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The City of Victoria itself is 
compact, covering just nine square 
miles, with a population of about 
102,000. But it also forms the urban 
core of a region, which includes 12 
other municipalities, of more than 
460,000 people.
Downtown Victoria’s reputation 
as a clean city is no accident but 
the result of concerted efforts. 
The DVBA funds a Clean Team that 
goes out every morning to spruce 
up the sidewalks.
“I don’t think most visitors who 
come downtown and go to our 
cultural institutions and shops 
ever, ever feel that it’s dirty at all,” 
Hallsor says.
It's the Climate
The capital of British Columbia, 
Canada’s westernmost province, 
Victoria also owes its accolades 
to its geography. Nestled on the 
southern tip of Vancouver Island, 
Victoria is blessed with Canada’s 
most favorable climate. Its record 
high temperature of 103.6 degrees F 
was set June 28, 2021 and its lowest 
was 5 degrees F in 1968.
The waters of Juan de Fuca 
Strait, which connect to 
the open Pacific 
Ocean, range 
from 45 to 55 degrees F from winter 
to summer, moderating Victoria’s 
climate in all seasons. This results 
in mild summers that rarely reach 
stifling temperatures, while its 
winters produce far less snow, 
sometimes none, compared with 
other Canadian locales.
Victoria receives annual 
precipitation of about 24 inches, a 
fraction of what falls on the nearby 
metropolises of Vancouver and 
Seattle. That is due to the Olympic 
Mountains, across Juan de Fuca 
Strait from Victoria, acting as a rain 
shadow.
Garden City
Just enough rain falls on the region 
to produce perfect conditions for 
growing flowers, thus earning Victoria 
the nickname City of Gardens. 
During the summer, about 1,200 
flowers basket adorn five-globe lamp 
standards all over downtown.
World-renowned Butchart 
Gardens ranks as the region’s most 
celebrated attraction. Open year-
round, its floral offerings change 
with the season. The signature 
feature of the 55-acre National 
Historic Site is the sunken garden 
hewn from a former limestone 
quarry over a century ago under the 
guidance of Jenny Butchart, whose 
descendants still own and operate 
The Gardens.
FRS Clipper offers Butchart Tour 
packages that include shuttles to 
the gardens. These can be booked 
onboard! 
Songhees Tours guide shares Lək̓ʷəŋən history 
and language with visitors. (Songhees Tours)
The Sunken Garden at Butchart Gardens 
ranks among southern Vancouver Island’s 
signature attractions. (Butchart Gardens/
Destination Greater Victoria)
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