moved to Victoria during the gold rush. Once there, he felt a better business venture would be selling provisions to the miners. Experimented with candy in the back of his grocery store, he eventually abandoned the grocery and focused exclusively on candy. 

Rogers Chocolates

The "Rollicking Boomtown" walking tour takes you down Government and Wharf Streets. In the 1800s five different gold rushes came and went. During the Klondike Gold Rush miners lined up at the Dominion Customs House to get permits to pass from Skagway, Alaska, into the Yukon Territory in Canada. 

Dominion Customs House

The Ship Inn was founded in 1853 as the colony's first tavern.

The former Ship Inn

The last walking tour we did was "Mysterious Chinatown," which led us through Canada's oldest Chinatown. Between 1881 and 1884 16,000 Chinese established themselves in this area. Tiny maze-like alleyways were constructed in the style of older Chinese cities.

Gate of Harmonious Interest

The Gate of Harmonious Interest is a newer addition, constructed in 1981. It leads visitors to Fisgard Street which is the main business area of Chinatown. If you are touring Victoria's Chinatown, look for Fan Tan alley. This street was originally a gambling district with opium dens, restaurants, and shops clustered in the narrow passageway. It is the narrowest street in Canada.

Shop door in Fan Tan alley

We ended the day at craft breweries. First up was Canoe Brewpub on Swift Street. The sampler here included:

Canoe Lager (4.8% ABV, 15 IBUs)

Canoe IPA (6.5% ABV, 65 IBUs)

Canoe Pale Ale (5.0% ABV, 20 IBUs)

Canoe Dark Ale (5.5% ABV, 20 IBUs)

We also tried an ESB British Style Pale Ale (5.2% ABV, 25 IBUs) brewed with U.K. malt and hops.

We walked quite a distance from the hotel to try Moon Under Water Brewery. This had the best craft beers to up this point. The sampler tray included:

Potts Pils Unfiltered (5.2% ABV)

Creepy Uncle Dunkel (5.4% ABV)

Tranquility IPA (6.5% ABV)

The Victorious Weizenbock (8.2% ABV)

We also tried the Hop Therapy India Session Ale (Russel Brewing in Surrey, BC) and Isseki Nicho Black Saison (just a taste!) from Dieu du Ciel in Montreal.

Vancouver Island Brewery was next in line. They had really decent craft beers here although the tasting room was a bit bland. There is no restaurant, so it is tasting only.

Last stop was Phillips Brewery, which we had sampled on the first day. The tasting includes:

Blue Buck English Pale Ale (5.0% ABV)

Longboat Chocolate Porter (5.2% ABV)

Hop Circle IPA (6.5% ABV)

Elsinore Pale Lager 

Robert Service 1904 Scotch Ale (5.0% ABV)

Coulrophobia India Red Ale (6.5% ABV)

Leviathan Milk Stout (ABV 5.5%)

Ginger Beer (5.0% ABV)

As you can tell, there is no shortage of craft beer in Victoria. I think the winners for us were Vancouver Island Brewery and Moon Under Water Brewery.

The final day of our trip was freezing cold with snow. We intended to go bird watching and only lasted a couple of hours. We changed plans and took a tour of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Victoria is a beautiful city and we felt we saw a good deal in a couple of days, although summer would definitely make the experience more enjoyable. Next time, warm weather!