travelousness: March 2011

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Craigdarroch Castle

Victoria, BC; Canada

Recommended visit time required: 1 hour

Parking: Free (on-site lot and 2-hour street parking)

Front facade

Craigdarroch Castle, completed in 1890, was the dream home of wealthy Robert Dunsmuir who amassed his fortune in coal. Sadly, he died the year before its completion and never lived here. The castle was left for his wife, Joan, who lived here until her death in 1908. The castle was owned by one other individual after the Dunsmuir daughters sold it, but lost it to Bank of Montreal due to unpaid debts. After this, the castle has been used as: Craigdarroch Military Hospital; Victoria College; offices for the Victoria School Board, Victoria Conservatory of Music; and currently as Craigdarroch Castle Historic House Museum.

Side of the Castle

Back of the Castle

Back porch

The interior of Craigdarroch Castle is very well furnished and staged to reflect the original use of the residence as accurately as possible. A brochure is provided with your entrance fee for a self-guided tour. An audioguide ($5) is available to rent, but I think the expense is unnecessary as there is a lot of information in the brochure as well as on the signposts in each of the rooms.

Don't forget to look up!

The Library

Drawing Room

Dining Room

Jessie's Bedroom

Stair landing

The Billiards Room

Robert Harvey's Bedroom... the green paint is original!

Effie's Bedroom

Dance Hall

Maud's Bedroom

The Breakfast Room

View of Mt Douglas from the tower

Beacon Hill Park

Victoria, BC; Canada
Parking: Free

Beacon Hill Park is THE park to visit when in Victoria.

Feed ducks at the duck pond

Find a hidden trail

Children's Petting Zoo

Suggested Donations:

Adults $3.50

Children $2.50

Ducks

Peacocks

Goat Farm

Baby goats just born... only 1-1/2 months old!

Cute baby goat

More baby goats

Pigs

Birds

Miniature Pony

World's Largest Totem Pole

Walk the Trail from Ogden Point to Clover Park

Fly kites at Clover Park

The Olympic Mountains in Washington State are visible from the south end of the park

Victoria, Canada

Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is a quaint town on Vancouver Island. It is a great place for seniors to retire to, which explains why you will see a lot of short, gray hair around you. It may also explain why the shops close down by 8PM in downtown and the pubs, while aplenty, seem to keep their raucousness indoors.

Victoria is easy to walk as most of the sites are within the downtown core, although there are a few sites that are a bit too far to travel by foot. However, public transportation would come in handy for those attractions if you don't have a car.

Parking in downtown was a lot easier than I'd anticipated. Parkades are easy to find and the first hour is free. If you look beyond the downtown core, you'll find plenty of free limited street parking as well as metered street parking. Street parking on Sundays is free.

It's also difficult to get lost as there are free tourist maps everywhere... posted outside restaurants, in museums, etc. The ugly power boxes usually found next to lamp posts and at pedestrian crossings are also covered with a map of downtown.

My trip lasted for three days, two nights. Here is what I saw and did during that time:

Day 1

9:00 AM

Depart on ferry from Tsawwassen Terminal

11:00 AM

Arrive Swartz Bay Terminal

11:30 AM

Arrive downtown Victoria; Lunch at Dutch Bakery

12:30 PM

Explore and go shopping on Antique Row, Government Street, Market Square, and Chinatown

4:30 PM

Check into hotel

8:00 PM

Explore Inner Harbour; Dinner

Bastion Square

Antique Row

Antique Row, if truth be told, was disappointing. I was expecting to see shop after shop of antiques; of old things spilling onto the streets. However, I counted about five antique shops at the most.

I found shopping at Market Square and Store Street to be much more exciting than Antique Row.

Market Square

A sample of downtown Victoria

Welcome to Chinatown

Chinatown

Fan Tan Alley, Chinatown

Inner Harbour in the evening is quite stunning. With beautiful buildings such as the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings lining the harbor, the area makes for a wonderful night time stroll.

The Empres Hotel

Inner Harbour marina

Parliament buildings

Detail of the Legislative Assembly of BC

Royal BC Museum

Day 2

11:30 AM

Visit Hatley Castle and Gardens

1:30 PM

Lunch at Fisherman's Wharf

2:30 PM

Visit Royal BC Museum

4:00 PM

Explore Cook Street Village*

5:00 PM

Explore Oak Bay Village*

6:00 PM

Dessert and drink at The Soda Shoppe

7:00 PM

Explore Empress Hotel

8:00 PM

Dinner

*While both villages are equal in quaintness, Cook Street is half the size of Oak Bay which makes it less charming. If you plan to visit both, I advise going to Oak Bay first as most of the shops close at 5PM while Cook Street stays open until at least 6PM.