Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria's Inner Harbour with The Empress hotel at the left and government buildings at the center

Victoria is the capital city of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is named after Queen Victoria. Over 350,000 people live in the Victoria area. Many people work for the government or in tourism. It is warmer than other Canadian cities in the winter, so many Canadians move there when they retire.

Victoria is on Vancouver Island. Most people travel there by boat (ferry) from Vancouver, or from Washington State. Victoria has three ferry docks and an airport, Victoria International Airport.

Victoria has one of the mildest climates in Canada, with gardens blooming year-round.

Some tourist attractions are the Butchart Gardens and the Royal British Columbia Museum. Some of the best-known buildings are the government buildings and the Empress Hotel, and both are by the Inner Harbour.

The first people to live in the area were the Coast Salish native people. People from England built Fort Victoria in 1843. Victoria became a city in 1862.

18,000 students study at the University of Victoria. Other people study at Camosun College, Royal Roads University, University Canada West, Victoria College of Art, and the Canadian College of Performing Arts. Students from all over the world study at Pearson College, near Victoria.

The Canadian navy has ships in a part of the city called Esquimalt.

Some of the parks include Beacon Hill Park, East Sooke Park, Mount Work Park, and Mount Douglas Park.

There are many flowers in Victoria; it is called the "city of gardens." It is a lot drier than places nearby, and has little snow.

Some well-known people from Victoria are:

Jamie Benn (hockey)
Emily Carr (art)
Steve Nash (basketball)
David Foster (music)
Nelly Furtado (singer)
Kyle Germaine Johnson (Pro Biker)

Regions of Victoria

The Victoria area is made up of 13 parts. Four of them make up Greater Victoria:

Victoria
Saanich
Esquimalt
Oak Bay

Three of them make up the Saanich Peninsula:

Sidney
Central Saanich
North Saanich

The others make up the Western Communities:

Colwood
Langford
View Royal
Metchosin
Sooke
Highlands

This short article about a place or feature can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

Victoria, British Columbia Media

Wawadit'la, also known as Mungo Martin House, a Kwakwaka'wakw "big house", with heraldic pole. Built by Chief Mungo Martin in 1953. Located at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, British Columbia.
View of Victoria from James Bay in 1862. The city was incorporated that year as a result of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve members stand outside the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in 1914
Bird's-eye view of Victoria in 1889. After the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886, Victoria lost its position as the commercial centre of the province to Vancouver.
Victoria in February, shortly after rainfall. The city has distinct dry and rainy seasons, with two-thirds of its annual rainfall coming from November to February.
Time series of average temperatures during summer (June, July, and August) and winter (December, January, and February) in Victoria, BC from 1978 to 2019 (weather station data from ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/noaa/). For comparison, the Global surface temperature anomaly rose by just under one degree over the same period.
Aerial view of Victoria's inner harbour facing to the east, taken in 2018.
Population Pyramid from the 2021 Census
Craigdarroch Castle in the neighbourhood of Rockland. Rockland is a historic neighbourhood just southeast of Downtown Victoria.
The Bay Centre is one of three shopping malls in Victoria.