🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Mar24.180239.559@cs.sfu.ca>, ekaas@cs.sfu.ca (Erik Kaas) writes:
> 
> I'll be visiting Victoria, B.C. for a long weekend at the end of April.
> I already have the address of a nice bed&breakfast place, but what I'm
> looking for is informaton on `must-sees', nice (romantic) restaurants,
> and especially 'must-sees-that-not-all-tourists-know-about' (all in 
> and around Victoria).

It really depends on what you like doing for your "must-sees".  If you're a
scuba diver, you really must dive the breakwater downtown.  It's an underwater
marine park with lots of stuff to see in an environment tame enough for
beginners (a lot of checkout and training dives are done there).

There is a tourist information center at the Inner Harbour.

On my list of must-sees (in addition to those already posted):
- The Royal BC Museum.
- Drive to the top of Mt. Doug park and enjoy the 360 degree view.  The top of
Mt. Tolmie also has a good view of the city.
- The newly-opened Butterfly World on W. Saanich Rd is beautiful, especially if
you've got an hour or two to kill on a rainy afternoon.   You walk among the
butterflies; they may even decide to land on you.
- The town of Chemainus has about 20 murals on the outside of their buildings. 
It's about an hour's drive from Victoria.  Lots of small shops.  Great for
picture-taking.  Enjoy the view from the Malahat on the drive up.

For casual walks around Victoria, you can do any of:
- Beacon Hill Park
- walk from West Bay marina in Esquimalt all the way to downtown, stop at the 
ice cream place on Government St, and walk back or continue on past the Inner
Harbour, Fisherman's Wharf, and all the way to Clover Point and back to
Esquimalt.  If you do this whole walk, you'll be tired!

Restaurants:
- Camille's in Bastion Square down-town.  Relaxed and romantic.  Plan on 1-2
hours.  My personal favorite.
- Chandlers has good seafood but is too crowded to be considered "romantic".

On the drive in from the ferry, you can detour to Island View beach.  Hang a
left on Island View road.  There's a traffic light at the intersection and some
kind of big red barn on your left.  Also, just off the highway is Beaver/Elk
Lake.  Stop for a picnic if it's a nice day.  You can also walk completely
around the two lakes (they're joined so most people actually consider it one
lake).  The walk is about 8km.

-- 
Ed Wilts, BC Systems, 4000 Seymour Place, Victoria, B.C., Canada, V8X 4S8
EWilts@Galaxy.Gov.BC.CA     Office:  (604) 389-3430   Fax: (604) 389-3412