Visitors come to this Vancouver Island city to be immersed in natural beauty, and they stay for the relaxed vibes, small-town charm and a dining scene that draws on the richness of the surrounding forests and ocean.
By Sarah Musgrave
You might say that Victoria is aging in reverse: It’s getting younger, hipper and more upwardly mobile as the years go by. The picturesque capital of British Columbia was long the city of the “newly wed and nearly dead,” where nightlife was set on low and polar fleece on high. Now, with a booming tech industry and real-estate market, the demographics are changing, just ask Harry and Meghan, who spent a winter here a few years ago. Yet it’s still a compelling gateway to all the georgeousness of the Pacific Northwest, with its driftwood beaches and lush rainforests. From cushy spas to a buzzier-than-ever culinary scene, there’s sense that Big Nature is never far away, in fact, it’s welcome in. Sure, you can still order afternoon tea in a Victorian mansion, but take one sip of a spruce-tip cocktail and you get the current vibe: outdoorsmopolitan.
Morning
On Vancouver Island, all roads lead to the sea, and that includes bike paths. I’m cruising past the spectacular flower beds of Beacon Hill Park, a 183-acre expanse that’s manicured in the front, wild in the back, where it joins the rocky shoreline. There, marine biologist Amanda Swinimer of Dakini Tidal Wilds is waiting to give me a tour.
“I thought dolphins were my jam,” says Swinimer, “but then I discovered seaweed.” She spends her days as a profesional mermaid, snorkeing, sustainability harvesting and educating people about an underwater universe to be discovered and tasted. Hair whipped by the sunny breeze, Swinimer explains that everything in the ocean, from tiny zooplankton to orcas, relies on seaweed for nutrients, and that this region has the greatest cold-water seaweed diversity on the planet.
I sample a few species of these “environmental superheroes,” which also have benefits for human health: nori, impossibly stretchy when wet, sea lettuce with an energizing chlorophyll boost, and mellow-flavored dulse (my personal favorite). Amanda shows me disc-shaped rainvbow wrack seaweed that goes iridescent when wet, and feather boa kelp that she tosses around her neck, ready for a night out. Her hand-harvested winged kelp and bull kelp are supplied to local distilleries like Sheringham Distillery, which makes a world-renowned gin, as well as to top restaurants in the city.
For a bigger taste of the goods, I head to Finest at Sea, a nearby boutique and food truck that serves up top-notch fish and chips with halibut, sockeye salmon, lingcod or sablefish, all caught by local fisherman. I dig into kelp pakoras, delicate green inside and served with a sparky mint chutney, while looking at the colorful homes of the postcard-cute Fisherman’s Wharf.
Afternoon
Victoria may be growing fast, but its historic center is easy to get to know. I wander into Munro’s Books, a treasure trove of Canadian and current literature. Taking in the coffered ceiling of this neoclassical building, I get why it’s often listed among the world’s most beautiful bookstores. Around the corner, the Mark Loria Gallery displays Indigenous art from dozens of Northwest Coast artists, including the mesmerizing work of Haida and Tlingit sculptor-painter Robert Davidson. A few blocks away, I’m shimmying along narrow Fan Tan Alley in Victoria’s Chinatown, the oldest in Canada, when I notice the Umbrellatorium, a shop dedicated to the must-have Vancouver Island accessory.
But my real afternoon indulgence is the Magnolia Hotel & Spa, a small luxury property where street-level doors swing open into a cushioned, instantly chill interior. The discerning on-site spa uses organic products from Australian wellness brand Endota for its Rest & Restore massage, which envelops me with gentle scents and touch. My practitioner, Akane, was born in Japan, studied in France and wound up in Victoria “because it’s so beautiful,” we say in unison. The treatment finishes with Endota’s Clove & Mint Recovery Balm. I feel cocooned and deeply connected to pure nature. Not so pure, through, that happy hour isn’t calling my name, and, fortunately, the Magnolia has a map for that! The hotel curates trails for best-in-Victoria wellness, breweries and, yes, cocktails.
Evening
My first stop is the clean-lined bar of the Magnolia’s own Courtney Room, and my first request is Potatoes Courtney, duck fat is the not-so-secret ingredient in these crisped batons. I balance that decadence with Peter Rabbit-worthy crudités from Littlest Acre Organics and Square Root Farm. It’s clear that local bounty inspires the menu, sensitively executed by the restaurant’s award-winning chef, Brian Tesolin. From the hand-illustrated seasonal cocktail list, I ordered a mocktail for a change: sparkling spruce juice for invigorating evergreen, blended with grape verjus from the Okanagan and lemon oil.
The sun is setting as I peek into Wind Cries Mary and Clive’s Classic Lounge, two premium cocktail purveyors, on my way to the newest hot spot in town, Marilena Café & Raw Bar. In many ways, the story of its executive chef mirrors the ambitions of the city itself: Kristion Eligh grew up here, worked as a dishwasher, earned his stripes at top Vancouver kitchens and returned to Victoria to raise the bar. He’s not just an accomplished chef, he’s also an avid free diver, there’s no better pairing of qualities in someone serving you fine seafood. Nor is there a better setting to enjoy it than this dramatically lit space, showcasing dishes like crispy-skinned black cod with homemade XO sauce, exquisitely torched hamachi and burrata with local balsamic. Eligh shows me the daringly open kitchen (“Nowhere to hide!”) and glinting wine cellar, and observes the seafood towers in his busy dining room with a smile. “I really wanted to come home,” he says. After a day of sheer bliss this home never looked so good.
Where to stay
Fairmont Empress
Traditional, trendy and oh-so-tulipy, the Empress has presided over the Inner Harbour since 1908. The lobby’S massive hand-cut crystal chandelier sets a tone for whimsical elegance across the 431-room property, and guests are invited to dress for teatime, the better to enjoy a selection of premium teas and dainty snacks, all served on gold-edged china.
Ask your advisor about Ensemble Exclusive Amenities at this property.
