Fodor's Vancouver & Victoria: with Whistler, Vancouver Island & the Okanagan Valley (Full-color Travel Guide) by Fodor's Travel Guides

Author:Fodor's Travel Guides [Fodor's Travel Guides]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Travel Distribution
Published: 2017-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

ROCKLAND

The winding, shady streets of Rockland—roughly bordered by Fort Street, Richmond Avenue, Fairfield Road, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca—are lined with beautifully preserved Victorian and Edwardian homes. These include many stunning old mansions now operating as bed-and-breakfasts, and Victoria’s most elaborate folly: Craigdarroch Castle. With mansions come gardens, and several of the city’s best are found here.

GETTING HERE AND AROUND

By public transit, take Bus #11 or #14 from the corner of Fort and Douglas streets to Moss Street (for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria), or to Joan Crescent (for Craigdarroch Castle). Government House is a few blocks south. The walk, about a mile past the antiques shops of Fort Street, is also interesting.

TOP ATTRACTIONS

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Attached to an 1889 mansion, this modern building houses one of Canada’s largest collections of Asian art. The Japanese garden between the buildings is home to the only authentic Shinto shrine in North America. The gallery, a few blocks west of Craigdarroch Castle, displays a permanent exhibition of works by well-known Canadian artist Emily Carr and regularly changing exhibits of Asian and Western art. 1040 Moss St., at Fort St., Rockland 250/384–4171 www.aggv.ca C$13 .

Fodor’s Choice Craigdarroch Castle. This resplendent mansion complete with turrets and Gothic rooflines was built as the home of one of British Columbia’s wealthiest men, coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, who died in 1889, just a few months before the castle’s completion. It’s now a museum depicting life in the late 1800s. The castle’s 39 rooms have ornate Victorian furnishings, stained-glass windows, carved woodwork, and a beautifully restored painted ceiling in the drawing room. A winding staircase climbs four floors to a tower overlooking Victoria. Castles run in the family: son James went on to build the more lavish Hatley Castle west of Victoria. The castle is not wheelchair accessible and has no elevators. 1050 Joan Crescent, Rockland 250/592–5323 www.thecastle.ca C$13.95 .

WORTH NOTING

Government House Gardens. Take a stroll through the walled grounds and 35 acres of formal gardens at Government House, residence of British Columbia’s Lieutenant Governor, the Queen’s representative in BC. The 19th-century Cary Castle Mews on-site are home to an interpretive center, a costume museum, and a tearoom. The main house is open for guided tours one Saturday a month. 1401 Rockland Ave., Rockland 250/387–2080 www.ltgov.bc.ca Free .

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