{"id":16761,"date":"2015-06-09T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=16761"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:35:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:35:08","slug":"weekend-in-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/weekend-in-victoria\/","title":{"rendered":"A Weekend Trip to Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tucked into the southern end of Vancouver Island in a protected harbor, Victoria<\/a>, Canada, is a small city of fairy tale proportions. Setting the scene with\u00a0ships bobbing in the bay, street performers strumming a tune, and grand, ivy-covered buildings watching over the waterfront, every angle feels as though it has been imagined by a master illustrator. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If this description seems a tad too ideal; think again, it\u2019s real. Canada\u2019s mildest city has a way of working itself into the plot of travelers’ storybooks. The second I mention Victoria<\/a>\u00a0to those who\u2019ve visited, their heads tilt to the side, their lips lock into a smile, and they breathe a little more deeply.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coupled with its easy-to-reach milieu between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, visitors flock to B.C.\u2019s capital city on cruise ships, ferry boats, sailboats, seaplanes, and helicopters\u2014all of which congregate in the horseshoe-shaped Inner Harbor.<\/span><\/p>\n

This street-meets-sea location is where most 48-hour Victoria storybooks start and end. It\u2019s also the perfect perch to catch a front-row seat to the famous <\/span>Water Ballet<\/a>, a tradition spanning a quarter century performed by a quintet of Victoria Harbour Ferry skippers who maneuver their boats like ballerinas every weekend (Saturdays at 10:45 a.m., July-August; Sundays at 10:45 a.m., May-September).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Victoria’s Chinatown<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

My skipper, a retired Coast Guard reveling in his slower-paced career, is not the kind of guy one might expect to pli\u00e9 and pirouette, but performing in the 10-minute show is one of his greatest joys. \u201cWe practice every Wednesday and Sunday,\u201d he tells me as we discuss the dance and boat company’s ballet moves, which are, surprisingly, as tight as The Rockettes’.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jokingly, my captain blames ice cream for his non-traditional ballet bod as he drops my family off at Miner\u2019s Landing where we spot an ice cream truck parked on the wharf. While we usually scream for ice cream, the presence of sea-salted air has us hankering for something from the ocean.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We find it at <\/span>Red Fish Blue Fish<\/a>, a dockside shipping container serving sustainable seafood; think: B.C.-caught halibut fish and chips, wild salmon tacones, and local fried oysters. During summer the lunch and dinner line-up can grow longer than a fishing line, so get there early or at off-peak meal times. For a quicker catch, walk up to the chef\u2019s newest venture, Fishhook, where a more intricate menu of tartines and salads means your fish fry just got elevated.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sweet treats at The Fairmont Empress Afternoon Tea<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Just a few blocks inland, we walk to Canada\u2019s oldest Chinatown, where red and yellow lanterns dance in the wind and vintage neon signs signal Szechuan and dim sum. Once the main entry point for Chinese miners and railway workers, the area is at once steeped in tradition and today, juxtaposing tea emporiums and herbalists with organic juice shops and bamboo markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Viewfinder Tip: The most spectacular way to reach Victoria is by air aboard\u00a0<\/span>Helijet<\/a>, a 35-min jaunt from Vancouver.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the ultimate conclusion to your Victoria storybook, head back toward the sea for <\/span>Afternoon Tea<\/a>\u00a0at <\/span>The Fairmont Empress<\/a>. Nicknamed \u201cCastle on the Coast\u201d for its prime piece of real estate fronting the Inner Harbor, the iconic hotel has been welcoming guests and serving tea on its own Royal-appointed china since 1908.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over cucumber finger sandwiches\u2014crust off, of course!\u2014raisin scones perfected over the past century, and treats such as rose crisps served on a traditional tiered tray, I linger, and linger some more while sipping my steaming orange-pineapple infusion.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this moment, it becomes abundantly clear why Victoria admirers can\u2019t help but tilt their heads and smile when they recall the petite city with grandiose charms\u2014it takes travel into fairy tale territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

What cities have you visited that invoke a fairy tale frame of mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Explore Victoria Travel Packages<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finding fairy tale adventures in Canada's mildest maritime city<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1877,1867,1784,1782,1777,1816,1780,1788,1797,1774,1873,1818,1793,1776,1896],"tags":[],"authors":[2232],"class_list":["post-16761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-canada","category-cruise","category-destinations","category-family","category-food-and-drink","category-inspiration","category-interests","category-luxury","category-occasions-and-seasons","category-spring","category-summer","category-things-to-do","category-type-of-vacation","category-vancouver","authors-trip-styler","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Weekend Trip to Victoria | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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