The Best Weekend Itinerary for Victoria BC

Victoria BC is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada. Located on Vancouver Island, Victoria has waterfront views, manicured gardens, dramatic castles, and elegant tea rooms.

We recently spent a weekend in Victoria and it exceeded our expectations. From excellent restaurants to stunning flower displays, we enjoyed each day of our trip. In this post, we’re sharing the best weekend itinerary for a trip to Victoria BC. If you’ve dreamed of visiting Victoria, this is the post for you! 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases. We were gifted admission tickets to the Butchart Gardens in exchange for our honest review. We partnered with Tourism Victoria, which provided admission tickets to many of the attractions mentioned in this article.

First, Book Your Hotel in Victoria BC!

Before you get started on your weekend getaway, be sure to book your hotel in advance. If you have the budget, we recommend that you stay at the Fairmont Empress. The Fairmont Empress is the most luxurious hotel in Victoria, and it’s located directly facing the Inner Harbour. You can’t beat it’s location, and the amenities are outstanding. We recently stayed at the Fairmont Empress, and you can read our full review of the Fairmont Empress for more tips and photos.

Some other hotels in Victoria to consider include:

• Days Inn by Wyndham Victoria on the Harbor: This hotel is located right along the Inner Harbour.
• Huntingdon Manor Hotel: This is the hotel that’s affiliated with the Pendray Inn & Tea House. It’s a charming hotel!
• Hotel Grand Pacific: This is another luxurious hotel located right on the waterfront.

Friday Evening

After arriving at your hotel, we recommend that you stroll through downtown Victoria and have dinner at Il Terrazzo. Il Terrazzo is an upscale Italian restaurant with a romantic patio.

We dined there and enjoyed the dishes. Our meal started with a complimentary olive tapenade and bread, and then we shared a portion of the cannelloni.

We sat on their brick patio with plenty of plants softening the exterior. It was the perfect meal to start out our trip. Reservations are highly recommended. 

Note: Il Terrazzo isn’t particularly kid-friendly, so we recommend dining at a family-friendly spot like The Old Spaghetti Factory if you are traveling with young children.

For dessert, you can walk a short ways away and try a BeaverTail. If you’re not Canadian, visiting Victoria is a good opportunity to try this iconic dessert. A BeaverTail is a long flat pastry topped with all sorts of sweet treats. We were able to choose two different flavors for our BeaverTail, which made it easy to split for a smaller dessert. My favorite was the nutella and banana!

After dessert, if you still have some energy, we recommend grabbing a night cap at the Q Bar at the Fairmont Empress. This elegant bar is famous for its Empress Gin purple-hued cocktails. If you’re staying at the Fairmont Empress, you can easily head back to your room after you enjoy a cocktail or two.

Saturday Morning

We recommend that you get an early start to your day and head to the Butchart Gardens. If you’re looking for a quick breakfast, we enjoyed Milano Coffee. We had some egg bites and pastries and we were on our way!

After breakfast, hop on a bus (or drive yourself) to the Crown Jewel of Victoria: The Butchart Gardens! We personally took the Gray Line’s Butchart Gardens Express Shuttle when we visited the gardens. There’s a stop right outside the Fairmont Empress, so it was super easy for us to hop on the bus and see the gardens.

The Butchart Gardens is comprised of 5 distinct gardens with over 900 plant varieties spread over 55 acres. We particularly enjoyed the Sunken Gardens, the Rose Garden, and the Japanese Garden.

Saturday Afternoon

After a morning at the Butchart Gardens, you’ve likely worked up an appetite. We recommend that you return to Victoria and have afternoon tea at the Pendray Inn & Tea House. Note: You can also book tea at the Butchart Gardens if you prefer to eat before you head back to Victoria.

The Pendray Inn & Tea House is a charming property that contains gardens and a historic home. The tea service at the Pendray is incredible. We were able to choose from a variety of loose-leaf teas while we enjoyed a tower of savory sandwiches, scones, and desserts.

A short walk from the Pendray Inn & Tea House is the Parliament Building. Guests are welcome to take photos outside of the Parliament Building, and they’re also invited inside as well. There are numerous free guided tours that are scheduled throughout the year (and daily during the summer). 

Right next door to the Parliament Building is the Royal BC Museum. The museum boasts a number of permanent collections and traveling exhibitions. If you have the energy, pop in and see some of the exhibits.

Need more ideas for your trip? Check out our list of 38 things to do in Victoria BC!

Saturday Evening

For dinner, there are tons of great choices in Victoria. Victoria has more restaurants per capita than any other Canadian city! 

We really enjoyed our meal at the Irish Times. The Irish Times has actually been voted the best pub in all of North America! The restaurant resides within a gorgeous building that was constructed in 1894 for the Bank of Montreal.

We also really liked eating our way through Chinatown. There are lots of great restaurants that sell ramen, dumplings, and more.

Another idea for dinner is to book reservations for the Sunset Sips at the Fairmont Empress. They provide cocktails and a 3-tier tower loaded with tapas.

Sunday Morning

We recommend another early start to your day. For Sunday morning activities, we have two options depending on your preference:

• Whale Watching Tour
• Craigdarroch Castle

There are tons of whale watching tours that depart from Victoria’s Inner Harbour. If you’re visiting Victoria during the whale season, it’s a good opportunity to head out on an excursion and see the whales in action. Most companies offer a whale-watching guarantee, so that if you don’t see any whales, you’re provided a complimentary pass for a different day. If you’re only in Victoria for a couple of days, though, that is something to consider. Most of the tours are about 3-4 hours long, so expect to spend half a day for the tour. There are lots of different companies that offer whale-watching tours. We’ve linked this popular whale-watching tour for you to check out.

Another option is to head to Craigdarroch Castle and spend the morning exploring its history and many rooms. If you want to walk to Craigdarroch Castle from downtown Victoria, it’s about a 30-minute walk (2.5ish kilometers). There’s a bronze marker on Government Street that’s a bit deceiving… it makes it seem like Craigdarroch castle is just a quick walk away. Expect to spend about 30 minutes walking there, with some of it uphill. As an alternative, you can hop on the bus, drive yourself, or take a ride share to the castle. If you want a more unique experience, you can take a pedicab tour to the castle or you can pedal past it on a bike tour of Victoria.

Craigdarroch Castle is definitely worth seeing while you’re in Victoria. The castle itself is beautiful from the outside, but the real draw is being able to walk through its numerous rooms. The castle has been extremely well-preserved, and many artifacts are on display from the original Dunsmuir family. 

Sunday Afternoon

For lunch, we recommend that you head to Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf is a charming cluster of shops, restaurants, and homes floating on Victoria’s Inner Harbour. We were able to easily reach Fisherman’s Wharf by walking 15 minutes from our hotel at the Fairmont Empress. Fisherman’s Wharf is one of the stops on the Victoria Harbour Ferry, which is a fun little water taxi you can take as well.

Some restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf include: Puerto Vallarta Amigos (get the fish tacos!), Pirate Pizza, and Barb’s Fish and Chips.

A highlight for us at Fisherman’s Wharf was watching an otter catch a fish and swim away with it!

Summary

This concludes our perfect weekend itinerary for Victoria BC. We hope that this two-day itinerary helps you to plan the perfect trip to Victoria! Whether you enjoy restaurants, outdoor activities, or cultural attractions, there’s tons of things to do when you spend a weekend in Victoria.

Disclaimer: We always strive for content accuracy. Since the time of publishing, travel-related information regarding pricing, schedules, and hours may have changed. Please look up such information directly from each vendor or institution for the most current information.