Victoria BC Private Walking ToursExperience AMAZING Victoria! The capital city of British Columbia will delight you with buildings of astonishing beauty, goldrush era banks made into dazzling pubs, renovated victorian opium factories, world-famous gardens, and lots of other delightful sites and stories you shouldn't miss (English & Spanish guides available): |
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Learn local history along our walks of Victoria BC CanadaVictoria City started in 1843 as a Hudson Bay Company trading post, named in honour of Queen Victoria, monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India.With the FIRST (Fraser Valley) gold rush in 1858, Victoria grew rapidly as the main port of entry to the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. When the colonies combined, the City became the colonial capital and was established as the provincial capital when British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871. For most of the nineteenth century, Victoria remained the largest city in British Columbia and was the foremost in trade and commerce. However, with construction of the Transcontinental railway, the new city of Vancouver, as its terminus, emerged as the major west coast port and the largest city in British Columbia. As of the twentieth century, Victoria evolved primarily as a city of government, retirement and tourism. The City remains, however, Canada’s western naval base and home to a major fishing fleet. Ship building and repair, as well as forest products and machine manufacturing industries, continue as significant sources of employment. Increasingly, the city is developing as a hi-tech, marine, forestry and agricultural research centre. The City is also noted for its fine educational institutions which include the University of Victoria, Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific (one of only six in the world operated by United World Colleges), and the recently opened Royal Roads University. The cirty Victoria BC Walking Tours shows has an estimated regional population of 326,000, a moderate climate and scenic setting, Victoria has kept a very vital and comfortable quality of life. The City is proud of its British heritage, its fine homes and neighbourhoods, its historic and attractive downtown, the flowers and parks and, of course, the Inner Harbour with its vistas toward the famous Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings. In our Victoria BC Walking Tours Free Introductory Walk (and also in our Victoria BC Walking Tours Private Historical Walking Areas tours) we show you where (site) Victoria was chosen for settlement in 1843 by James Douglas, a chief factor at the Hudson Bay Company [HBC] at Fort Vancouver (Vancouver, Wash), near the mouth of the Columbia River. A boundary settlement between the US and then British North America was anticipated, and in the event that the 49th parallel was extended to the Pacific, which did occur in 1846, the HBC wanted an alternative fur trading headquarters site under development. The smaller harbour of Camosack (Victoria Harbour) was chosen over that of Esquimalt for the establishment of Fort Victoria (named after Queen VICTORIA) because it was bordered by extensive tracts of land suitable for agriculture. Originally the area was occupied by Lekwungen (now called Songhees) Aboriginal people who fished and harvested camas bulbs and cherry bark here. The place was associated with the Songhees legend of a wilful girl named Camossung who was turned to stone by Haylas, the mystical transformer. A promontory on the harbour was a sacred site where cradles for infant children were blessed in pre-colonial times. Victoria managed to became a seat of government in 1849 when the colony of Vancouver (Van Coeverden) Island was created. James Douglas, having succeeded Richard Blanshard as governor, concluded 11 treaties with local Aboriginal groups between 1850 and 1854 to secure title to land in the vicinity of Victoria (he married a local aborigine girl). By the terms of the Douglas Treaties, the Crown recognized existing Aboriginal village sites and acknowledged traditional Aboriginal hunting and fishing rights; in exchange, for cash and trade goods, Aboriginal leaders ceded title of their territories to the Crown. The treaties have featured in several land claims disputes in Victoria and nearby communities in recent years. Victoria remained a small community of less than 1000 population until it became the supply centre and jumping-off point for the FRASER RIVER GOLD RUSH of 1858. It was the also the base for the Cariboo Gold Rush when incorporated as a city in 1862. The convenient Esquimalt Harbour nearby was designated as a naval base by the British Admiralty in 1865 and still serves this role today as CFB Esquimalt. Victoria's political capital function remained through the successive stages as capital of the colony of Vancouver Island, then of the amalgamated colony of British Columbia (1866) and province of British Columbia (1871). As the metropolitan centre of BC, Victoria was unchallenged until the rise of Vancouver following the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) at Burrard Inlet in 1886. Although it was a terminus of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (1886), an important regional line, Victoria's relative economic position declined. By the turn of the 20th century, Vancouver had taken over many of the shipping, commercial and manufacturing functions of Victoria, and the capital city gradually settled into its modern role as a government, naval, tourist and retirement centre. The rehabilitation of Old Town, the late 19th century commercial core around Bastion Square, began in the 1980s. Victoria's Chinatown, the oldest in Canada, was also revitalized then and is now graced by the colourful and decorative Gate of Harmonious Interest. Still, several heritage buildings have been replaced by modern, highrise structures in the city centre, as downtown businesses struggle to compete with commercial and residential developments in neighbouring Saanich, Langford and Colwood. A consequence of this suburban growth is aggravated traffic congestion known as the "Colwood crawl" on the approaches to Victoria. Compared with other large Canadian cities, Victoria's metropolitan area population is older and more strongly of British origin, despite the infusion of other ethnic groups over the last 50 years. In 2006, both the city and metropolitan area had the highest proportion of population over the age of 80 and the third-highest over the age of 65 among other Canadian cities. The mother tongue of Victorians is overwhelmingly English, followed by Chinese, French and German. In the city of Victoria, 12% of residents were classified as visible minorities, the most prominent being Chinese, South Asians and Blacks. In the larger metropolitan area, visible minorities made up 10% of the population, with Chinese, South Asians and Filipinos being prominent constituents. Aboriginal people comprise nearly 4% of the population, the largest groups being the Tsawout and Tsartlip on the Saanich Peninsula, and the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations closer to the city centre. A majority of Victorians profess a religious faith, Christianity having most adherents. Protestants outnumber Roman Catholics by a ratio of 2:1. The city has a significant and growing homeless population. The city operates several emergency and transitional shelters, and has purchased former motels and downtown rooming houses in an effort to accommodate this population. The prominence of government and tourism in Victoria's economy—we at Victoria BC Walking Tours help promote—means a high proportion of the labour force being engaged in public administration, personal services and retail trade. The lack of a well-populated area on the narrow southern tip of Vancouver Island has constricted the growth of wholesale trade, and Victoria's isolation from major mainland markets has discouraged industries and manufacturing. Some industries have shifted to the mainland in recent years, but others, particularly in the research and development of high technology, have moved into the area. Companies affiliated with the Victoria Advanced Technology Council (established in 1989) employ more than 13,000 people. Victoria is well endowed with educational and fine arts institutions. The University of Victoria (UVIC) (founded in 1963) grew out of Victoria College (1903), which was originally affiliated with McGill University and subsequently with the University of British Columbia. Other institutions include the Victoria Conservatory of Music (1964) and Camosun College (1971). In 1995, the former Royal Roads Military College was restructured as Royal Roads University, and in 2005 one of Canada's first private for-profit universities, University Canada West, opened in the city. The Royal British Columbia Museum and Butchart Gardens (20 km northwest) are leading attractions for visitors. The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Opera Victoria and annual music and dramatic festivals have enhanced the city's reputation in the arts. Canada's first artificial ice rink was built in Victoria in 1911. Since then, from time to time, the city has supported professional hockey, along with pro and semi-pro baseball and lacrosse. Victoria played host to the Commonwealth Games in 1994 and the annual Royal Victoria Marathon (1979) is one of the premier competitions in Canada. | ||||||||
Walking Tours of Victoria BCThis column has a list of our Private Victoria BC Walking Tours which you can just join in, as these walks are NOT private, or reserved. Click any box for more information. |
Victoria BC Private ToursThis column has a list of those of our Walks offered in private, exclusive mode. |
Victoria BC Tour GuidesClick here to read all about our guides: who they are, how they are selected, what is their background. |
Victoria BC SightseeingClick here to find general information on things to see and do. |
Guided Victoria BC night tourWe have three different kinds of activities depending on the time of year. Guided Victoria, BC ToursThere are several "special neighborhoods" in Victoria BC. We visit the 2 most sophisticated: Uplands and Oak Bay Guided Victoria BC Uplands ToursJoin our "Victoria BC for European & South American Visitors" walk. Guided Victoria BC Oak Bay ToursJoin us to see where and how our city is called "Behind the Tweed Curtain"! Guided Victoria BC Broadmead ToursWe'll visit the colorful & picturesque Broadmead and Cordoba Bay areas. Guided Victoria BC Day ToursIf you are short of time or stopping over or just want a good comprehensive start we visit all main landmarks in one day. Guided Victoria BC Historic ToursThe story of Sir James Douglas and the sites where the fort was started in 1842 |
Private Victoria BC night tourWe have three different kinds of activities depending on the time of year. There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. Private Victoria BC ToursThere are several "special neighborhoods" in Victoria BC. We visit the 2 most sophisticated: Uplands and Oak Bay: There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. Private Victoria BC Uplands ToursJoin our "Victoria BC for European & South American Visitors" walk. There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. Private Victoria BC Oak Bay ToursJoin us to see where and how our city is called "Behind the Tweed Curtain"! There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. Private Victoria BC Broadmead ToursWe'll visit the colorful & picturesque Broadmead and Cordoba Bay areas. There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. Private Victoria BC Day ToursIf you are short of time or stopping over or just want a good comprehensive start we visit all main landmarks in one day. There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. Private Victoria BC Historic ToursThe story of Sir James Douglas and the sites where the fort was started in 1842. There is a 200% surcharge for this walk as a Private Walk. |
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Things to do in Victoria BCClick here for a dated list of interesting city events. What to do in Victoria BC
(we apologize while this section is being updated)
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