Victoria belongs to you now - visiting Victoria, British Columbia during the off-season

Sunset, March, 1996 by Steven R. Lorton

Explore B.C.'s capital city during the uncrowded off-season

If you've ever visited British Columbia's capital city in summer, you remember a Victoria swarming with tourists. Long lines of visitors queue up for tea at the Empress Hotel, and so many people pack the paths at The Butchart Gardens that it can be difficult to stop and smell the roses. But during the off-season (January through April), there are no lines. In addition, many shops put merchandise on sale, and clerks have time to fuss over customers. Hotels throughout the city offer seasonal discounts and packages that, coupled with the favorable rate of exchange for U.S. dollars, make Victoria a bargain. (All prices listed here are in Canadian dollars.)

Be sure to stop by the 1908 Empress Hotel overlooking the Inner Harbour, if for no other reason than to wander down its vast, wood-paneled halls and peek into the lavish public rooms and shops. In the Edwardian lobby, under portraits of King George V and Queen Mary, afternoon tea is served from 12:30 to 5 daily. This tea is actually a filling feast of crumpets, scones, assorted pastries, sandwiches, and fresh fruit; it costs $22 per person. If you'd like to spend the night in one of the hotel's newly refurbished rooms, the rate is $136, double occupancy, including your choice of afternoon tea, admission to The Butchart Gardens, or an evening visit to the lobby lounge to partake of Death by Chocolate, a dessert bar filled with delicacies like chocolate Kahlua cake and white chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis. For reservations, call (800) 441-1414.

At the Royal B.C. Museum, just across Belleville Street from the Empress, linger among the collections of art from the Northwest's native Haida, Kwakiutl, Salish, and Tlingit cultures. Without the summertime crowds, you can step back and view the giant cedar totems, masks, longhouse, clothing, baskets, and other artifacts that this museum is famous for. Hours are 10 to 5:30 daily. Admission costs $5.35, $2.14 ages 6 through 18, $3.21 students and ages 65 and over.

Directly behind the Empress, in the 700 block of Douglas Street, you can have Crystal Garden pretty much to yourself, the better to hear the splash of the waterfalls and the squawk of the parrots as you stroll through the lush tropical gardens under a giant glass roof. Orchids will be in bloom in the upper-level garden; downstairs you can spend hours in front of the habitats of the tiny, energetic golden lion tamarins. Crystal Garden is open. from 10 to 4:30 daily. Admission costs $6.50, $4 ages 6 through 16 and 65 and over.

At The Butchart Gardens, about 13 miles north of downtown Victoria on Provincial Highway 17, the early flower show features spring-blooming bulbs: anemone, crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, scilla, and tulips. Sweeps of primroses fill beds. And camellias, early plum and cherry blossoms, daphne, forsythia, and heather pop out in full force. The Butchart Gardens is open from 9 to 4 daily. For admission costs and directions to the garden, call (604) 652-4422.

For lodging information and reservations, call Tourism Victoria at (800) 663-3883; for information about performances and special events, call (604) 953-2033. Or drop by the information center at 812 Wharf Street across from the Empress between 9 and 5 daily to pick up free maps and brochures. From downtown Seattle, the Victoria Clipper makes a daily round-trip cruise to Victoria; call (206) 448-5000, or (800) 888-2535 outside Seattle. B.C. Ferries makes regular runs from Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver, British Columbia, to Swartz Bay, 16 miles north of Victoria; call (604) 277-0277.