• Feature Home
• Property Listings
• Sold Properties
• Market Updates
• Victoria
• About Martine
• Testimonials
• Resources
• Home

Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia is full of life! Victoria has the mildest climate in Canada with gardens blooming year-round. The wild beauty of the Pacific coast and the adventure of the great outdoors are within the city limits and ocean and mountain vistas will follow you wherever you go.

Victoria remembers its colourful history with First Nations totem poles, heritage architecture and afternoon tea, and bustles with the energy of a university town, having the University of Victoria, Royal Roads University and University Canada West within its limits. Shop windows are full of British imports, Native art and the latest trends. Restaurants and cafés serve the freshest cuisine. The harbour is alive with the romance of an era when tall ships moored alongside the wharf and evenings glitter as lights twinkle and cast their magic from atop the landmark British Columbia Legislative Buildings.

Victoria is a year-round tourism destination that offers a friendly, safe haven for all visitors. Getting here is very easy, and, once here, you will feel a million miles away. With a clean environment and charming ambience, it is no surprise that Victoria, BC is one of the world's favourite destinations.
Visit: www.city.victoria.bc.ca

The Municipalities

Victoria is divided into 13 different municipalities, each with their own distinct characteristics.  City of Victoria is the centre of the city physically and economically. 

Oak Bay is the bastion of old England with its village and quiet residential streets. Considered Victoria’s most British-looking neighbourhood, Oak Bay retains its British personality with Tudor-style homes, impeccable landscaping, parks, beaches and a shopping sector full of exquisite shops and tea rooms. Children of all ages delight in seeing harbour seals in their natural habitat at the Oak Bay Marina. The whole family can enjoy sandy Willows Beach and its adjoining playground. From Cattle Point, view majestic Mount Baker or watch as sailboats race by. See the former home (now the Glenlyon Norfolk School) of architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury who designed Victoria’s Legislative Buildings and The Fairmont Empress Hotel, or drive through the Uplands and marvel at the mansions that line the streets.

Saanich is the largest of the core municipalities. North of downtown, the District of Saanich offers all the charms of country life in its rural expanses and all the conveniences of urban life in its residential neighbourhoods. Saanich means "place of fertile soil" in the language of the local aboriginal people and the area abounds with lush green parks including Swan Lake, Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary and Mt. Douglas Park. Hike or drive to the top of Mt. Douglas for a panoramic 360-degree view of Greater Victoria. Pathways await explorers in search of ocean beaches, waterfront strolls, neighbourhood walks, scenic vistas and country rambles on horseback. Many countryside farms and cottages offer vegetables, fruit and flowers for sale on the honour system from roadside stands. While in Saanich, visit local attractions including The Horticulture Centre of The Pacific, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Centre of the Universe, Saanich Commonwealth Place and Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park (a mecca for swimming, rowing, windsurfing, fishing, walking and horseback riding).

Esquimalt Just a short drive or walk from downtown, over the Johnson Street Bridge, is Esquimalt, home of Canada’s navy on the west coast. Esquimalt boasts a naval museum, several historic military sites, parks overlooking the water, a number of scenic walking paths and a replica of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage at the Olde England Inn. First established as a British naval base in 1865, modern Esquimalt now has the second-largest Canadian Forces Base in the country, after Halifax, Nova Scotia. Whistles sound through the neighbourhood as trains still travel the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E & N) Railway from Victoria to Courtenay.

View Royal, Colwood, Langford, the Highlands and Metchosin, collectively named the West Shore Communities, together with Sooke, offer many diverse outdoor adventure opportunities as well as charming bed and breakfasts and country inns. This semi-rural area is known for picturesque marinas, breathtaking coastal scenery, artisan studios and galleries. Favourite attractions include Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic sites and Hatley Castle and Park at Royal Roads University.

View Royal, Langford, Colwood, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke are to the west of the core and offer the majority of affordable new housing in the area.  West of Victoria, the Island Highway (Hwy #14), the West Coast Road and the Galloping Goose Trail wind through the West Shore Communities to Sooke. Tracing the coastline, the West Coast Road leads to lush rainforests, rocky cliffs, hiking trails and some of the most scenic beaches on Vancouver Island. En route, stop at East Sooke Regional Park, where trails range from casual strolls to full-day treks. Birdwatchers will enjoy Whiffin Spit, a natural breakwater between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Sooke Harbour. Visit the Sooke Region Museum and be sure to see the natural wonder of the Sooke Potholes. West of Sooke, the highway leads to some of the Island’s most beautiful scenery at French Beach, China Beach, Botanical Beach (famous for its tide pools) and the southern terminal of the West Coast Trail.

North on the Saanich Peninsula you will find Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney.  Sidney is located at the tip of the Saanich Peninsula, five minutes from the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal and Victoria International Airport and 25 minutes north of downtown. This pretty little town is known for its museums, marinas, oceanside walkways and unique shops, including several bookstores. The outlying area contains country roads that criss-cross rolling farmland, parks, forests and the tiny communities of the Saanich Peninsula. Roads lead to a number of delightful attractions, including the world-famous Butchart Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, the BC Aviation Museum, Saanich Historical Artifacts Society, Island View Beach, Sidney Spit Marine Park and the village of Brentwood Bay. www.town.sidney.bc.ca

Capital Regional District serves all Municipalities with health services, water quality, garbage disposal, etc.

Climate

Located in a sub-Mediterranean zone, Victoria BC boasts the mildest climate in Canada. Victoria receives an average of 2,183 hours of sunshine each year, with flowers in bloom year-round and an eight month frost-free season.

Spring can arrive as early as February and is mild. Summer is comfortably warm and dry with temperatures from 18° to 32°C (65° to 90°F). Victoria has a very low humidity ratio and almost constant offshore breezes, which keep summer days from becoming too hot and summer evenings cool. The average monthly rainfall in summer is less than 2.5 cm (1"). Victoria often enjoys a warm, sunny September with fall arriving late in the month. Deciduous trees turn the city to gold, while lawns and golf courses are green and lush throughout the winter.

The average annual rainfall for Victoria is 66.5 cm (26.2"), which is substantially less rain than Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA receive. Victoria receives rainfall during January, February and March, with occasional light snowfall. The average monthly rainfall in winter is 5 cm (2") and the average temperature in January is 3°C (38°F). Although winters are mild and rarely include snow, warmer clothing is recommended between the months of November and March.

Average Monthly Temperatures
Daily Maximum Temperature

web design by mindsi & search engine optimization by mastermynde