Victoria in 6 1/2 Hours

[stevendom57]

Hi all,

 

I will be on the Norwegian Joy when she visits Victoria on Sept 13. We arrive at 3:00 pm and depart at 9:30 pm. I was hoping to do the Craigdarroch Castle but it closes at 4:30. Historical things like the "castle" are most interesting to me and DW. Does anyone have any other suggestions on how to kill a few hours at that time of day?

 

TIA

 

Steven

[cruiseryyc]

Craigdarroch Castle is not a castle, just a big house with turrets and quite frankly not worth spending your time in Victoria seeing.  If you want historic grab a cab out to Fisgard Lighthouse and Fort Rodd Hill; or just wander from the cruise ship dock into the Inner Harbour area to view the historic Legislative Buildings and Empress Hotel.

 

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/bc/fortroddhill

Edited June 28, 2019 by cruiseryyc

[PNW Traveler]

Your arrival time of 3 pm will allow time to visit the Royal BC Museum, located next to the Parliament Building and near the Fairmont Empress hotel.  The historical displays in this museum are first-rate and go far beyond usual museum fare.  Weekday hours as posted online have a closing time of 5 pm.  Weekend hours in the summer extend into later evening.

https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/

Our local museum membership allows us free entry into BC's museum with reciprocal privileges through NARM (North American Reciprocal Museum) listing.

[stevendom57]

Thanks @PNW Traveler, that sounds great.

[PNW Traveler]

1 hour ago, stevendom57 said:

Thanks @PNW Traveler, that sounds great.

Hope you enjoy the museum.  We visit Victoria at least twice a year and always enjoy this museum.

:)

 

[cft8]

I think that Craigdarroch is worth seeing, but I love historic homes. We went last time we were in Victoria and are going again. It’s not very big, though, so if you can get off right away and grab a cab, you probably have time to get there and see it before they close. Then you could get a cab to the inner harbor and get dinner and walk around. 

[Aesop081]

If you have the time then the museum, as previously stated, is a great visit.  it would be rushed and that would be a shame, but it is a "get into history" type of museum, not the "look at this history" type.  September has some of the most gorgeous evenings and strolling downtown and have a nice dinner or sitting at a Patio at a pub will be wonderful. 

[stevendom57]

56 minutes ago, Aesop081 said:

have a nice dinner or sitting at a Patio at a pub will be wonderful. 

I think that is what we are going to do. All of our ports, even on past cruises, have been rush, rush to squeeze as much in as possible. I'm going to mellow out here and just relax.

[etoilefj]

Just adding another vote for the museum, it's one of our favourite places.

 

The BC Legislature is open for tours between 9am and 5pm and it's a pretty neat looking building inside and out. The website says self guided tours end at 4:30pm so you might find the time a bit tight but it's pretty historical for around here.

 

For pubs - Garrick's Head is a fav for food and beer choices...if you just want good craft beer I suggest going a little further north to the Pandora Street side of Market Square to the Drake Eatery. The food is small and a bit trendy but the beers are the best. Swan's Brewery & Pub is across the street, they have good food too and their beers are drinkable.

 

Enjoy your visit

[CruiseVA]

On 8/15/2019 at 3:30 PM, etoilefj said:

The BC Legislature is open for tours between 9am and 5pm and it's a pretty neat looking building inside and out. The website says self guided tours end at 4:30pm so you might find the time a bit tight but it's pretty historical for around here.

Free guided tours are available throughout the year. Come and discover the history of the province, the architectural splendor of our cherished Parliament Buildings and learn about British Columbia's parliamentary process.

Fall, Winter and Spring (September 3, 2019 - May 18, 2020)
Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays):
8:30 am to 5:00 pm (last entry at 4:30 pm)

Visitors are welcome to join a free public tour or to explore the building on their own self-guided tour.
Guided tours begin from the waiting area inside of the Main Entrance and are offered regularly throughout the day.

Please contact the Parliamentary Tour Program at 250-387-3046 or tours@leg.bc.ca<200b> closer to the date of your visit for up-to-date schedule information.

https://www.leg.bc.ca/content-peo/Pages/Public-Tours.aspx