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Royal British Columbia Museum
Attractions in Victoria

The best of Victoria, beginning at Royal British Columbia Museum

This is a list led by museums or galleries, 32 of its 47. We list 32 places to visit inside Victoria’s municipal boundary and 15 within 5 km of its edge. The centre alone has 14 within 1 km. A day out reaches Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, 33 km away.

Photo: Royal British Columbia Museum, Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In Victoria
32
inside the municipal boundary
Within 5 km
15
of the town’s edge
Museums & galleries
32
in or near town
Forts & historic sites
6
in or near town
Best known

The names to know in Victoria

MuseumRoyal British Columbia Museumin town · 350K visitors a year (2012)MuseumCraigdarrochin town · 150K visitors a yearCathedralSt. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedralin townCathedralChrist Church Cathedralin townMuseumArt Gallery of Greater Victoriain townMuseumHelmcken Housein town

Each has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.

The map

Mapped

At the edge of the map sits Fort Rodd Hill, 7.1 km out.

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The dashed line is Victoria’s municipal boundary; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · Statistics Canada 2021 outline

By kind

What sort of places

Museums & galleries 24 museums · 8 art galleries23 in town · 9 nearby
Forts & historic sites 3 historic sites · 2 cathedrals · 1 fort5 in town · 1 nearby
Gardens & estates 2 gardens1 in town · 1 nearby
Zoos, theme parks & days out 4 zoos · 2 water parks2 in town · 4 nearby
Other attractions 1 attraction1 in town

Green: inside Victoria. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.

Every place

Every entry

Pacific Undersea Gardens

Zoo · 100 m outside town, to the west

Aquarium in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Zoo

Sealand of the Pacific

Zoo · 1.6 km outside town, to the southeast

Aquarium in South Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada.

The 32 inside Victoria come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Provincial and city parks are on the Outdoors page instead.

Historic places in Victoria → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Victoria →

Big names nearby

Bigger names, a drive away

National park · Parks CanadaGulf Islands National Park Reserve33 km northeast

Places well known beyond Victoria (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Parks Canada property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.

Quick answers on Victoria

What are the main attractions in Victoria?

The best known inside Victoria’s municipal boundary are Craigdarroch, St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.

Does Victoria have a museum?

In or within 5 km of Victoria: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Helmcken House and University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries.

Is there a Parks Canada property near Victoria?

None within 5 km; the nearest, run by Parks Canada, is the one named above, 33 km northeast.

How is this list made?

Four open sources feed it (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, ODCAF and the federal and Québec heritage registers), merged so each place appears once. Forts, houses, lighthouses and churches stay only with a sign they are open to visitors, and businesses such as hotels, restaurants and tour operators are left out. Every place is tied to the town by its 2021 outline, or by lying within 5 km of it.

Places to visit: Canada publishes no open tourism list, so this one is assembled from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), Wikidata (CC0), Statistics Canada’s ODCAF museums and galleries (2020, Open Government Licence – Canada), the federal and Québec heritage registers and CPCAD’s national parks, and it reflects what mappers and editors have recorded. Forts, houses, lighthouses and churches count only with a sign that visitors are welcome. Places sit in each town’s 2021 census outline; visitor counts are Wikidata’s latest, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (15)

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).