Victoria sits at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, the capital of British Columbia and the very British city that nobody expects on the Pacific coast. The Inner Harbour is the center of it, with the Parliament Buildings outlined in lights at night and the grand old Fairmont Empress hotel facing across the water, and ferries, seaplanes and little harbor taxis crowd the dock. The Hudson's Bay Company built a fort here in 1843, and the town grew from it, with a Chinatown that is among the oldest in Canada.
The weather is mild, the mildest in Canada, with flowers blooming early in the year and Beacon Hill Park a mass of color in spring. The city is known for afternoon tea, pubs, bookshops and a gentle pace of life, and it has a lively, walkable downtown. Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway lies at the edge of the park, where the road begins its long way east across the country. Butchart Gardens, a spectacular garden in a former quarry, is a short drive north.
The Pacific Marine Circle Route starts here. The loop follows Highway 14 west through Sooke, along a coast of rocky coves and driftwood beaches, to Port Renfrew, then crosses the island through Lake Cowichan and returns south on the Trans-Canada over the Malahat, a steep, winding highway with big views over Saanich Inlet. Along the way, the forest is huge, with old cedar and Douglas fir, and the rain, when it comes, is persistent. The roads have gentle curves with some tight bends, and the surface is generally good, though logging trucks and tourist traffic are common.
Victoria has all the services: fuel, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels, though downtown parking is tight. The ferry terminal at Swartz Bay, about thirty kilometers north, links to the mainland. The best months are June to September, with dry, mild weather, though fog on the coast is common in summer mornings. Winter is wet and gray, and the west coast road can be slick with rain and fallen needles. Watch for deer, which are bold and plentiful here, and for cyclists on the narrow shoulders.