Victoria bound? Don’t miss out on this walking tour
If you travel frequently, chances are you’ve taken a walking tour. Not only does it give a city more character, it’s also an opportunity to meet other travellers with similar interests, like art and architecture, history and culture, and food. Besides getting a little exercise, the benefit of walking tours is that they make you stop walking and learn a few things, or maybe stop and nibble. And you don’t need a passport to walk this way in Victoria.
Having lived in Victoria for a decade, I thought I knew the city inside and out. Wrong. I met Dave Mason, with his company Come See Victoria, outside the Visitor Centre at the Inner Harbour. “Guess what was originally built here,” he said, reaching into his backpack for a folder of laminated photographs (this walk is illustrated with 15 archives photos). Something to do with customs or immigration? “This art deco building was a gas station, built in 1931. And across the street, where the Empress Hotel stands, was once a swampy bog before the harbour was dredged and mixed with gravel from Fernwood,” said Mason with a grin. I learned a lot in the next two hours. I was historically inspired.
“Victoria’s downtown has a wealth of 19th century buildings,” said Mason, adding that people in Victoria love their heritage. “How many Victorians does it take to change a light bulb?” he quipped. “Four, including three to form a committee to save the old light bulb.” It’s always fun to have an entertaining guide. And I learned to look up. Bastion Square and Harpo’s nightclub was a regular hangout back in the day, but I never noticed Sir Matthew Begbie’s home and the ornamental brickwork. Or how many times I
walked over these bricks along Government Street, not knowing they are engraved with the names of early pioneers and settlers, never noticing the 125-year-old gaslight in Trounce Alley. “Every building has a story,” added Mason, and he can certainly tell those stories.
Maybe you’re the type of person that the mere mention of a walking tour means too many streets to meander before you start thinking about lunch. If so, A Taste Of Victoria Food Tours with Andy Olson is right up your alley. He suggests you bring an appetite. As well, Victoria has the second-highest number of restaurants per capita in North America — so many choices with such little time. Within two hours we had eight tastings, from meatballs to macarons. We started at the Hudson Public Market (“Olive the Senses” was a big hit with all ten of us, and I brought
home several little bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a heavenly butternut squash seed oil) and ended at Rogers Chocolates. “I work with 16 vendors, so we can easily do a vegan tour,” Olson said, as I tucked
into a crispy chicharon (deep-fried pork rind). “I was a patron of all these places and I had taken food tours in over 40 countries before I got the courage and capital to quit my tech job and start my own company,” said Olson. Passionate, informative and efficient, Olson peppers his tours with a little history of Chinatown and the Empress Hotel, where we end the tour, bellies full.
Most people living in B.C. are looking for experiences off the beaten track ; they want to visit local neighbourhoods, eat local food and wine. Even if you’re familiar with Victoria, ToursbyLocals can take you places that only the locals know about. Sara Cooke, Director of Communications, says this Vancouver-based company has grown since 2008: it now matches travellers with 2,421 local guides in 155 countries, about 1,000 cities. Some guides offer driving
tours, while others focus on walking tours. And bonus, your canine is welcome — if you’re behind the wheel.
“A few years ago, I took my kids (then 7 and 10) to Victoria and hired Mark Egan for a few hours,” said Cooke. “He took us on short, fun trails that incorporated tree-climbing (the kids loved the twisty Garry Oaks!), and just enough hiking to get us to some beautiful viewpoints. We’ve returned to Victoria a few times since this trip, and the spots Mark showed us have become family favourites; we can’t visit the city without hiking up to Anderson Hill Park, or ducking into the ‘Ivy Cave’ along Dallas Road.”
From the top of Gonzalez Hill, Egan and I and my dog Lizzy walked down to McNeill Bay from Gonzales Hill, and not a soul in sight. I too will return to these spots.