Travel Canada’s capital cities: Victoria, B.C.

Whether you’re planning a family road trip or a weekend staycation, check out our list of things to do in Canada’s capital cities.

Favourite indoor activity: If
creepy-crawlies are your thing,
explore the Bug Zoo, which features
Canada’s largest ant farm. Brave
kiddos can even hold a 400-legged
millipede (beware: it is the size of
your forearm!). bugzoo.bc.ca

Favourite outdoor activity:
It’s easy to fill an afternoon at
Beacon Hill Park. Walk through
the gardens, fly a kite and visit
the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm,
where you’ll witness the daily goat
stampedes. Watching the baby goats
run and jump can be quite the silly
sight. beaconhillpark.com

Best-kept secret: Have a
prospector on your hands? Pan
for gold and gemstones or collect
some and rocks at The Scratch
Patch. Dino digs are featured in
the summer months. Admission is
free, but you’ll have to pay for your
collecting bag. mineralworld.ca/scratch-patch

Great place to eat: You can’t visit
the west coast without sampling
some seafood. Red Fish Blue Fish
is in a cargo container on a wooden
pier in Victoria’s inner harbour.
Step up and order delicious fish and
chips, or a tasty tacone (taco-cones).
redfish-bluefish.com

Great place to stay: A few years
back, ducks moved into the water
features at the Hotel Grand Pacific.
This inspired the “Just Ducky”
kid’s package (for three- to eightyear-
olds). The package includes a
duck colouring book and crayons
on arrival, plus evening delivery
of animal crackers and a rubber
ducky for a special bubble bath.
hotelgrandpacific.com

Worth the drive: Take in the
scenery on a self-guided tour of the
island on the Pacific Marine Coastal
Circle Route. The 255-km circle
route takes you through several
small communities, plus a chance
to explore rainforests, beaches and
hiking trails. Make a day of it, or
extend the road trip and stop at a
B&B along the way.

Originally published in ParentsCanada, July 2012